The Gospel on the 21st Sunday in Ordinary time (Year A) August 27, 2023
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and
he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter said in reply,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply,
"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Then he strictly ordered his disciples
to tell no one that he was the Christ.
In a world that rejects much of which the Catholic Church teaches, this is one of my favorite gospels because it tells us precisely where the Church gets her authority to speak for God. Whenever our pastor speaks on Matthew 16:13-20, his emphasis is usually on Peter’s confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Much of his homily consists of talking about various misconceptions about who Jesus was. All well and good, as they say, but as an amateur apologist, I always feel like he is missing an opportunity to explain why it is imperative that we listen to and obey the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Today the Catholic Church is one of the few remaining institutions that takes a strong moral stand on the tough issues such as abortion or same-sex marriage. A devout Catholic firmly grounded in the faith has no trouble accepting those beliefs. We call these non-negotiables. Yet, many non-Catholic Christians and even some Catholics, acquiesce under social pressure.
When it comes to seemingly less stringent teachings or disciplines imposed by the Church, many Catholics turn a blind eye. Eating meat on Fridays during Lent, or using artificial birth control, or missing Mass every Sunday are all sins that many Catholics do not take seriously. That brings me to the question that is answered in Matthew’s gospel. Why should all Christians obey all of the teachings of the Catholic Church, even those that may seem inconsequential?
Matthew’s gospel documents Jesus giving Peter, the first Pope of the Catholic Church, the keys to the kingdom of heaven. “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” As an analogy, I equate this to someone giving a babysitter authority over their household while being away, telling the children to do whatever the sitter says to do or not to do. If the sitter says go to bed, you go to bed. If the sitter says you can have a snack, you can have a snack. The sitter is given complete control and the parents back it up.
A parallel passage from the Book of Isaiah was also read at Mass on the same twenty-first Sunday. A steward over the household named Shebna has his authority taken away and given to another named Eliakim. “And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” (Isaiah 22:22). The job of the steward is to act as the prime minister, ordering the day to day operation of the kingdom. The message seems clear that God-given authority is to be taken seriously.
Jesus is not someone who would say something and not really mean it. He is the incarnate man of His Word. He granted earthly authority to Peter and His Church, and therefore, we should all be listening to what the Church tells us. When someone says to me, “Do you really think God would send me to hell for eating a hamburger on Friday or missing Mass to play golf on one Sunday?”, I remind them that the fall of man happened because someone ate a piece of fruit they weren’t supposed to eat. God sends no one to hell. We go there by the choices we make.
Yes, we fail at times. God is merciful. That is why He gave His Church authority to forgive sins. (John 20:23). When judgement day comes, don’t be the one standing before Our Lord saying, “Gee, I didn’t think you were serious about that! It didn’t seem like a big deal to me! I didn’t know you were going to bind us to EVERYTHING the Church said.” Listen to the Church and beware.
