I have
become quite eager to take a walk every day.
It affords me the peace and quiet I need to pray and reflect and then
listen to Jesus speak to me. But the
last week has been a challenge for me.
Between the COVID lockdown, the August heat wave, and the smoke-filled air
from the three hundred plus fires burning in California, I’ve had to go into ‘seclusion’,
staying inside my home and trying to cope.
So I felt a certain connection with the Gospels I reflected on today. My reflection is on the discussion Jesus had
with His disciples in a ‘secluded’ place in the region of Caesarea Philippi. (Mark
9:18-21; Matthew 16:13-20)
After
praying in solitude, Jesus asked His disciples what the people were saying
about Him, then asked them what they thought: “But who do you
say that I am?” And Peter responded, “You
are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus is wise enough to know that this confession of
faith didn’t come from him but from the Father, and said, “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.”
Thinking of
Peter, I was drawn to the phrase that Jesus used: “upon
this rock I will build my church.” Jesus didn’t say, “upon this rock I
build my church.” This is important
because, having the knowledge of the entire Gospel, we know that Peter will
have a lot to go through before he seems to be anything like a “rock.”
Peter still
had a lot to learn. He still had to
understand what was going to happen to Jesus. He still needed to learn that he couldn’t rely
on his own strength, which he realized most poignantly on Good Friday when, out
of fear, he denied that he even knew Jesus. He had to repent and then experience
reconciliation with the Resurrection of Jesus (John 21:15-19). And after that, he had to receive the Holy
Spirit. And indeed, he did become a rock
for the Church, until he was martyred for the Gospel.
Jesus
directs the same question to us today: "Who do people say
that I am?" It’s a question we should reply to in prayer
and in our lives. If we answer as Peter
did, "The
Christ of God"
(Luke 9:20), we'd better also think of the cost; "The
Son of Man must suffer greatly" (Luke 9:22).
Peter’s
journey indicates to us that we too have to go through times of repentance and
reconciliation, death, and resurrection. We, too, are called to be a “rock” for others,
just as there are times when others are a “rock” for us. And although we haven’t been given the “keys
to the kingdom” as Peter was, we have been given “keys” to life with God. We’ve been given Jesus as Lord and Savior. We’ve been given the Holy Spirit. We’ve been given the Word and the sacraments. We’ve been given love and grace beyond
anything we could possibly deserve or earn.
Jesus
doesn't want us to tell others who He is, but rather to know that in our hearts
and to see Him in our daily lives and to live as He lived no matter what the
cost. May we use the “keys” of Jesus’
Cross and Resurrection to enter more deeply into the love that God has for us
and the commandment to love one another.
As to when
the air will clear, and cooler temperatures return so I can get back to my
daily walks, "There is an appointed time for
everything."
(Ecclesiastes 3:1) I trust in Jesus and
I hope it’s soon.
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