The Scripture readings of today’s liturgy focus on the role of Peter and Paul as ‘ministers of the word’ whose calling it was to spread the good news of salvation brought about by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The readings give us a tiny glimpse of the difficulties these two giants of early Christianity had to deal with. They also offer insights into the world of the first generations of Jesus’ followers who were a small community in the midst of a world that was very often hostile to them.
Acts 12:1-11 In the first reading from Luke’s Acts of the Apostles we learn that James, the older brother of John, both of whom had followed Jesus from the very beginning, had been beheaded by Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great. This puppet king had just been given control over Judea by the emperor Claudius but his position was not rock solid. In order to strengthen his rule he saw that he could gain brownie points with the Pharisaic leadership in Jerusalem by suppressing the Christians. So, having executed James he next imprisoned Peter. The event being described by Luke would have taken place around 42-43 A.D.
The author draws a stark contrast between the villainous Herod and innocent but heroic Peter. We would have to be impressed with Peter’s calm that enables him to drop off into a sound sleep on the night before his trial and inevitable execution. This does not seem like the Peter of the gospels whose volatile temperament would have him fairly stressed on the eve of execution, but Luke is intent on emphasizing how passive Peter is throughout this whole episode. The apostle did not engineer an escape; rather, he was delivered almost without being aware of what was going on. He was still fairly groggy as he was led out of the prison into the street where he came out of his semi-stupor and then made his way to the house of John Mark’s mother. Luke uses this episode to show how the new movement cannot be stamped out when God is endorsing it.
Psalm 34 This acrostic composition seems to date from the period of the Babylonian exile or the
end of the monarchy in Israel. It deals with the issue of the suffering of the virtuous. The poet does not
understand the reason for his misery but nevertheless makes an act of trust in the Lord, confident that
his faith will be vindicated.
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18 These verses have been called Paul’s ‘last will and testament. He knows he will die soon and he is spelling out his spiritual legacy while looking forward to his future with Christ. He encourages Timothy, who at this stage is a community leader (Greek: episkopos = overseer), to stand firm in the face of hardship and opposition. He draws on his own experience to show that it is possible to succeed with divine help.
It doesn’t take much to lift up another person
It doesn’t often get stressed but reading the letters of Paul we get a glimpse of a man who saw the power of encouragement. As an apostle of encouragement he never passed up an opportunity to bolster the efforts of others, not with praise but with words and actions that showed respect, support and reassurance. It doesn’t take much to lift up another person beyond an expression of genuine empathy and a word of approval.
I am always blown away when I reflect on Jesus washing the feet of the men and women who were
with him at his last supper. He knew he was only hours away from facing cruel torture and death, and
yet he reached out to his friends and showed them the respect of hospitality and friendship by washing
their feet. Most of us would be paralysed by fear and caught up in the terror of what lay ahead. His act
was an expression of love that put others first and conveyed closeness and encouragement.
Matthew 16:13-19 This passage shows the disciples of Jesus arriving at a new level of
understanding of his person and role. They had walked north around 40 kms and climbed 500 or so
metres to the Galilean region near the ancient city of Dan where the source of the Jordan was. They
were in non-Jewish territory where the Greek god Pan was venerated. The name of the place was Paneas
and this name has endured into modern Arabic as Baneas. It was here that Jesus put the question that
arose out of the reputation he was gathering.
It is not surprising that his company had begun to see him as a prophet in the tradition of Elijah or Jermiah or even John, i.e. Yochanan the Immerser. But these were inadequate comparisons, and when Jesus asked them to bypass hearsay and give a personal opinion Peter spoke up and said he believed the
Master to be the Anointed One, the Mashiakh, the Christ. Jesus admits that Simon’s answer was an inspired one and with that he appoints Peter as the group leader. Using Simon’s nickname, Kepha (‘rock’ in Aramaic) he declares that his community of followers would be set up on the rock of Simon.
Kepha translates into Greek as petra, hence Peter. Many, if not most of our English translations use the word ‘church’ for the community, but Matthew’s Greek has ekklēsía which means a gathering, assembly, community.
Many of the prophets had gatherings of followers that carried on their ministry after their death. The
Teacher of Righteousness, who formed the community of the Dead Sea Scrolls, set out a definite and
detailed set of rules and traditions for the community that would develop after his death. It is not unusual, then, that Jesus should have a firm notion that his band of men and women followers would
continue his mission and take his teachings into the world at large.
The forces of evil will not overcome a movement that is endorsed by the Holy Spirit
Matthew now uses the words of Jesus to underpin one of the major motifs of the gospels and particularly of Luke’s Acts of the Apostles, and that is, the forces of evil will not overcome a movement that is endorsed by the Holy Spirit. In addition, Jesus uses the metaphor of the ‘keys of the kingdom’ which is clearly a way of conveying authority to Peter. It means Peter is declared leader of the community of Christ.
The authority to bind and loose refers to the power to declare what things are forbidden and what things are permitted. It has a legal context in which those with authority can guide the community by pointing out what ideas and practices are allowed and what are forbidden. In the society of Jesus’ day this authority lay with the leadership, which was normally the appointed committee of elders and religious hierarchy.
This episode marks a turning point in the relationship between Jesus and his disciples. All that Jesus had said and done beforehand was leading up to this pivotal declaration of faith – Peter speaking up on behalf of the others. From here on they did not see him as another prophet but rather as Israel’s messiah. The next step would have to involve the disciples moving towards a proper understanding of the full implications of Peter’s statement. What kind of a messiah would Jesus be? How will his talk of arrest, suffering and death fit into this title? What will be their destiny as followers of this messiah?
In the few verses that follow today’s passage Jesus will speak about his future suffering and death and Peter will have none of it. It will take him some time to realise that following Jesus and promoting his teachings and his way to God will get him into hot water with those who oppose the way of Christ. Luke uses a parable of Jesus (Luke 14:28-30) about a man who started to build a tower and then had to stop and leave it unfinished because he neglected to consider whether he had enough money to cover the cost of the project. Jesus was making the point that we all need to weigh the cost of following him and if we cannot meet the cost we may be better off not starting out. Meeting difficulties, hardship and self-sacrifice are part of our commitment to Christ.
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Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?
Martin Luther King Jr.
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Stephen Wright one-liners
I saw a bank that said, “24-hour banking” but I don’t have that much time.
It doesn’t matter what temperature the room is, it’s always room temperature.
I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol.
A clear conscience is usually a good sign of a bad memory.
I’m addicted to placebos.
On the other hand, you have different fingers.
by Laurie Woods