FIRST READING (I will place the key of the House of David upon his shoulder.)

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (22:19-23)

Thus says the Lord to Shebna, master of the palace: “I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station. On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim’s shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open. I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family.” —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (138:1-2, 2-3, 6,8)

R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands. (Ps 138:8bc)

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; I will worship at your holy temple. (R)

I will give thanks to your name, because of your kindness and your truth: when I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me. (R)

The Lord is exalted, yet the lowly he sees, and the proud he knows from afar. Your kindness, O Lord, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands. (R)

SECOND READING (From God and through him and for him are all things.)

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (11:33-36)

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? Or who has given the Lord anything that he may be repaid? For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Mt 16:18)

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. (R)

GOSPEL (You are Peter, and to you I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (16:13-20)

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. —The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

“You are Peter!” 

           In the Gospel of Matthew, after walking on water and crossing the Sea of Galilee to the northwest, Jesus entered the region of Gennesaret and then on to Tyre and Sidon along the coast of the Mediterranean in what is today southern Syria. It was here that he met the Canaanite woman and healed her daughter. Jesus and his disciples continue their journey but now double back and head east to Caesarea Philippi, a major center built by Herod’s son, Philipp for the worship of the Emperor Tiberius Caesar, which gave the city of ancient temples and forests its name.

          It was here at the base of Mount Hermon, surrounded by high rocky hills, and deep watery caverns that Jesus turns and asks the Apostles, “Who do you say that I am?” And Peter, without much forethought replies, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!”  Uttering this dense phrase, the apostolic faith was born. And that clear apostolic tenet of faith has come to us today because it has been handed on in various ways through the teaching and preaching, the worship and the way of life, as well as the institutions established by these disciples.

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” Jesus responds to this telling Peter that he is BLESSED because he has received a special divine gift, a revelation, and with this gift comes a special MISSION symbolized by the change in his name from Simon Bar Jonah, to PETRUS, Peter, the rock (Greek petros). And it is upon THIS ROCK that Jesus chooses to build his Church, a community which the power of evil cannot surmount (the “gates of the underworld.”) Knowing the landscape of Caesarea Philippi, we see how Christ used the symbols surrounding them of high rocky cliffs and outcrops, temples and deep caverns and caves – “gates to the underworld” as were believed by the Greeks and Romans in and around this area.

          Taken together with our first reading from the prophet Isaiah we are dealing not just with the concept of leadership, but of a transfer of leadership upon one to whom it is bestowed. And in a particular way, both the prophecy of Isaiah and the Gospel are addressing the concept of religious leadership.

          Religious leadership is above all else a sacred trust. It is not assumed by oneself, but it is accepted as a responsibility conferred by God. In both ancient Israel and in early Christianity, there is one point that is clear on leadership: religious leaders are taken from among the people, appointed by God for the sake of the people, and are accountable to God for the religious well-being of the people.

          In the first reading, Shebna did not faithfully fulfill this charge. He was relieved of his responsibilities and position, and these were then given to Eliakim.

          Knowing what Scripture tells us of St. Peter, and especially the Gospel of Matthew, one could ask, “Why HIM?” Why, among all the apostles, did Christ choose HIM? He never really distinguished himself as a religious leader; if anything, he was impetuous, quick-tempered, and somewhat lacking in courage and loyalty. As unbelievable as the choice may have seemed – Peter became the ROCK upon which the church would be built.

          We have to remember, however, that Jesus also declared, “I will build my church.” It is not to be Peter’s Church; it was and it is Christ’s Church, and though being the head of that church certainly has been regarded in history as a position of honor and prestige, religious leadership of the people of God is primarily a sacred trust and service and a vehicle of self-sacrificing service.

          The sacredness of this trust is found in the church community itself, because we – the people – are a sacred people. The biblical tradition maintains that good religious leaders are primarily servants of the people. They take their positions and responsibilities seriously because the people of God deserve the best that they have to offer.

          Peter, like Christ, was to be the center-point of God’s people, to form the people around himself, to give the community a cohesiveness, a direction, a real history, much as Abraham and Moses did for the people of Israel. And like Abraham and Moses – and now Peter – this leadership has two special purposes: to IGNITE and to UNITE.

          Pastoral leadership from the Holy Father all the way to parish priests is part of a continuum of ministry and leadership that is attached to the Office of the Holy Father – to Peter or the Petrine Office – an office that has shaped the past, is shaping continually the present, and will shape the future. The Holy Father speaks of the apostolic faith that should form every aspect of our lives. He does not create or invent truth. He hands on and applies the truth of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, to our lives today – to IGNITE that same faith in us, to fan the flame of faith to burn ever more intensely. That is HIS mission.

          The Lord also gave us the Petrine Office to UNITE. The figure of the Holy Father reminds us that we are one BODY OF CHRIST, and members of a vast community of faith, a network of spiritual life, of mutual support and prayer. We are not separate individuals, separate, parish communities, separate dioceses or people from separate nations. We are all part of the one, holy, Catholic, universal Church that lives and breathes in and through us.

          During the II Vatican Council, one of the bishops attending this meeting from 1962-1963 wrote a poem inspired by the Basilica of St. Peter’s where the Council was taking place. The poem is called The Marble Floor. One of the verses says, “There are many walls, so many columns and yet we are not lost. If we find meaning and oneness, it is the floor that guides us. It joins the spaces of this great building and joins the spaces within us. Peter, YOU ARE THE FLOOR, that others may walk over you…not knowing where they go. You guide their steps.”

The author of those verses and of that poem was a young auxiliary bishop. You know him as he later became St. John Paul II. Like that floor in St. Peter’s that he knew so well, the Pope is the point of unity for us as a Church, our unity with each other and with Christ. The Pope is given the power of the keys (like the good steward, Eliakim), not to keep people out but to bring people into the Kingdom, to open up the Gospel truth to all peoples – a continuation of the Mission in last week’s Gospel about the Canaanite woman. To IGNITE and to UNITE.  In a world of so much confusion, doubt, chaos, anxiety and violence, we have a rock, an anchor of Christ’s truth to help us through any storm. When we are united as a Church with our Holy Father, we can be sure we are united with Christ in the work you and I have to accomplish here on earth each day.

This is the gift Christ gave to Peter that afternoon in Caesarea Philippi. YOU ARE PETER.

Prayers

Celebrant: We praise God for his wisdom that is beyond our understanding. But we can ask him for all our needs, because he shares his wisdom with us and uses us for his purposes.

READER:  For our Holy Father, successor to St. Peter and keeper of the keys of the kingdom, that his faith and the inner support of the heavenly Father may be his strength for leading the Church (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For those who accept the burden of public office, that the powers of evil may not prevail over them, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For those living with disabilities, that they may not be pushed aside, overlooked, or underestimated; and for those who lovingly care for them, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For ourselves, that we may reverence the power of the keys which God entrusts in his wisdom to the pastors of his Church, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For the repose of the soul of John Hon for whom this Mass is offered and for the sick and those who have asked for our prayers, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

CELEBRANT: Father, source of wisdom, your Son entrusted his power to his Church. As we offer these prayers, help us to fulfill your plan for us. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. (all) AMEN