Thursday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Entrance Antiphon Ps 70 (69): 2, 6 O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me! You are my rescuer, my help; O Lord, do not delay.

Collect Draw near to your servants, O Lord, and answer their prayers with unceasing kindness, that, for those who glory in you as their Creator and guide, you may restore what you have created and keep safe what you have restored. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Scripture today: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 50; Matthew 16:13-23

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do people say the Son of Man is? They replied, Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But what about you? he asked. Who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus replied, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Never, Lord! he said. This shall never happen to you! Jesus turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. (Matthew 16:13-23)

Faith I remember reading one article in a philosophical journal in which the author, a professor of philosophy and a theist, stated in passing that one would not attain a settled certainty as to the being of God by reason alone. He did not appear to be saying that it was philosophically impossible to prove the existence and nature of God, but he did not think one could normally arrive at a personal certainty about it on the basis of mere philosophy. That position could be debated, but I myself think the facts of the case generally bear it out. The question of certainty in religion has long been a matter of profound discussion, and in particular whether reason in the sense of logical argument alone will take a person to theism, and in particular to Christianity. A plain reading of our Lord’s words to Simon Peter in today’s Gospel would suggest that, whatever of theism, reasoning alone, unassisted by grace, will not take a person to a settled faith in the person and nature of Jesus Christ. Our Lord had striven in his public ministry to reveal his true identity, while taking into account the hazards of the political and religious aspirations of the people. He was having little success, despite the stunning “proofs” he was providing. His personal holiness was unmatched — “Can any of you convict me of sin?” he asked his enemies. “I always do what pleases him,” — he stated, referring to himself and the Father. He had the total endorsement of the great prophet of the day before him, John the Baptist. His miracles far surpassed those of any before him — the only one approaching him in such miracles might have been Moses, and he, Jesus, was showing himself to be a new and much greater Moses. Moses promised liberation from the land of slavery, but never thought of promising liberation from the sin of the world, and a covenant involving a share in the life of God. There were all these “proofs,” all these “signs” as John the Evangelist calls them, but what was the result? The people thought of Jesus as just another prophet, among the greatest, and even one of them come back.

But Christ knew, of course, that he was much greater than this. Addressing his disciples directly, he asked them, “But you, who do you say I am?” Simon Peter was emphatic, assured, clear-sighted as far as he went, and settled in his certainty. It was a magnificent answer and showed that he had pierced to the heart of the mystery of Christ — though he still had a great deal to learn. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” It is Matthew who reports this (Matthew 16:13-23). If we turn to the Gospel of St John in order to understand how a different Evangelist summarizes the Gospel, we notice that it is the same. John informs us that he has written his Gospel in order that the reader might believe that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name” (John 20:31). So Simon Peter had attained true faith in the person of Jesus Christ. What he had attained was to be brought to the nations, and by it all the nations would be blessed. In this would the distant promise granted to Abraham be fulfilled, that in him all the peoples would be blessed. As our Lord would say during his prayer at the Last Supper, eternal life is this, to know you, Father, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. This true knowledge of Jesus Christ is what Simon Peter displayed in our Gospel scene. Risen from the dead and about to ascend into heaven, Christ would entrust to his disciples the mission to bring the whole world to this knowledge and love of him which Peter manifested on this occasion. So Peter had in large measure, though as yet by no means in full measure, arrived. But how had it happened? Had it been because Simon had seen our Lord at close quarters, had reasoned well and properly about him, and had the moral qualities needed to judge well of a supremely holy and truthful person? Doubtlessly these were factors, but we have our Lord’s word for it that Simon’s knowledge of Jesus and his faith in him was due to something beyond what he himself was capable of. It had been revealed to him by the Father. Faith was a gift, a grace.

We must be good soil, as our Lord explains elsewhere, if the seed of the word is to produce the harvest — and the harvest was beginning to show in Simon Peter. He was very good soil. But good soil is not enough. A moral life, careful reflection, a religious heart, direct acquaintance, all these things help dispose a person for faith. But faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from God. God enlightens the soul with his gift, and the soul must be disposed to receive the gift. We cannot attain to faith in Jesus Christ merely by our own efforts, and Simon Peter is our exemplar for this. Faith is the gift granted at our baptism, and if we are faithful to it, it will take us to holiness and to heaven.

(E.J.Tyler)

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