22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 30, 2026

The risk and rewards of following Jesus

GOSPEL

Matthew 21:16-27

Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay all according to his conduct."

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

Jesus Has No Part-time Disciples by Greg Carey, Professor of New Testament, Lancaster Theological Seminary

Matthew 16:21-28 confronts us with the gap between Jesus’ gruesome fate and our own modest discipleship Jesus’ verbs say it all. Deny the self, take up the cross, follow Christ. Moreover, only in losing one’s life — the primary meaning of apollymi is to destroy — one may save it. And Jesus apparently means it. Judgment, he says, involves “repaying” people according to what they have done. At this moment we are hearing Matthew’s distinctive voice: Salvation comes not to those who call Jesus “Lord,” but to those who do what he says (7:21-29). The Great Commission involves teaching people “to obey everything that I have commanded you” (28:20). It’s a matter of life and death. Disciples are to walk Jesus’ grim path. So we face the chasm between Jesus’ call to discipleship and our own lives as part-time volunteers for the Gospel. Few Christians abandon everything for the Gospel’s sake. Most of us simply fit our Christianity into the open spots on our calendars. But in this passage Jesus links the life of discipleship with his own path. This spring, Mark and Katharyn Richt sold their second home, a lakefront property valued at just below $2 million.  Best known as head football coach at the University of Georgia, Mark Richt has earned — if you can call it that — more than $25 million dollars since taking that position in 2001. He also openly professes his Christian faith and engages in a variety of ministries. The Richts sold this property so that they could give to anti-poverty work. Mark Richt attributed the decision to the dynamic book “The Hole in Our Gospel” by Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision. Named the “Christian Book of the Year” for 2010, this resource introduces readers to the harsh reality of global and local poverty, pressing the question of how Christians should respond to human suffering in the light of the Gospel.  If you’re interested, a fully resourced curriculum (DVDs, daily exercises, study guides and the like) supports the book for congregational and small group use. Some of us might not be all that impressed by the Richts’ sacrifice. What does it mean to sacrifice $2 million on an income of more than $3 million per year?  “I’ll make that sacrifice,” the cynic might say. For my part, I am impressed. Katharyn and Mark Richt clearly understand that the Gospel not only blesses our souls, it also calls us to service that will enrich our lives and bring forth our resources. Following Dietrich Bonhoeffer, my denomination’s contemporary statement of faith confesses “the cost and joy of discipleship.” The Richts are not just giving money. This summer, they’ve joined World Vision in a trip to Honduras devoted to the construction of water wells. I fully trust the Richts are experiencing joy in their service. Matthew 16:21-28 moves from a focus upon Jesus and his vocation to his demands for disciples. Jesus has just congratulated Peter for his recognition that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Moreover, Jesus’ language has intimated authority and privilege: Peter the Rock provides the church’s foundation, he receives the keys to the realm of heaven and his earthly authority carries heavenly significance. But now Jesus begins a process of reinterpreting what being the Messiah really means — and what following that Messiah entails for the disciples. If Peter cannot bear the revelation of Jesus’ coming suffering (16:22), how will he respond when the focus shifts to disciples whose fate mimics that of Jesus? Some readers hardly need to hear this news. Moment by moment, many of us are constantly mindful that we fall far short of Jesus’ standard. By contrast, our culture needs the reminder. The prosperity gospel holds greater sway than many of us want to admit. According to a 2006 Time magazine poll, 17 percent of Americans claim allegiance to the movement, while 61 percent agree that God wants us to be prosperous. Maybe our preaching doesn’t draw folks who think that way. Then again, we find all sorts of surprising attitudes in our congregations, don’t we? Whatever the threat posed by the prosperity gospel, a more insidious assumption definitely lurks among us: that God wants us to be happy. Countless praise choruses celebrate how much Jesus loves us, how much we love Jesus and how great God is. Self-help books pack the inventories of Christian bookstores. This happiness assumption has sunk so deeply into our collective psyche that even the words of Jesus can hardly challenge it. Are we even capable of hearing that God might call us to radical sacrifice, even to danger? Can Jesus’ words get past our ears? It does no good for preachers to rehearse Jesus’ extreme demands while congregations sit in well-cushioned, air-conditioned sanctuaries. Preachers must level with our congregations. Precious few of us lay everything on the line for the Gospel, but neither can we ignore its call. In 1961 a group of Nashville students resolved to reinforce the Freedom Rides. Two previous busloads of Freedom Riders had already encountered firebombing and severe beatings, and the Nashville students determined that the movement, having commenced, should not be allowed to fail. No one could deny that these students experienced joy during their trials — the notorious Bull Connor complained, “I just couldn’t stand their singing” — but these students were fully mindful for the potential cost as well. The night before their departure, they had signed their last will and testaments. Singing hymns after signing one’s will: the cost and joy of discipleship. So what about Mark and Katharyn Richt? Perhaps we can’t credit them with suffering for the Gospel. But we can heed their testimony. As Mark Richt put it, “You know what, I don’t want to pour money into a home like that when I can use it for better things, for eternal things.” Jesus asked, “For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?” 

First Impressions by Jude Siciliano, OP

Sadly, many ordinary people have experienced fraud in one form or another. In fact, being deceived or defrauded seems to be a frequent occurrence for many of us. For example: a person receives email that appears to come from a credit card company asking them to “verify your account.” Fraud! Someone pretends to be a police officer, bank employee, or church official and asks for money. Fraud! There are romance scams, when someone develops an online relationship and is then asked for money because of an “emergency.” Fraud! Then there are investment scams, home-repair scams, identity theft, “you-owe-money” scams, and so on. All fraud! We have to develop ways of protecting ourselves from being defrauded by crafty thieves. Unfortunately, in our modern, high-tech world, we almost expect to encounter one form of fraud or another. But-- we do not expect God to defraud us! God is the perfectly reliable One who always has our best interests at heart. Yet, Jeremiah feels that God has “duped” him. In this remarkable picture of faith, the one God called to be a prophet boldly asks why God has betrayed him – or at least, why it feels that way to this prophet. Jeremiah remembers when God called him: “To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak” (Jeremiah 1:7). He accepted the call and faithfully proclaimed God’s word. Yet what did he receive in return for his faithful service? Ridicule, rejection by the people he was sent to serve, and suffering. We do our best to live faithful lives, yet we still go through difficult times. Weren’t our prayers and faithful service meant to please God? So, how come life isn’t easier? Sometimes doing what we believe God is asking of us puts us in conflict, not only with the world outside, but even with those closest to us - friends and family. This leaves us questioning: “Did I get it wrong? Aren’t I doing my best to do God’s will? Then, why has my life gotten so difficult? Where is God in this mess?” There is a message for us in Jeremiah’s lament. Faithfulness to God does not always make life easier. Many of us know something of Jeremiah’s complaint. We pray, try to live faithfully, practice forgiveness, care for those in need, serve our church community, and stand up for what is right. Then how come some things get worse rather than better? Like Jeremiah, we might feel “duped” and complain, “God, I trusted you. Why did you let this happen to me?”Isn’t it striking how this faithful prophet does not hide his anger, frustration, and disappointment from God? But, as contradictory as it may seem, complaint can actually be an expression of faith in God. Even though Jeremiah is frustrated and disappointed, he is still speaking to God. He still believes God is there listening to him. His faithfulness shines forth when Jeremiah says, “If I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart….” Jeremiah cannot simply walk away. He shows us what an honest relationship with God can be like. Even when we are frustrated, disappointed, angry, and confused, God does not turn away from us. God can handle our questions, our struggles, and even our moments of doubt. It is tempting to believe that if we trust God while we are suffering, everything will immediately be okay. But Jeremiah is an encouragement to us in difficult times to stay in conversation with God. Our questions, frustration, and even our anger will not turn God away from us. We may not understand why we are going through difficult moments, but God is faithful and stays with us in the struggle. We are not alone. The Gospel reminds us that Christianity does not guarantee us an easy life. Jesus promises his disciples that following him will give them life, but he also makes clear that accepting the richer life he offers will involve sacrifice. If we accept the cross, it will not end in death. The cross does not have the last word. Resurrection does! Peter does not want to hear that Jesus is going to Jerusalem. He knows that Jesus will suffer there. Even worse, if Peter and the others follow Jesus, they too will suffer. Peter cannot imagine that suffering and death could be part of God’s plan. Don’t we understand Peter’s dilemma? It is ours as well. We want to hear that God will protect us from suffering, loss, and disappointment. But it is clear that Jesus does not offer Peter, or us, an easy road. Jesus is not saying that we should go out of our way to suffer. But if we forgive, speak the truth, remain faithful to him, and live according to his teachings despite the cost, it is going to hurt us. Like Peter, I would prefer Christianity without the kind of discipleship Jesus offers. I want a faith that comforts me but does not challenge me. But Jesus asks us the same question he asked his disciples: “What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” What would the life Jesus is offering, with its cross, look like now, in this world? It would mean becoming compassionate people, having integrity and strength in our relationships, and being courageous as we speak and act on behalf of the least among us. What a paradox! We find our true life not by clinging desperately to ourselves, but by giving ourselves away in love.

Quotable

The Gospels frequently show us Jesus on a journey”; he walks alongside people and listens to the questions and concerns working in their hearts. He shows us that God is not found neat and orderly places, distant from reality, but walks ever at our side. He meets us where we are, on the often-rocky road of life. God travels the path of history and shares in the life of humanity are we prepared for the advantage of this journey? – Pope Francis, October 10, 2021, Homily opening the Synod 

Justice Bulletin Board by Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC

O God, you are my God whom I seek; for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water. —Psalm 63:2

When I read this passage from Psalms 63, I was immediately reminded of a quote that I read in Pope Francis’ encyclical, “Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home.” Pope Francis quotes Pope Benedict XVI who stated in his homily at his Inaugural Mass, 2005, “The external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast. Therefore, the earth’s treasures no longer serve to build God’s garden for all to live in, but they have been made to serve the powers of exploitation and destruction.” I hope that you will take some time to reflect on what Pope Benedict is saying here that is reiterated by Pope Francis. Taking care of the garden is the very first job that God gave humans to do (Genesis 2:15). We are at the beginning of the Season of Creation that runs from the World Day of Prayer for Creation (September 1) to the Feast of St. Francis (October 4), patron saint “of those who promote ecology.” This month is the perfect time for some self-examination as to what we are doing to contribute to the growth of “deserts” both individually and corporately. Reflecting on Pope Benedict’s quote, in 2006, the New Zealand Catholic Bishops wrote, “Protecting the environment involves moderating our desires to consume and own more, which create lifestyles that bring death to millions of other people. Consumerism, global environmental change and suffering in the developing world are inextricably linked. . . Individual acts of selfishness can create a society characterized by a desire for short term gain and immediate gratification over longer term needs and a wider view. In response, both individual and collective acts of selflessness are needed – of self-sacrifice for the greater good, of self-denial in the midst of convenient choices, of choosing simpler lifestyles in the midst of a consumer society. This does not mean abandoning the scientific and technological advances. . .It means using them wisely, and in a thoughtful manner which reflects true solidarity with all the people of the earth.” (Statement on Environmental Issues - New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference) NC Catholics Caring for our Common Home and Cathedral’s Laudato Si’ Circle are offering a 12-week webinar starting September 11 called “Creation at the Crossroads” from Renew International. Contact socialconcern@hnojnc.org to join.

Faith Book

Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.

From today’s Gospel reading: Jesus said to the disciples” “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me.”

Reflection: The disciples didn’t realize what they were getting into when they said “Yes” to Jesus’ invitation to follow him?  They discovered that serving God by responding to Jesus’ call, even though a good thing to do, does not guarantee smooth sailing.  But they also learned to trust that God was with them as they tried to respond to Jesus’ call, “Come follow me.”

So, we ask ourselves:

• Do we hear Jesus’ call now, “Come follow me?” How shall we respond?

• Can we trust that God will be with us in that response?

ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

Preparation for the Session

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence.  Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me.  May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

Opening Prayer

Lord, you invite us to ask question of our actions, motives and attitudes, to ask ourselves what we expect if we follow your ways.  Support us in the times that are not easy, and help us to keep focused on holding you  and your ideals close to my heart, even when it hurts to do so.

Companions for the Journey

From “First Impressions” (2011). A service of the Southern Dominican Province

Last Sunday Jesus blessed Peter and gave him authority over his mission to build the household of God. Things have turned quickly on Peter as now Jesus calls him a devil and pushes him off. The sound of his rejection reminds us of what Jesus said to the devil when he tempted Jesus in the desert, "Away with you, Satan!"  You can't blame Peter for trying to save his master from pain and death. But there is more involved than just a devoted disciple's desire to protect the teacher he loves and follows. Christianity is not an easy walk, all smiles and good feelings. "Finding Jesus," or having "Jesus in my heart," might produce initial buoyancy of spirit. But eventually the fuller picture of what following Jesus entails will set in. In the first reading, Jeremiah was initially attracted by God's call, but today feels tricked by God because his vocation has caused him much grief. Peter should have known better, after all, he's following the prophet Jesus. If Peter had reflected over the history of his religion, he would have remembered how prophets got rejected and killed. Now Peter is facing what Jeremiah faced: he is being called to accept a prophetic role and it will cost. "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me." You can buy a gold cross in any jewelry store. If you are a rock or movie star you can afford to buy a large jewel-encrusted cross to wear before your adoring followers. But that's not the kind of cross Jesus invites Peter and us to willingly take up each day. We are not likely to suffer crucifixion as Jesus did, but it's clear Jesus invites his disciples to sacrifice for his sake and for the preaching of the gospel. Today Paul points out how we disciples are to live. We ought to offer our bodies "as a living sacrifice." Christians are not to "conform yourselves to this age...." If we choose to follow Christ we will live lives based on a different set of values from what guides those around us. This choice will cost us--friends, family, popularity and even possessions. We cannot buy into the values of our culture without first passing them under the lens of the gospel. At first Peter does not accept the terms of the relationship Jesus is offering. The emphasis on the pain and sacrifice seems to have blocked his ears to what comes along with the cross--life. Peter will, Jesus promises, gain his life. After we get beyond Jesus' casting Peter off, we might notice there's an offer also being made to Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" It's an initial rejection, Jesus is also telling Peter to go back where disciples should be--behind and following Jesus. That's the right place for us too, despite our repeated failures to live up to being Jesus' disciples. Like Peter, in subtle or more obvious ways, we have rejected the cost of discipleship and admit today our need for another chance to keep trying.  We are invited back where we belong--following Jesus. Along with other disciples, we will be guided by Matthew over the next weeks as we listen to Jesus' teachings. We disciples will notice on our journey with Jesus how he daily accepts his cross; the rejection and slander thrown in his path on the road to Jerusalem. As always, Jesus offers forgiveness for wayward and even obstructing disciples. Jesus sees in us what he saw in Peter, a willingness to do the best we can to follow him, even unto death. And so we join Peter as we get behind Jesus and follow him to Jerusalem.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow.

Reflection Questions:

What is my motivation behind engaging in denial of future unpleasant events—either ones I will experience or ones I expect a loved one will experience?

Have I ever been in denial about some reality of life, or try to "sugarcoat" the truth for someone else?  
How did it work out for me?

What would you do to prevent a family member or another loved one from being hurt?

If you thought a beloved one was making a foolish or dangerous choice, would you try to talk them out of it?

Have I ever been the recipient of someone’s fear for my safety or happiness? 
What form did this fear take? 
How did I respond?

Why do you think Jesus reacts the way he does?

Do I secretly believe that faith in Jesus will make life easier? 
Or that it ought to?
Has there been a time when God's plan for me did not meet my expectations?

Have I ever been in the middle of a project and realized that it was a much bigger undertaking than I imagined and was going to cost me more in time and resources than I was prepared to spend?

Do we tend to measure whether we are doing the right thing by how well things turn out?

Is there a prevailing, but unacknowledged expectation that if we are doing what God wants, then god will " bless" us with having things turn out well?

Can you name any contemporary people who have spoken out boldly for what they believed?  
Other than the usual heroes like MLK, Jr, Bishop Romero, do you know of ordinary people who did something similar?   
Was there a cost?

Do I sometimes, in my own religious journey, deny the meaning of the cross? 
Why?

What do I think it means, in real-life terms, to take up my cross and follow Christ?
What do I have to risk?

From Daniel Harrington, S.J.: Do you ever think of your whole life as an act of worship?

What does it mean to say that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God?
Did Peter think it meant something quite different from the reality of Jesus’ life?

Which of the last two gospel stories seems to be a truer picture of Peter?
With which one do I most identify? Why?

In what way do we try to “save our lives”? 
What do we buy, or use, or what comforts do we seek, calling those possessions life”? 
Is there anything in our current culture—any values which might not pass the “smell test” when compared to Jesus teaching?

What in my life do I want to” save”?  
What is the cost? 
Is there anything precious to me that I can let go of in order to be able to live more fully?

I think of one behavior or personal habit I need to lose in order to save my own life as a follower of Jesus, or as a happy person.

How does the message of this gospel fly in the face of our expectations that following Jesus will bring us an end to our problems?

How does the Great Commandment fit into the message that those who try to save their lives will lose them?

Closing Prayer

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for.  

Dear Lord, help me to understand that I must let go of all that seems to suggest getting somewhere, being someone, having a name and a voce, following a policy and directing  people in “my” ways. This is hard, Lord.   Help me to remember that what matters is to love.

For the Week Ahead

Weekly Memorization:
(Taken from the gospel for today's session)
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Meditations:

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination: Read Acts 4:1-22. Think about the scene where Peter and John are jailed by Sadducees overnight awaiting the arrival of the council of elders in Jerusalem—this, for healing in Jesus’name and teaching that Jesus rose from the dead. What do you think they discussed that night in their jail cell? How intitidating was the quesioning by Ananias, the High Priest?  How did they respond to the ultimatum laid down by the elders that they should never speak or talk about Jesus?    What impressed those listening about Peter and John, who were just ordinary men?  How had Peter's attitude been changed since the story related in Matthew 16? What do you think Peter expected when he began to follow Jesus?   What has happened to him to give him the courage and the strength he displays in the story from Acts? Think of a time in your life when you dreaded something in the future, but then plucked up the courage to face the challenge.  What do you think gave you the strength to do what you had to do?  

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions: (Adapted from “First Impressions” 2008, a service of the Southern Dominican Province) Do we have a choice; can we reject the invitation of Jesus? Of course we can. What is given to us today is an invitation, not a command. “Whoever wishes to come after me....Whoever wishes to save his/her life....” Jesus wants us to be fully aware of what we are taking on. But we won’t always feel the divine pat on the back for a job well done. Like Jesus, we may just have to keep going, trusting the call we once heard. Jesus invites us into the same daily journey. What might we lose? In following Jesus, we might

• find ourselves at odds with our family’s fundamental choices and criteria for success

• refuse to practice unethical behavior, even at the risk of our academic advancement or careers

• choose forgiveness against voices telling us to be “realistic” and not naive

• do an honest day’s work, even when the boss is not looking and others are cutting corners and telling us “everyone else does it”

• treat co-workers with respect, despite their job skills, level of education or social status

• welcome the newcomers into our social grouping, and treat them as “one of us”

Jesus invites you into the same daily journey. What might you gain? Only you can answer this question for yourself. Spend some time this week reflecting not only on the risks of discipleship, but also on its rewards. 

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action: (From Pope Francis, on the opening of the Synod October 2021) The Gospels frequently show us Jesus on a journey; he walks alongside people and listens to the questions and concerns working in their hearts. He shows us that God is not found neat and orderly places, distant from reality, but walks ever at our side. He meets us where we are, on the often rocky road of life. God travels the path of history and shares in the life of humanity are we prepared for the advantage of this journey? How do I live as though I am really on this journey with God?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Action: Read this part of chapter 12 of the gospel of John. Jesus answered :“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life* loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me. I am troubled* now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.” The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come for my sake but for yours. Sometimes we forget that Jesus was human, just as we  are, with the same hopes and fears.  In this section of John, we see hints of the internal difficulties he faced.  It could not have been easy for him, just as impending, potentially hard, events are not always easy for us.   Share with Jesus your understanding of his human fears and trepidations, his impending loss of his friends and his very life.  Put yourself in his place as he stares down the stark realities of his future.  Pick a phrase from this passage that speaks to you, or one that you struggle with.  Then share with him a time when you suffered for doing the right thing, and share, too, your temptations to sometimes take the easy way out, because it is sometime so very hard  follow in his footsteps,

Poetic Reflection

Read the following poem by Mary Oliver. What is your response?

The Journey
One day you finally knew
what you had to do and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice—
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
around your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried 
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late 
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save
the only life you could save.

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 23, 2026

Who is Jesus for me, and how does Jesus impact my life?

GOSPEL

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.

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

Structure of Matthew chapter 16 can be divided into five parts:

1. The Pharisees demand a sign and Jesus responds (verses 1-4)

2. Jesus' warning to avoid the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees (verses 5-12)

3. Peter's profession of the Christ and the Son of God founds His Church (verses 13-20)

4. The first prediction of the Passion (verses 21-23)

5. Jesus states the conditions of discipleship (verses 24-28)

Matthew 16:1-4 — The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand a Sign from Heaven 1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came and, to test him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He said to them in reply, "(in the evening you say, Tomorrow will be fair, for the sky is red'; 3 and, in the morning, Today will be stormy, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to judge the appearance of the sky, but you cannot judge the signs of the times.)  4 An evil and unfaithful [adulterous] generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Then he left them and went away. (..) this passage does not appear in all manuscripts; [..] = literal translation (The Interlinear Bible: Greek-English, vol. IV, pages 46-47). This is the second time Jesus has been asked to produce a "sign" that His authority comes from God (12:38), but this time it isn't just the Pharisees and scribes who are asking. The Sadducees have also come from Jerusalem to demand that Jesus produce a sign from heaven to authenticate His claims (i.e., 9:6). Both groups are refusing to accept His exorcisms and healings as evidence of the authentication of His claims. That they are united in their desire to "test" Jesus (verse 1) may suggest a link to Satan who also tested Jesus (Mt 4:1-11). Jesus has already referred to the Pharisees and scribes who oppose Him as the "sons" of Satan when He called them a "brood of vipers" and accused them of being evil (Mt 12:34).

Question: What did Jesus tell the Pharisees and scribes who demanded a sign in 12:38-42?
Answer: Jesus called them an "evil and unfaithful/adultrous generation" and told them no sign would be given except the "sign of Jonah."

The Sadducees were rivals of the Pharisees; both groups competed for the approval and support of the people. Most of the chief priests were Sadducees. This is the first of several occasions where the two groups will be united in their opposition to Jesus. 

Question: Why are they asking for a "sign from heaven"/from God and what kind of sign are they demanding as proof that His authority comes from God if His words of healing of the sick, restoring of the physical disabled, casting out demons and raising the dead are not enough?
Answer: Their purpose is to discredit Jesus in front of the people. They are probably asking for a sign like the Theophany at Sinai.

Matthew 16:2-3 — He said to them in reply, "[in the evening you say, Tomorrow will be fair, for the sky is red'; 3 and, in the morning, Today will be stormy, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to judge the appearance of the sky, but you cannot judge the signs of the times.]  The bracketed passage is not found in a number of important Greek manuscripts of Matthew, but it is similar to a passage in Luke 12:54-56.

Question: What is Jesus' response to their demand for a sign from God in this passage?
Answer: He tells them they apparently know how to read the signs of the weather but cannot read the "signs of the times," meaning they cannot or will not interpret His miracles as signs of His authority and the beginning of the Messianic Age as predicted in the writings of the prophets.

Matthew 16:4 — An evil and unfaithful (adulterous) generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Then he left them and went away. 

Question: When did Jesus make this same charge previously and what is significant about Jesus using the charge of adultery in the literal translation? See the chart "Symbolic Images of the Old Testament Prophets."
Answer: Jesus' accusation that His generation is "adulterous," means that they are unfaithful to Yahweh who is Israel's divine Bridegroom; it is another symbolic image of the prophets "marriage" imagery for Israel's covenant relationship with God. When the Israelites become "unfaithful" to their covenant obligations they are behaving like an adulterous wife. Jesus made the same charge in 12:39.

Question: Once again Jesus tells His opponents that the only sign they will be given is the "sign of Jonah." What is that sign? See 12:39-40 and CCC 994.
Answer: Using the "sign" of the prophet Jonah who was inside the belly of the whale (or great fish) for three days before he was released, Jesus predicted His death and Resurrection as the only sign they will see.

Mathew 16:5-12 — Jesus' Warning against the Teaching of the Failed Leadership of the Old Covenant 5 In coming to the other side of the sea, the disciples had forgotten to bring bread.  6 Jesus said to them, "Look out, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 7 They concluded among themselves, saying, "It is because we have brought no bread."  8 When Jesus became aware of this he said, "You of little faith, why do you conclude among yourselves that it is because you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand, and do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many wicker baskets you took up? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? 11 How do you not comprehend that I was not speaking to you about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. There are some amusing elements to this exchange between Jesus and His disciples. Jesus is still focused on His confrontation with the Pharisees and Sadducees and uses leaven as a symbol of their false interpretation of the Law and their evil influence that spreads like an infection in the same way yeast expands dough. The disciples, however, are more concerned about their empty stomachs "their focus is more on the material than the spiritual.

Question: How does Jesus point out that it is ridiculous for them to be concerned about the lack of bread?
Answer: He reminds them of the two miracle feedings. If He can feed more than five thousand and more than four thousand He can certainly provide for their needs. When Jesus repeats His warning, they suddenly understand that Jesus is comparing leaven to the false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.(1) A small amount of leaven can ferment the whole batch of dough (13:33) but the wrong amount can also cause the dough to go bad (1 Cor 5:6; Gal 5:9) just as the false doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees threatens to misguide the people (Mt 15:14).

Matthew 16:13-20 — St. Peter's Profession of the Christ and Jesus Proclaims the Founding of His Church 13 When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17 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. 18 And so I say to you, you are Peter [Petros], and upon this rock [petra] I will build my Church [ekklesia], and the gates of the netherworld [Hades] shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of 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." 20 Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah. [..] = literal translation (The Interlinear Bible: Greek-English, vol. IV, pages 47-48 ). Jesus led His disciples to the region of Caesarea Philippi, about 40 km (more than 20 miles) north of the Sea of Galilee). Caesarea Philippi was a town (also described as a collection of villages in Mk 8:27) located on the southern slope of Mount Hermon, strategically located on the border with Syria. It was located in what had been the territory of the Israelite tribe of Dan that was at one time the northern boundary of the Promised Land. At this time it was part of the tetrarchy of Herod the Great's son Philip and had a largely Gentile population. It was near the site of one of the springs that was a source of the Jordan River, the site of which was considered to be a spiritual location from the time of the Canaanite inhabitants who built shrines to Baal-gad (Josh 11:17; 12:7; 13:5) and Baal-hermon (Judg 3:3; 1 Christian 5:23). After the Greek conquest in the 4th century BC, the Greeks dedicated a shrine to Pan (pagan god of nature, shepherds, flocks, the spring and fertility) at the site where the headwaters of the Jordan River emerged from the ground (Josephus, Antiquities, 15.10.3 [364]). They also named the nearly town Panias after the Greek god. Then, in the latter part of the 1st century BC, Herod the Great built a temple to Caesar Augustus near the source of the Jordan River. When Philip became the ruler of the region, he rebuilt the small town of Panias into a Hellenistic city, naming it after the Roman Caesar and adding his own name.(2)  In choosing this rocky mountain location to announce the foundation of His Church upon Peter and Peter's proclamation of faith in Jesus as the divine Messiah, Jesus was reclaiming holy ground that had been usurped by the pagans.

Question: Using His favorite title for Himself, what does Jesus ask the disciples and why do they respond the way they do?Answer: He asks what was the common view of the people concerning His identity, and they respond that some think He is John the Baptist returned from the dead like Herod Antipas (Mt 14:2), others think He is the prophet Elijah who was prophesied to herald the coming of the Messiah (Mal 3:23/4:5), while others say Jesus has come in the spirit of the prophet Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.

All of the men mentioned by the disciples were prophets. While there had been many false prophets, the people realized that the true spirit of prophecy had been absent from the people of God since the last prophet Malachi in the 5th century BC. The coming of God's supreme prophet as promised in Deuteronomy 18:15-19 and an outpouring of God's Spirit (Ez 36:26-27; Joel 3:1-2) were the signs that the people believed heralded the coming of the Messianic Age. Jesus was teaching with authority, speaking in the symbolic language of the prophets and performing miracles and symbolic acts like the prophets.

Question: Does Jesus ever refer to Himself as a prophet? See Mt 13:57 and Lk 13:33.
Answer:  Yes, Jesus referred to Himself as a prophet during His visit to Nazareth and will again before He goes to Jerusalem to die.

Then Jesus asks His disciples what they believe about His true identity.

Question: How does St. Peter respond to Jesus' question concerning His true identity?
Answer: Peter confesses that He is not only the Messiah but that He is the Son of the Living God.

Question: What does Peter mean using these titles for Jesus in his confession of faith? See CCC 441-42.
Answer: While the usual meaning of the title "son of God" in the Old Testament referred to a form of adoption as "sons" of God for angels, prophets, the children of Israel, Davidic kings, etc., this is not the way Peter offers his confession of Jesus' identity. It is Jesus' response which tells us that Peter understands Jesus' true identity as the divine Son of God the Father.

Matthew 16:17 — 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(emphasis added).

Question: What does Jesus' response reveal to the reader?
Answer: Acknowledging Peter's confession of faith, Jesus blesses him and tells the assembled disciples that Simon-Peter received this knowledge not from any human person ("flesh and blood") but, by the grace of God the Father, Peter has received a divine revelation of Jesus' true nature.

Matthew 16:18 — And so I say to you, you are Peter [Petros], and upon this rock [petra] I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld [Hades] shall not prevail against it.

Jesus would have been speaking in Aramaic and the Aramaic translation of the key words for "rock" in Jesus' statement would have been in English: "You are the Rock [Kepa] and upon this rock [kepa] I will build my Church." In response to Peter's confession of faith, Jesus reaffirms the new name He gave him when Jesus first met him on the banks of the Jordan River before He began His ministry in the Galilee. At that time He said, "You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Kephas" (which is translated Peter) (Jn 1:42; emphasis added; also see Mk 3:16 and Lk 6:14 for evidence an earlier name change). 

Kephas is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic word kepawhich means "rock."(3) In the Greek text Matthew uses the masculine Petrosfor the Greek feminine word for "rock" which is petra.  Bible scholars and historians have not found any evidence that either Kepha or Petros were used as personal names prior to Jesus conferring the name on Simon as the leader of the Apostles to symbolize his change in destiny from humble fisherman to the foundation stone of the Messiah's community of disciples (NJB Study Edition, page 1637, footnote "f").

Notice that Jesus identified the name of Peter's father as "John" (Yehohanan in Hebrew) in John 1:42. This same name for Peter's father is given in John 21:15, 16 and 17. However, in verse 17 Jesus calls him Simeon bar Jonah (Matthew uses the Aramaic word for son, "bar" instead of the Hebrew, "ben"). This is the sixth time Jesus has mentioned the Galilean prophet Jonah (see Mt 12:39, 40, 41 twice, and 16:4 or the chart in handout 1 of Lesson 16), symbolically linking the prophet Jonah to Jesus' mission. This time Jesus links Jonah to Peter's mission. 

Question: If Simon-Peter was the son of a man named "John," then why did Jesus call Peter "Simon son of Jonah"? How are Peter's mission and Jonah's mission alike?
Answer: Jonah was a Galilean who was sent by God to the Gentile people of Nineveh, the capital city of the region's super-power, the Assyrian Empire, to tell them to repent and to acknowledge the God of Israel. Jesus will send the Galilean, Simon-Peter, to Rome, the capital city of the region's super-power, the Roman Empire, to tell the Gentiles of the Roman world to repent and to accept Jesus as Lord-God and Savior.

Jesus changed Simon's name to Kepha "Rock, Petros in Greek and Peter in the English transliteration of the Greek name. A change in the name of a servant of God signifies a change in destiny, as in Hoshea's name change to Yehoshua/Joshua (Num 13:16). In the Old Testament "rock" was a word used to describe Abraham as the physical father from whom the children of Israel were hewn (Is 51:1-2). Rock is not just an adjective used to describe Peter as the spiritual father of the New Covenant children of God. Jesus uses the word as a personal name signifying a change in Simon's destiny as the leader and foundation "rock" of Jesus' Church (CCC 881). The Greek text uses the word ekklesia, meaning "called out." It is a word meant to define Jesus' assembly of believers. It is a word that in English is best translated as "Church" and expresses same meaning as the Hebrew word for the assembly of the chosen people who were the kahal, the "called out" ones "those called out of the world and into covenant with Yahweh.(4) and the gates of the netherworld [Hades] shall not prevail against it.Hades is the Greek word for the abode of the dead; in Hebrew the realm of the dead is Sheol. This realm of the dead was conceived of as a walled city in which its inhabitants were imprisoned. In this statement Jesus promises that His Church will not be overcome by the power of death "the Church of His heavenly kingdom will overcome death.

Matthew 16:19 — I will give you the keys of 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.

Question: What three spiritual gifts does Peter receive in Jesus' blessing in verses 17-19?
Answer: Peter has been given divine insight, power and authority. He has the authority to forgive sins or to bind sins (thus controlling the entrance into the heavenly kingdom) and is commissioned as the leader of the Apostles and the entire community of believers that will become the New Covenant Church.

Question: Jesus has elevated Simon-Peter above his fellow Apostles to be the leader of Jesus' ministers and the Vicar of His Kingdom. How is the office of the Davidic Vicar/Prime Minister Eliakim described in Isaiah 22:20-25?
Answer: 

• He wore a garment that identified his high office (verse 21)

• He was a "father" to the people of the kingdom (verse 21)

• As the Vicar of the King, the Davidic chief minister kept the "key of the house of David" (verse 22) 

• The key was his sign of authority and gave him the power to "open and shut" "make binding decisions for the good of the kingdom (verse 22) 

• He is responsible for the glory of his family "from the least to the greatest member ""all the little dishes, from bowls to jugs" (verse 24)

In the same way, Peter is now called to serve as the Vicar of Christ the King and have authority over His Kingdom of heaven on earth, the Church "the "household/family of Christ. Jesus' giving Peter the "keys of the kingdom of heaven" is Peter's official elevation to the office of Vicar of Christ's Kingdom and the shepherd of the whole flock (also see Jn 21:15-17; CCC 553). Peter's office, established by Jesus Christ and the pastoral office of the other Apostles as Christ's lesser ministers forms an apostolic college that belongs to the foundation of the Church. These are offices founded by Christ that are continued in the primacy of the Pope and the universal Magisterium of the bishops (CCC 869, 880-81).

Question: The responsibilities of Peter's high office have been passed down to Christ's Vicars who have succeeded him. How is the authority of the Popes of the Catholic Church, the Vicars of Christ who have succeeded St. Peter, the same as the Davidic Vicars?
Answer:

• The Pope wears a garment that identifies his high office

• He is a "father" to the people of Christ's kingdom "the Church 

• As the Vicar of the King, the Pope has the symbolic "keys of the Kingdom Jesus entrusted to Peter 

• The keys are his sign of authority and give him the power to "bind and loose" "make binding decisions for the good of the Church 

• He is responsible for the glory of his family, the community of the world-wide Church "from the least to the greatest members

Question: Unlike the Davidic Vicar in Isaiah 22:22, Peter will be given the "keys" plural. What are the two keys that are in Peter's control?
Answer: The two keys refer to the power Peter has to "bind and loose" sins, controlling the keys that give access to the kingdom of heaven "the key that releases man from the gates of death in Sheol/Hades and the key that provides entry into the gates of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. The authority to "bind and loose" will be repeated to Peter and the college of Apostles (Mt 18:18) and is reaffirmed after Jesus' Resurrection when Jesus breaths the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and tells them: "Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, so I send you."And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained" (Jn 20:21-23).

Question: What authority did Jesus give Peter and the Apostles and their successors in using the metaphors of binding and loosing? See CCC 553, 1441-45.
Answer: The power to bind and loose is exercised by Christ's Vicar and the Magisterium:

• To forgive sins and to pronounce penance for sins to reconcile sinners to the Church

• To give authoritative teaching and make judgments concerning correct doctrine

• To discipline the congregation of the faithful when some fall into error by imposing or later lifting the ban of excommunication

From this time forward, the acknowledgement of Jesus' divine sonship will become the confession of apostolic faith revealed by God, first spoken by Peter and the Apostles and disciples, and repeated by the faithful across the world today; it is on the rock of this faith, confessed by Peter, that Christ built His Church (CCC 424).

Matthew 16:20 — Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah. According to the Gospel of St. John, this is the second year of Jesus' ministry. Jesus warns the disciples not to reveal His true identity. Such a declaration would serve to intensify the enmity of the Pharisees and Sadducees and it is not yet time for the climax of salvation history's great drama of the revelation of the Messiah. However, now that His disciples know His true identity, Jesus will begin to prepare them for the traumatic events they are destined to experience.

Matthew 16:21-23 — Jesus' First Prediction of the Passion 21 From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.  22 Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you."  23 He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." Verse 21 announces a turning point in Jesus' ministry. This is the first of three predictions that Jesus gives concerning His Passion (also see Mt 17:22-23; 20:17-19). In sharing this secret with the disciples, Jesus is correcting the common misperception that the Messiah is coming in triumph and glory to vanquish Israel's enemies and to re-establish the Davidic kingdom on earth just as it had been in the past in the glory days of kings David and Solomon. Jesus' revelation of His suffering and death in fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies of the Suffering Servant (Is 52:13-53:12) marks a new phase in Jesus' ministry, as Matthew introduces with the phrase "From that time on ..." (Mt 16:21). See the chart Isaiah’s Suffering Servant fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. The reference to the "third day" in verse 21, in addition to being a link to the "sign of Jonah" may also be meant to recall Hosea 6:1-2: In their affliction, they shall look for me: "Come, let us return to the LORD, for it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds. He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence.

Question: Why does Peter resist what Jesus has told the disciples about His suffering and death, and why does Jesus rebuke him so harshly? Hint: Peter may be thinking of the fate of other chief priests opposed God's plan in favor of their own (see Lev 10:1-2).
Answer: Peter now understands that Jesus is the divine Messiah "He is God Himself come to gather His scattered people and fulfill the prophecy of Ezekiel chapter 34. Peter knows the Temple hierarchy has no power over the Christ and so he cannot comprehend why Jesus would allow Himself to be killed by those in authority over the Church of the Sinai Covenant when He could simply consume them in holy fire like the rebellious priestly sons of Aaron. Jesus rebukes Peter because he has voiced opposition to God's plan when he should be humbly accepting God's plan and assisting Jesus in His mission.

The Hebrew word satan means adversary. Whenever one stands as an adversary to God's plan for man's salvation that person is indeed acting as Satan in human form. Jesus' rebuke of Peter is similar to His rebuke of Satan in Matthew 4:10.

Matthew 16:24-28 — Jesus States the Conditions of Discipleship 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. 28 Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." Jesus uses the image of a cross, an instrument of death in the execution of criminals, as a shocking metaphor for the obedience of discipleship. 

Question: What is Jesus condition for true discipleship?
Answer: The willingness to disown one's self interest to the point of being willing to die for Jesus.

Verse 27 is a prophecy of the return of Christ (the Parousia) after His Ascension and the Last Judgment, but in the next verse Jesus says that there are those standing in His presence who will witness the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. The coming in His glory and the coming of His Kingdom are two different events.

Question: What is "the Kingdom" of Jesus Christ in verse 28? See Mt 13:38 and 41.
Answer: According to the Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat, the Kingdom of the Son of Man is the world and the Church is the place where His kingdom is manifested.

Jesus' sovereignty over the world will be established in His glorious Resurrection when He has defeated sin and death. His sovereignty over the world precedes His Second Coming in glory in the event of the Parousia. Those who will live to see the Son of Man "coming in His Kingdom" are those who will live to see His glorious Resurrection and Ascension. The phrase the Son of Man coming in his kingdom is probably also a reference to Daniel's vision: I saw One like a son of man coming on the clouds of heaven; when he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, he received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed(Dan 7:13-14). Jesus will refer to this passage at His trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin (Mt 26:64; Mk 14:61-64).

First Impressions by Jude Siciliano, OP

Let’s start with the Romans reading because Paul sounds like he’s on a high. The first two verses end in exclamation points. In the next two he quotes from another source and each ends in question marks; but they could just as easily have been exclamation points too, “For who has known the mind of the Lord...!” I imagine another exclamation would quite nicely end the closing verse as well. So, I wonder why is Paul so excited? It helps, as always with Paul, to put the lines in context. In chapters 9-11 of Romans Paul struggles with the seeming failure of Israel to respond to the grace offered in Jesus Christ.  While Paul’s beloved people seemed, as a whole, to reject God’s outreach to them in Christ; the gentiles did  accept God’s hand. Paul concludes that God used the initial rejection by the Jews as an opportunity to reach out to the gentiles, who were the recipients of Paul’s preaching (“the apostle to the gentiles,” 11:13). Paul is confident that the same grace freely bestowed on the gentiles will, in turn, be offered to Israel as well (11: 25-26). God’s mercy is available to both gentile and Jew; indeed, Paul concludes, God can even use rebellious hearts to produce a gracious end. That is what has Paul so excited; that God has used even the rejections of Jesus by the Jews as away to reach out to the gentiles. And more, for Paul says that God continues to embrace Israel in mercy (11: 25-26). Paul shouts out in praise of God because he has come to see that God can use disobedience as an opportunity for grace.  In response to what Paul is saying, we shouldn’t give up on our selves, or anyone else. As persistent as the habit of sin is in us and our institutions, God’s grace is even more persistent. Considering Paul’s “grace optimism,” do we have any authority or grounds to label a person or a situation hopeless? We and our world are a combination of sin and grace; frailty and power; despair and hope; indifference and passionate concern. Paul wrote Romans to a church that consisted of Jews and gentiles. Hearing his message should have awakened in them an awareness of how all of them, despite their different backgrounds and human limitations, had been recipients of grace. Thus, no individual or group could claim priority or privilege over any one else. Nor could they, or we, consider the book closed on anyone. We might close the book, but God opens it to continue the work of salvation. In Romans, Paul has been saying, in one way or another, what he said in 8: 39-39, “For I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor powers, neither height nor depth nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” That’s why Paul is so “turned on” in today’s passage from Romans. During pre-Vatican II days there weren’t many scriptural verses we kids learned in catechism class–maybe two or three. Well, today’s gospel passage contains one of them, “...you are Peter...etc.” Those were pre-ecumenical days when we were still in a defensive/offensive stance. Quoting this statement about Peter and “my church,” was our way of affirming the legitimacy of the papacy and our Catholic church against “those Protestants who broke away from the one true church.” Sorry, that’s just the way it was. We also got an equal amount of prejudice from the other side. Let’s pray those days are behind us. Let’s pray the ecumenism since Vatican II doesn’t falter. Sometimes it feels as if it is. Who wants to go back to those days anyhow? Let’s start with the affirmation Jesus gives Peter. Matthew makes Peter the spokesperson for the early church’s faith, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew wrote about Peter’s faith declaration three decades after Peter’s martyrdom for the faith he is expressing in this passage. But as the gospel narrates the disciples’ journey with Jesus to Jerusalem, we hear about their all-too-human qualities. At the point we are at in today’s gospel, Peter and the disciples are not ready to die for Jesus. But they will be when they experience the resurrection. What Peter is professing today is the faith that he and the early Christians had after they met the risen Jesus. Peter is still in an early stage of discipleship, yet he makes a terrific leap of faith in response to Jesus’ question, “But who do you say I am?” What was the source of Peter’s strong testimony? He certainly wasn’t speaking out of an insight derived from human reasoning; nor what he had learned from others. His faith, Jesus tells him, is a gift of revelation from God.  It is this faith that will be the solid foundation for Jesus’ “church.” Peter is the spokesperson for the community that came to believe in the resurrected Christ. Today’s episode, we are told, takes place in the region of Caesarea Philippi. It is pagan territory and it is there that Jesus asks Peter a question about his identity; not in a safe enclosure, a shrine or a religious site. Rather, the faith question is asked in a non-believing milieu. Much like the one in which we modern believers must answer the same question. Our response will not only be in words or in doctrinal formula; we will make the response by how we live and die. Peter’s faith gave him strength to follow Christ all the way to dying like Christ. Legend has it Peter was also crucified. But more so, Peter imitated Christ in his daily dying to himself and living for Christ. It is on faith and example like Peter’s that Christ has built the church. The gospel story has us still in the midst of the disciples’ training period; they are not yet fully formed. A number of times in the gospels we are told the disciples didn’t understand; or that they were confused; or that their hearts were hardened. That was there reality at this stage of their formation with Christ. The resurrection, which empowered the disciples, had not yet happened.They were still in the thick of things, still not seeing clearly. Next Sunday will underline the all-too-frail nature of the disciples’ faith. Once again we will hear Peter speak for the community. Jesus will tell his disciples (16:21-27) that he must go to Jerusalem where he will be killed. Peter shows the other side of discipleship, the non-comprehending side. He responds to Jesus, “God forbid Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” And that’s when Jesus says, “Get behind me, Satan!  You are an obstacle to me.” They didn’t have us memorize that line in catechism class! And that’s something we will reflect on next Sunday. At liturgy this Sunday we join with Peter and the early community in celebrating what “flesh and blood” has not revealed to us; but God has. We proclaim, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  To proclaim this faith and live the kind of life that reflects it, goes against the “flesh and blood” of the world. A world that opts for self-indulgence not self-sacrifice and  individualism not community—like the community we are as a church. Jesus calls the forces lined up against the community he is founding, “the gates of the netherworld.” The revelation that opened Peter’s eyes to see and his tongue to proclaim Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” is our gift as well, as we run into “the gates of the netherworld.” We can see the inscription over these gates: cynicism in dealing with others; despair as we face large issues of violence and war; greed that puts ourselves first on the list; indifference to the pain of others; cowardice when our faith is challenged; conformity when prophetic witness is called for; and lukewarm religious practice that has stalled through neglect, etc.  (Here we can pause and name the inscriptions over the netherworld’s gates we are most aware of as we worship this day.) A rock solid faith has been given to us and trusting in the One Peter teaches us to call “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” the gates of the netherworld, in all its shapes and disguises shall not prevail against us. 

Justice Notes

These weekly quotes may be helpful in your preaching or may also be added to your weekly parish bulletin as a way of informing your faith community on some social issues. Just Preaching: Prophetic Voices of Economic Justice, edited by Andre Resner, Jr. N. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2003. Paper, ISBN 0-8272-1715-3 Essays and sermons addressing issues of homelessness, poverty and hunger in America. Over twenty distinguished preachers, teachers, administrators and social activists address the topic from various perspectives, some emphasize immediate direct aid and service while others call for larger social change. The book is addressed to preachers as a guide for how to help us move our congregations from service to acts of justice. 

Hunger stalks poor children, and even near-poor children, every day. One in three poor households experience “food insecurity,” as do one in four of the near-poor households. The chidren have too little to eat or are not certain that they will be able to eat, because the family lacks enough money. Just imagine not knowing if you will be able to eat at the next mealtime or if you will be able to eat enough to ease your hunger. Hunger’s nagging and relentless ache makes concentrating in school difficult. It stunts the growth of children’s bodies and drains their energy. If your congregation runs or supports a food pantry or soup kitchen, you may know firsthand that requests for emergency food have risen.  More than half the people requesting food are children or their parents. Despite an economic downturn, the number of children receiving help from food stamps has dropped over the past decade, in large part because families who have left welfare for work or eligible working families who have never been on welfare do not know what’s available or cannot spend hours filling out application forms in food-stamp offices, and because thousands of legal immigrants lost eligibility in 1996.

—Marian Wright Edelman, “Times of Trouble: The Assault of Poverty on America’s Children,” in Just Preaching..., page 123.

Reflection by Nancy Greenfield

Who do you say that I am? There is a story floating around theological circles that is a slightly different version of this gospel episode. Jesus says to Peter “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answers: "You are the MESSIAH”. Emboldened by Jesus’ look of approval he expands: “You are the logos, the Word Incarnate, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.” Warming to his topic, he goes on:  “You are the Realization of the Eschaton!” “You”, he continues, “are the bearer and goal of the upward movement of the universe toward the divine. You are the omega point.”  “You,” he finishes triumphantly, “You are the decisive and climatic moment in God’s self transcendental communication to mankind!” And Jesus answers “What????” Okay, Okay, so I made that up. But you know, each of those descriptions came out of years, sometimes hundreds of years of trying to figure out just who Jesus is. I guess we could fool around with words for another several hundred years and not nail down the essence of the real Jesus. What we sometimes don’t get is that we aren’t asked to give the theologically perfect answer. However, we are asked, as Christians, to respond to the question. To get back to our story: Peter, the first disciple to call Jesus the Messiah, was demonstrating a revolutionary understanding that the Messiah sent by God was not a king or a military leader but an itinerant preacher with no money or power at all. This Messiah was not sent by God to destroy the Romans, vindicate the Jews and give them back autonomy over their land. Instead he came to “bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to release prisoners and to announce a year of favor from the Lord”. Now in many ways, Peter, especially the pre-resurrection Peter, was a flawed individual: impulsive, ambitious, sometimes even prone to violence. What did Jesus see in him? I think there are two things: First, Peter understood, even if a bit dimly, that Jesus’ main message was that God’s ways are different from the ways of humanity, and that Jesus, through his unique relationship to God, was sent to proclaim God’s kingdom. A kingdom where the rule of competition and force is replaced by the rule of compassion and love. Jesus’ whole life was testimony to the heart of God. A heart that forgives, that cares, that reaches out and wants to heal. Secondly, what Jesus saw in Peter, despite his many flaws, was a heart big enough to encompass all of humanity. Peter had the capacity to love and to care.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes concrete this love with the command to “feed my lambs, feed my sheep”. It was not enough for Peter to say the right words. Peter had to respond when Jesus entrusted his fledgling group of followers to him. The cost, as we learn in the Acts of the Apostles, was enormous! Jesus called on Peter to lead this community of followers, which eventually became what we call the Church, in bringing about a kingdom of justice and peace in tumultuous and difficult times. Peter became the embodiment of generosity, forgiveness and compassion for his flock of believers strung across the eastern Mediterranean. Peter’s way of being church can be the ideal model for our church throughout the ages. Our church, with all its flaws, and there are many, has stood out as a refuge for those who had nowhere else to go. Without ignoring the excesses of extravagance that existed throughout our Church’s history, we must acknowledge the Church’s call to deal with both the effects of the causes of injustice, cruelty, poverty and war. In recent years, this has become a clarion call and a definitive mission for the entire church: In his first encyclical, “God is Love”, Pope Benedict puts service to the poor and love of neighbor on the same level as the administration of the sacraments and the proclamation of the Word.  That’s pretty serious! We are called to share in the compassionate work of our present Church to alleviate suffering whether it be in East Africa, or East Palo Alto, to feed those starving because of war, drought, economic uncertainty and the cruelty of others. To bring food security and medical help to those least able to access it themselves. Organizations such as Catholic Worker, or St Anthony’s Dining Room on a local level, or Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services on a national and an international level, invite us as individuals and as Church to share in creating the kingdom that Jesus envisioned when he said to Peter: I will give you the Keys of the Kingdom”. But the real questions we must ask ourselves are: Who is Jesus for me? Do I really believe that Jesus speaks for God? Once you decide, as Peter did, that Jesus speaks for God, then you have to take seriously what he says. And these are some of the things Jesus had to say about God’s kingdom, about God’s will:

Blessed are the Poor
Woe to you rich
Forgive your brother seventy times seven
Do good to those who hurt you
Stop judging, that you may not be judged
You cannot serve God and money
I desire mercy, not sacrifice
Do not store for yourselves treasures on earth

Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. If we take Jesus seriously, then, like Peter, we are going to have to change our way of looking at how we do things, as  ndividuals, as members of a church community, as citizens of the world. We each must come face to face with the mystery of Jesus and in the attempt to define Jesus we will define ourselves (adapted from Leonardo Boff). So who is Jesus for me? I have to admit that the answer has been different depending on what was going on in my life at the time and what God wanted me to understand.  At this moment, Jesus is for me the model of the compassion of God. He not only preached compassion, but he lived it.  He turned his attention to the poor, the outcast, those in sorrow and those without hope. And I am called to do the same, in my own limited and imperfect way. Compassion, in the words of Henri Nouwen, asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion and anguish. Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears. Compassion, I think, also requires more than emotion. It requires action.  It requires us to try to make the situation better through generosity, through sweat equity, and through examining and working to change unjust political and economic structures which have led to so much suffering in the first place. At some point, like Peter, I am called to answer Jesus’ question for myself. And the answer that I give will largely determine not just how I think about God and Jesus, but how I order my life—what matters, what doesn’t, who matters, who doesn’t. It means conforming my life to the life of Christ. It’s not an easy task, I will fail at it a lot, and the world may never understand what I am doing. But it’s the only way I know of to respond to the question: “Who do you say that I am?”

ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

Preparation for the Session

(Adaped from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025)

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence.  Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me.  May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others.  Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God?  With others in my life? What am I grateful for?  Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret?  I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt.  God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

Opening Prayer

(Adapted from “Sacred Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits)

You put the same question to me, Lord: “Who do you say that I am?” As I pray about your question, your own words echo in me: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”. In  times of trouble for me and for the world around me, let your promise, and my faith in that promise sustain me O Lord.

Companions for the Journey

From Jude Siciiano, O.P., in “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province: When Jesus asked Peter, "But who do you say that I am?" he wasn't asking Peter to recite a series of doctrines about his identity. He wasn't inviting him to recite the Nicene Creed we recite at Sunday Mass. That would come later when the Christian community had to address questions that had developed among its communities and when church teaching was challenged in the new lands where it had spread. The creeds and formulas would be necessary—but later.  No, Jesus was not asking Peter to work out a christological formula. That's clear from the beginning of the question, "But you...?" Jesus was inviting Peter to express his own faith. Does he believe in Jesus and what does he believe about Jesus? From his experience of Jesus and through the gift of God's grace, Peter has come to know that Jesus is the revelation of God to the world.  He articulates what the church has come to believe about Christ. The articles of that faith will be developed and taught to inquirers: but first comes Peter, expressing his faith and the faith of the first generation Christians. Other followers of Christ will have to answer the same question and pass on that faith to their children and those to whom they preach. They will announce to anyone who will listen—who Jesus is and what difference he made in their lives. The creeds will emerge, but the teachings will have little meaning if people have not, in one way or another, answered the question Jesus asks us today, "But who do YOU say that I am?" Jesus isn't just asking us if we go to church on Sunday; if we send out children to religious education classes or say grace before meals. First of all, he invites us to acknowledge our belief in him and to bear witness to his love and manner of living in the world. Those who know us usually can detect our preferences. If we say we are big Atlanta Braves fans but never watch a game, wear a team insignia or know who plays first base—people will begin to wonder. If we say we love to read, but all we talk about at social gatherings are the evening TV shows and soaps—people will begin to wonder. If we say we are very concerned about the environment, but never recycle, drive a gas guzzler and keep all the lights on in our homes—people will begin to wonder. If we say we are Christians, yet there is little that signifies Jesus has made any difference in our lives—people will begin to wonder. If we insist our children must go to church with us, but at home they hear us use racial slurs, utter stereotypical comments about the poor and immigrants and gossip about people in our church—our children will begin to wonder: "Are my parents (grandparents, uncles or aunts) really Christians, or do they just go to church?"  "But who do you say I am?" Jesus asks us today. What response to the question does our life reveal to those observers around us? Jesus' question isn't just asked of us as individuals. It is posed to our church as well. If our Christian community fits comfortably into the society around it; never raises an objection to public discriminatory policies; never speaks up to represent those who have little power or no voice; welcomes only those who look and act like the established members; is more fussy about ritual and decorum and less concerned about newcomers and how to welcome them and incorporate them into our community and its rituals, then when Jesus asks us, "Church, who do you say that I am?" in reality our answer is, "You are an admirable leader and teacher and a good role model—and that's it." Peter voiced the faith the early church had in Jesus. It was to be the message they proclaimed, "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God." Those who accepted that message professed their faith in God's unique presence and revelation manifested in Christ. In accepting Jesus as "the Son of the living God," and receiving the grace God offered them in Christ, they agreed to change their ways. Jesus was more than a role model for believers. In him God offered humanity the grace to live Christ's life of love and service—especially to serve those Jesus served, the least in the eyes of society. In response to Jesus' initial question, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" Peter responds, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." People may have had differing opinions, but they seem to have agree that they saw Jesus in the line of the great prophets.  His words and life had revealed to them that he must be speaking with the authority of God. High praise indeed! But Jesus disregards those opinions and asks the question more directly to his disciples, "But who do you say that I am?" The faith Peter and the disciples come to profess in Christ should not be kept to themselves. They must not form a secretive and isolated sect that will strive to avoid contamination from the world. Quite the opposite.  Peter speaks the faith of the post-resurrection church. This is the faith Jesus will send them out to proclaim. Peter will bear the keys, like Eliakim in our first reading, who carried "the key of the House of David." Peter will have the mission of stewardship to lead the early church by his preaching, teaching, example and his ultimate martyrdom. Peter's faith will be accepted by many and those who profess it will be strengthened as they face persecution; the long wait for Jesus' return; internal conflicts that would shake the church to its foundation, and pastoral disputes. Peter and the disciples will be instructed to do as Jesus did for them; to be a servant church and wash the feet of others. Their task will be to lead others to accept Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God," and to sustain and serve the community as its members attempt to live out the faith in the One they profess. Jesus said he would build his church on rock. Sometimes it feels that the church is less on rock and more on sand. We have all sorts of divisions that distract our energies and create an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust. It doesn't feel like a rock-solid church, does it? A quick survey of our history reminds us that we aren't going through anything those before us didn't also go through in one way or another. From the very beginning we have had both saints and sinners among our popes, bishops, priests, religious and laity. At times it is very discouraging.  At those low moments, when we feel our dreams and ideals are under siege, we might want to repeat as a mantra what Jesus promised, "...the gates of the nether world shall not prevail against it." We give praise today that, despite our less-than stellar performance as the people of God, Christ has not abandoned us.  We can praise God today for the prophetic leaders we have had in our past and have today who: speak out against war and the death penalty; defend all life; protect the rights of those displaced by famine and civil war; provide shelter for the homeless and abused, etc.  In our church, while there are signs of our shaky faith, there are also ample reminders that Christ is very much with his church. Just as he promised he would be.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow.

Reflection Questions:

Has anyone ever asked you for an opinion on something and you at first responded with what the world suggests, or with what authorities are recommending? 
Why was it hard to state your own opinion?

Like the disciples in this story, we tend to undervalue “heroes” from our own present time in favor of those from times past. Who are my “heroes”?

What does my current culture say about Jesus? 
What does my Church say about Jesus?   

What do I say when Jesus asks me the question in my heart?  

What is Jesus to me?   

How difficult is it for me to rely on my own relationship with Jesus to answer these questions?  
How do I live out my answer?   

Belief is expressed not only in words, but in behavior.  What do I believe about Jesus?
What do my actions and attitudes say about what I believe?

In the text there are many opinions concerning Jesus and several ways of expressing faith. Today, also there are many diverse opinions concerning Jesus. Which are the opinions of our own CC@S community concerning Jesus?

In this coming academic year, we are called to reflect and act on what we as a community believe Jesus stands for.
What mission results for us from this?

What qualities might Jesus see in me?  
What title might he give me?  
Will it take time for me to grow into his mission?

Recall a time when you were entrusted with a serious responsibility.  How did you feel?

A biblical scholar said; The “Rock” is not Peter; it is Peter’s faith” on which Jesus built his Church.  What do you think this means?

From Daniel J Harrington, S.J.:
What ironies are involved in Jesus’ calling Simon the “rock”? 
When and how did Peter become the rock on which the church is built? 
Is it because of his strengths or because of his weaknesses, or both?

Peter was given power and authority.  How do you interpret that power in practical terms?   
What are the downsides of that power?

In what ways have the successors of Peter lived out the imperative given by Jesus?
Who is your favorite pope?  
Why?   
Had he made mistakes?
Who is your least favorite pope?  
Why?   
Had he made mistakes?

What do you consider the authority of the Catholic Church concerning sin and forgiveness?

Someone else cannot answer life’s critical questions for us.   Have I ever abdicated my own responsibility for formulating answers for myself—in other words, have I relied too excessively on religious or civil authorities, on “experts” or on friends and relatives?  
How have I made use of the advice or guidance others have given me and how has that advice impacted my decision making?

Closing Prayer

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for. (Found on the internet for the feast of St. John Chrysostum) 

Holy Father, send Your Divine Enlightener into the hearts of all Your faithful, filling us with the strength to fulfil our mission as the followers of the Chair of St Peter. And most of all, we pray Lord Holy God, to inspire and light the way of our Holy Father, Leo. Sustain and guide him, keep him in health and strength, to lead Your people by the Light of the Way and the Truth. Holy Father, have mercy on us, Holy Spirit guide and lead us, Lord Jesus Christ be our intercessor and teacher, amen.

FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session:
Who do YOU say that I am?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions (Adapted from “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province) Only in Matthew’s Gospel is the word “ekklesia” found. It literally means the “called-out gathering.” The “called community” was formed by the earthly Jesus to continue his work. The “ekklesia” focuses on Jesus’ identity and authority, not on Peter’s. The church is not simply about a future world, but about being signs of the kingdom’s presence here and now. As Jesus proclaimed, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand. .” Jesus’ question: “Who do you say that I am?”  will define who I am; how I live; what I do; whom I become in my life.” I take some time to answer carefully this very question Jesus was asking of his disciples. Our individual responses to Jesus’ question will, of course, bind us more profoundly to Him. They will, in turn, bind us more closely to one another so that we will not only give an individual, but also a communal witness to Christ -- for we are the “ekklesia,” “the called out gathering,” called to effectively impact our world, so that others might be stirred to ask us important questions too, like: “Who do you say Jesus is?” “What does he mean to you?”  How would I or my church answer them?

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination: (From “Sacred Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits) Suppose that Jesus suddenly put his question to me in my prayer today, what would I say? Let me be honest with him, no matter if I feel ashamed of what I come up with. Jesus reads my heart long before I speak. Perhaps he then invites me to chat with Peter, who getst the formula right in this scene, but in other places tries to argue Jesus out of his passion, making Jesus so angry as to call him ‘Satan’. Peter also in a little while will deny that he even knows Jesus! But Lord, let me see that Peter’s weakness is the making of him: he finally learns not to trust in himself but in you alone. After the resurrection when you question him, he is honest in saying; You know that I love you’. And that is enough. Let his example help me to learn your forgiving love through my weaknesses and let me love you ever more deeply.

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions: (From “Faith Book”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province) Peter got it right. Jesus is the Messiah, the one who had come to liberate not only those enslaved by Rome, but all who are poor and oppressed. His liberating power was handed on to Peter and his companions and is our responsibility today. We are to loose those who are bound and to bind the powers of those who threaten the freedom of God’s children in any way.

So we ask ourselves: 

• What do I need to ask Jesus to liberate me from?

• How can I help another experience a similar liberation?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action: Not just Peter, but all of those disciples were the early church. I am not just a follower of the Church, I am Church. Do I speak and serve in love? Do I reflect the face of Christ to others? I plan one or two ways this week to proclaim Christ to a loved one. I plan one or two ways this week to serve a stranger in Christ’s name. I make a resolution to follow through on my plans.

Poetic Reflection

How does the following poem by Rev Ed Ingreretzen, S.J., illustrate the difficulty of responding to the questions: “Who do You say that I am”?

Lonely Christ
Lonely Christ 
I pray to you.
You are a puzzle to me
as those I love
always are.

My soul is at odds 
with the words.
What mad reach of mine
touches any thread of you?
Or what of mine, arms or eyes,
ever shares with people
where they may lie—
as they always do—
in a hard place!

What of mine shall make good
their taking of a breath,
their rising, caring, feeding
their sleeping in fear—
what shall make good
their slight faith,
their enormous promises
made in iron 
for a child, man, a woman—

what of mine shall be with the people
as they caress a special grief
fondled again and again
In bludgeoned love?

What do I bring 
with which to clutch
the merest hint of your shadow?

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 16, 2026

We must have faith in God’s goodness against all indications to the contrary/God’s love is for all peoples…

GOSPEL

Matthew 15:21-28

At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus' disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us." He said in reply,
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, "Lord, help me." He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And the woman's daughter was healed from that hour.

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

Some Thoughts on This Scripture

Reflection
This is not the first biblical figure to argue with the Lord: Genesis and Exodus tell of times when Abraham and Moses gave out to God. This woman is different from the scribes who often tried to trap Jesus with arguments. She is begging for her daughter. There is something teasing and humorous about Jesus' first reply to her. He enjoyed that Semitic style of thrust and counter. His first response is what we often experience in prayer: no give. But a mother seeking health for her child is not easily deterred, and Jesus rewards her persistence -- I imagine him smiling as he blesses her.

Reflection
Lord I want to remember this. When I want something badly, I will keep after you and if necessary give out to you.

Reflection
We admire the mother or father who really fights for their child. They won't take no for an answer if their child is being bullied or treated unjustly in any way, they will fight for the best medical treatment for their sick child. The woman in the gospel is like that. She has a sick child and really wants healing. Who would not want the same? She almost forces Jesus into curing her little daughter. Her persistence is an effect of her faith, and because of her faith Jesus cures her child.

Reflection
There are many ways to ‘hear' words. They can be just sound, external meaning, like giving information or directions. The word of God is more like the word of a friend, spoken to the mind and to the heart. Or it is like the words of a caring parent giving advice or directions out of love. The Word of God gives meaning to life and is spoken always in love. Prayer is giving time to hearing this word on the deepest levels of our heart.

Reflection
‘Dogs' was a name for the Gentiles - and in this story the woman plays on its meaning to get Jesus to feed the dogs and, in this way, care for her. Maybe this is a ‘change moment' for Jesus when he realises through this poor woman that he is sent not only to his own lost ones, but that his mission is for the whole world.

Reflection
In the tradition preserved for us in the Scriptures, Jesus is presented to us as a formidable debater but in this instance the Canaanite woman comfortably wins the debating point. Jesus praises the woman for her faith but what was her faith? What did she believe about Jesus? One would love to know her subsequent history. Did this act of Jesus mark a turning point in her life? We do not know. 

First Impressions by Jude Siciliano, OP

I wish some of these gospel passages could be rewritten to make it easier for us preachers! The Canaanite woman comes to Jesus asking for help for her “tormented” daughter. She voices her petition in a way similar to others who came asking for Jesus’ help, “Have pity on me, Son of David!” She may not be Jewish, but she is even calling him by the messianic title. When others used this title they received a favorable response. But to the woman’s desperate request, Jesus’ is initially silent. Even his disciples want him to do something. Their request, “Send her away” (or as some have it, “dismiss her”), may suggest they wanted Jesus to drive out the demon and heal the daughter. But Jesus gives two responses, one to the disciples and the other to the woman. Both are discouraging. To the disciples he says, in effect, “She is not one of us [i.e., of the house of Israel]. She’s not one to whom I have been sent.” Sounds exclusive to me; hardly what we usually get from the universal Savior our faith professes. Would he exclude certain groups of people from our worship assemblies? Would the newcomer to our country find a warm welcome in his church?  Would he favor the benefactors over the welfare mothers and their crying infants in the back row? Would he want teenagers to dress according to code? Does he hear the prayer of someone who hasn’t prayed in thirty years as much as he does the devout nun in a monastery? Does he confirm the notions of those exclusive Christians who see all others as “infidels” of one kind or another? Not a very helpful notion during these days of religious strife, border incursions and terrorist threats against “others.”  We don’t need more sounds of exclusivity in our faith. We don’t need to sound like we are professing faith in a God who is on “our side” against “them.” To the petitioning woman Jesus speaks about taking the food of the children, the Jews, and “throwing” it to the dogs. Are we talking “pearls before swine” here? What kind of back-hand response was that? I would have preferred just the opening and closing part of the story: a desperate mother asks Jesus’ help, she acknowledges his messianic prerogative, and he rewards her by curing her daughter. There –  isn’t that what we have come to expect in these miracle stories? I’d rather not deal with the messy matter in the middle. Unfortunately, I didn’t write this gospel, Matthew did. We’ll have to work with what he gives us. But as preacher today, I wouldn’t sugar coat or ignore the rough edges of the story. Those who will hear the gospel proclaimed will not fail to miss the peevish or exclusive sounds of Jesus’ statements. For sure, they will be thinking, “Let’s see how you handle this one preacher!” What is Jesus doing “in the region of Tyre and Sidon” in the first place? It’s pagan territory.  Remember when he was among his own he met opposition. He may be getting away for rest or be taking a break from all the conflict he has been meeting. Ironically, among non-believers he hears a distressed Canaanite mother call him by the title he might have hoped to have heard from his own people, “Son of David.” How could he, in the end, ignore her? Some would interpret in less strident ways his harsh sounding response to the woman. “Dogs” is what the Jews called the Gentiles. However, the word Jesus uses in this passage for dogs is better translated, “pups.” But, even as we reduce the sting of his address to her, Jesus is still saying that salvation is to come through the Jews first. You can tell from our first reading that the Israelites heard that they had a vocation to the world; their faith was to be the way God reached out to all peoples. “The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord ...them I will bring to my holy mountain...for my house shall be called a house of prayer for ALL peoples.”  Isaiah’s words were not merely to be a prediction for some bright day in the future but were a call to act on God’s design and bring “all peoples” to God.  But Israel was frequently in a battered and defensive position, surrounded by unbelievers of all kinds. Quite naturally she became protective and insular, seeing the outside world as a danger to her faith and the faith of her young ones. The vast and inclusive vision of Isaiah is still a challenge to all believers. We have to make sure that, as we deal with charges and accusation from the outside, our God doesn’t get too small and become a God for a select few insiders who know the doctrines and rituals we profess. Turns out God’s plan is not confined and the woman’s faith in Jesus is a clear revelatory event to him. God is breaking through narrow categories and channels, reaching beyond the usual frontiers. Somehow she recognizes that God is much bigger and more inclusive than any narrow box religious people might use to try to contain God. By the woman’s turning to Jesus and his favorable response, the readers of Matthew’s gospel learned to reflect on their shared religious customs and life together.  Matthew’s community was originally Jewish with a few Gentile converts among them. This story must have been an encouragement to them to work out previous differences, find ways to live in harmony and common faith in Jesus. God may very well have first addressed Israel, but now all are welcome; the gate has been swung wide open. But the woman’s blight is not primarily one of religious doctrine. Her daughter, she says is “tormented by a demon.” At its heart, this is a story of a mother with a terribly distressed child. Who knows what strange behavior the child was manifesting. Perhaps she was even there with the mother. The times have changed a lot since Jesus’ day when illness or mental afflictions were attributed to roaming demons who happened to pounce upon and possess a person.  But we don’t have to look far to be able to name a father, mother or grandparent suffering because of a child. Notice the mother’s request, “Have pity on ME...” —such it the suffering a parent takes on when a child is distressed. Indeed, the parent would rather suffer in place of the child and is indeed suffering at least as much as the child. We pray for parents in the congregation today who are voicing a similar prayer for a child or grandchild, “Have pity on me, Lord.... My daughter/son/grandchild is tormented.” Some children seemingly change overnight and exhibit clear signs of torment—from drugs, alcohol, sexual addiction, abuse, rebellion, etc.  They show “possessed behavior”: turning on parents, family, friends and teachers; becoming violent, drifting, turbulent, troublesome at school; associating with a new and rough element; becoming indifferent in class and rejecting activities they once loved. What a torment for those who love them! Most often, even before we pray for ourselves, we offer desperate prayers for these children we love so much and can’t seem to help. How many parents, desperate to help their children, like the Canaanite woman, have accompanied them to talk to teachers, or sit hours with them in the company of counselors and therapists to calm their troubled and tormented spirits? All the while, voicing in these or other words, this Canaanite mother’s prayer, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David.  My daughter/son is tormented.” The woman’s story also reminds us that we too have come to Jesus through the Jews. We share the same faith; we see the hope this faith gave our ancestors in their wait for salvation. We are reminded we have no claim to priority with Jesus. With the woman and her daughter, we are recipients of grace—all has been freely bestowed on us. What we see with this gift of sight is the God Jesus reveals to the woman; a God who would draw us close, sees our distress and helps us. The woman also teaches us perseverance in prayer. We pray not to have God finally relent to our persistence. We persevere in prayer because we know through Christ, we have a hearing before God. Our prayer keeps us expectant and ready to recognize God’s help when it does arrive.

Justice Bulletin Board by Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries, Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC

Observe what is right, do what is just.—Isaiah 56:1

The prophet Isaiah is quite clear in this passage. God calls his people to be signs of His presence in the ways they treat others. Why would this be important? Why doesn’t God just ask for prayers? It is because we are called to be participants in the work of salvation in creation. God is asking us to create a more just world. If you study the document on the laity, that was produced by the Vatican II Council on November 18, 1965, you will find this message quite clearly pronounced: With a constantly increasing population, continual progress in science and technology, and closer interpersonal relationships, the areas for the lay apostolate have been immensely widened particularly in fields that have been for the most part open to the laity alone. These factors have also occasioned new problems which demand their expert attention and study (1). Christ's redemptive work, while essentially concerned with the salvation of men, includes also the renewal of the whole temporal order. Hence the mission of the Church is not only to bring the message and grace of Christ to men but also to penetrate and perfect the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel (5). The laity must take up the renewal of the temporal order as their own special obligation. Led by the light of the Gospel and the mind of the Church and motivated by Christian charity, they must act directly and in a definite way in the temporal sphere. As citizens they must cooperate with other citizens with their own particular skill and on their own responsibility. Everywhere and in all things they must seek the justice of God's kingdom. The temporal order must be renewed in such a way that, without detriment to its own proper laws, it may be brought into conformity with the higher principles of the Christian life and adapted to the shifting circumstances of time, place, and peoples. Preeminent among the works of this type of apostolate is that of Christian social action. . .(7). The facts are: (1) Our faith life must include the work of Christian social action and (2) The fullness of Christian spirituality is found in me, thee, and other. Are you engaged in a full Christian life?

Faith Book

Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.

From today’s Gospel reading: And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district [Tyre and Sidon] came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!”...Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.

Reflection: Jesus was criticized by the Pharisees for his lack of strict observance of religious customs and traditions.  He responded by calling them hypocrites who only pay lip service to God.  In contrast, Jesus praised the pagan Canaanite woman for having great faith.  So, who are the truly pious and observant in Jesus’ eyes?  Those who see in him God’s gracious desire to heal, forgive and welcome to the table.  

So, we ask ourselves: 

• Who are the “Canaanites” in our society, those we would push aside as unimportant and second class?

• Is it possible that in listening to them we might hear God be speaking to us?

• Have I ever discovered God in surprising ways and in the most unusual people?

Postcards to Death Row Inmates

“One has to strongly affirm that condemnation to the death penalty is an inhuman measure that humiliates personal dignity, in whatever form it is carried out.”—Pope Francis

Inmates on death row are the most forgotten people in the prison system. Each week I am posting in this space several inmates’ names and locations. I invite you to write a postcard to one or more of them to let them know that: we have not forgotten them; are praying for them and their families; or whatever personal encouragement you might like to give them. If the inmate responds, you might consider becoming pen pals.  

 Please write to:  

 • Welsey T. Smith                     #0765397 (On death row since 5/29/2002)

• John H. Thompson                 #0406487 (11/14/2002)

• Terry (Al-Bayyinah) Moore      #0290634 (6/14/2003)

Central Prison, PO Box 247, Phoenix MD, 21131 (While the prison is in Raleigh, mail for inmates is processed at this address). For more information on the Catholic position on the death penalty go to the Catholic Mobilizing Network.

ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

Preparation for the Session

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence.  Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

Opening Prayer

Adapted from Thomas Merton: Lord, there have been times when I was ready to give up, believing that nobody cared about my pain or that of a love one.  Believing that nobody cared about the state of the earth.  I need to remember Lord, that you care for me and mine and I need to remember your goodness when it seem all is lost.

Companions for the Journey

From Living Space, A Service of the Irish Jesuits

Jesus is seen on one of his few visits outside Jewish territory. The cities of Tyre and Sidon are on the Mediterranean coast in what is today Lebanon. While he is there he is approached by a Canaanite (that is, a non-Jewish) woman whose child is “troubled by a demon”. Whether it was an actual possession or some natural physical or mental ailment does not really matter.  Already the woman’s faith and trust in Jesus is indicated by the way she addresses him, “Lord, Son of David!” coupled with her plea for his compassion. At first, Jesus ignores her completely. The disciples intervene and ask Jesus to give her what she wants because she is making such a nuisance of herself. Jesus replies that his mission is only to the “house of Israel”, to which this woman clearly does not belong. n the meantime the woman continues her pleading, “Help me, Lord!” She is following, in fact, advice that the Gospel gives – keep on asking. Jesus replies in words that sound very harsh, if not racist: “It is not right to take the children’s food and give it to the dogs.” ‘Dogs’, together with ‘swine’, was a common colloquial expression among Jews for Gentiles (cf. Matt 7:6: “Do not give what is holy to dogs or cast your pearls before swine.”) The dog was regarded as an unclean and promiscuous animal. Because it was such a common expression, it is probably not as harsh as it sounds to us and, if spoken with a measure of humor (implied by Jesus’ use of the diminutive, ‘doggies’), would not have given offence at all. As they say, everything is in the tone of voice. (Not unlike when my Chinese friends call me a gwai-lo [‘devil fellow’] – a common term for non-Chinese.) Jesus was not a racist; that is clear from other situations where he dealt with non-Jews and with other commonly despised groups. For her part, the woman certainly is not in the least fazed. She comes right back: “Even the dogs eat the leavings that fall from their masters’ tables.” That was enough for Jesus. She had proved her genuineness. “Woman, you have great faith. Your wish will come to pass.” Her daughter was cured on the spot. It is a hint of what is to come. Membership of God’s people will be measured not by birth or circumcision but by a living faith in Jesus as Lord. A story like this is an occasion for us to look at our own attitudes to people of other races, ethnic groups and nationalities not to mention the socially disadvantaged or physically or mentally disabled – in other words, any people who are ‘different’. How inclusive are we in word and action? And does our parish community go out of its way to provide a welcome for the ‘outsider’? These are very real questions in societies which are becoming more and more inter-cultural.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow.

Reflection Questions:

Have I ever seen the hand of God in unexpected situations?
How did I react?

Did the reaction of the Canaanite woman surprise you?   How would you have reacted if the first answer you got from Jesus was “no”?

Has it ever seemed that at times God was ignoring me, or at least distant and unapproachable?
Does a petition or hope send me away in defeat or resentment, or does it call forth an energy and determination to make myself known and heard?
Have I ever felt that my misery was ignored by God, as Jesus seemed to ignore the Canaanite woman at first?

Do I see in this woman an indomitable spirit that will never give up hoping and praying for someone she loves?  

Who or what in my own life calls out that persistence in me?

Her prayer to Jesus was an expression of both helplessness and trust.  Where in my prayer life have I expressed both?

Often we think of faith as belief in a set of theological constructs, but Jesus in this paragraph identifies faith as a trust in his love and kindness.  How would I characterize the word “faith” in my own life?

In chapter 10 of this gospel Jesus tells his disciples not to stray out of Jewish territory, and at the beginning of this segment of chapter 15, he seems to be emphasizing that his mission is to the House of Israel only. However, by the end of the section, we see that Jesus has learned something profound about the faith of a non-Jew, and changes his negative response to a positive one.   
Do I forget that Jesus had to learn how to walk, how to be a carpenter, how to pray, how to shape a mission, how to follow it, and that this learning might be a gradual process, subject to possible human error?

Is it hard for me to think of the humanity of Jesus, with its attendant learning curve? 
Is it hard for me to think of Jesus having to learn things about his mission?
Although theology tells me that Jesus is both God and human do I frequently dwell on Jesus’ divinity, at the expense of his humanity?

Do I harbor, maybe even unconsciously, a sense of exclusivity about how the faith should be lived out and by whom?
Who are the people in your life that you don't pay enough attention to?
Might the purpose of this story be to illustrate that membership in God’s kingdom is not limited to religious identity or to other external circumstances?  Do I harbor an unconscious sense that my affinity group (religion, ethnicity, university affiliation, country of origin, etc) is better than others, or even more beloved by God?

“Dogs” was a Jewish name for Gentiles, and Jesus’ expression raised no eyebrows in his own time, when ethnic and tribal loyalty in the face of danger from the outside was the norm.   Many of us have more unconscious tribal tendencies than we want to admit to. Do I have epithets or subtle exclusionary names for the “others” in my life?  
Does my parish or my social group provide welcome for “the other”, for the outsider?

Have I ever felt like an “outsider”?

Have you ever participated in an interreligious dialogue? 
What happened?

Closing Prayer

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for.

From Sacred Space: Lord, I want to remember this.When I want something badly, I will persist, even when the answers are not to my liking. Help me to be transformed by whatever answers you give me in my prayer life.

For the Week Ahead

Weekly Memorization: (Taken from the gospel for today's session) Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.

Meditations:

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions: Jesus’ tone in much of the exchange with the non-Jewish woman seems rather exclusionary. In this very story, Jesus’ assumptions about certain groups in our present day might be: 

• Would he exclude certain groups of people from our worship assemblies?  

• Would the newcomer to our country find a warm welcome in his church?  

• Would he favor the benefactors over the welfare mothers and their crying infants in the back row?  

• Would he want teenagers to dress according to code?  

• Does he hear the prayer of someone who hasn’t prayed in thirty years as much as he does the devout nun in a monastery?  

• Does he confirm the notions of those exclusive Christians who see all others as “infidels” of one kind or another?  

• Are any of these possibilities above a reality in today’s religious groups, including mine?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship: Could we treat this pagan woman’s dialogue with Jesus as a prayer of petition and her response as a prayerful and honest reaction expressing her disappointment and feistiness?   How often is our Prayer “sanitized”—expressing what we think God wants to hear?  In many of the psalms (often called Psalms of Lamentation) we see a people who are honest and raw in their feelings about life, and willing to share their frustrations with God. Read selections from Psalm 42, then write your own honest psalm about where you are in your life right now: My tears have become my bread, by day, by night, as they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” I will say to God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning oppressed by the foe?” With a deadly wound in my bones, my enemies revile me, saying to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions: I read selections from psalm 69:
Save me, O God, for the waters have risen to my neck.
I have sunk into the mud of the deep, where there is no foothold.
I have entered the waters of the deep, where the flood overwhelms me.
I am wearied with crying aloud; my throat is parched.
My eyes are wasted away with waiting for my God.
More numerous than the hairs on my head are those who hate me without cause.
Many are those who attack me, enemies with lies.
What I have never stolen, how can I restore?
To my own kin I have become an outcast,
a stranger to the children of my mother.
But I pray to you, O LORD, for a time of your favor.
In your great mercy, answer me, O God, with your salvation that never fails.
Rescue me from sinking in the mud; from those who hate me, deliver me.
Save me from the waters of the deep,
lest the waves overwhelm me.  Let not the deep engulf me, nor the pit close its mouth on me.
LORD, answer, for your mercy is kind; in your great compassion, turn towards me.
Do not hide your face from your servant;
answer me quickly, for I am in distress.

I consider how many times we as humans turn to God only in times of personal crisis.  What am I hoping for when I pray at moments like these?  Do I just want to share my anxiety, and yes, my anger?  Or do I want to manipulate God into changing the plans set out for my life? Anne Lamott, in Traveling Mercies says: Here are the two best prayers I know: “Help me, help me, help me”, and “Thank you, thank you, thank you”. A woman I know says, for her morning prayer: ”Whatever”, and then for the evening, “Oh well”, but has conceded that these prayers are more palatable for people without children. What do I think that prayer is for anyway?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action: In the midst of  financial crises, war, disease and oppression, mothers are watching, helpless, as their children go hungry. In the face of built-in inequality, mothers are watching, frustrated, as their children lack the basic learning tools and experiences to thrive and grow into their potential. In the face of the opioid crisis, mothers watch in pain as their children succumb to anxiety and hopelessness, seeking escape from the lives they are living. In the system of institutionalized racism, mothers watch in fear as their young sons are targeted for violence simply because of the color of their skin. How do we answer the pleas of these mothers, spoken and unspoken? How do we help them nurture and protect their beloved children? The first step would be to earn more about the causes of these social ills.  The next step would be to pick one cause that speaks to you personally and use the internet to discover where your resources and your time would be of use in our very community.  The CCAS website might be  a goodplace to start for some information on social Justice groups in our Catholic community) We need to do more than wring our hands. We need to do more than pray. We need to DO!

Poetic Reflections

How does the following poem from the Rev Ed Ingrebretzen, S.J. capture the care Jesus takes of us in our deepest need?

From Narrow Places

From narrow places
the strength of our voice
rises:

our every breath 
is prayer,
the great poem of need,
a constant scattering
of praise.

Early
we reach to God
in the claim of our hearts,
while he,
our father,
mothers us 
in his

This poem by Thomas Merton seems to reflect how deeply Jesus cares for the fate of each one of us. Nevertheless, we possess free will and sometimes He has to stand by and watch us destroy ourselves and the planet we live on.

Cables to the Ace (Stanza 80)
Slowly, slowly
Comes Christ through the garden
Speaking to the sacred trees
Their branches bear his light
Without harm

Slowly, slowly
Comes Christ through the ruins
Seeking the lost disciple
A timid one
Too literate
To believe words
So he hides
Christ rises on the cornfields
It is only the harvest moon
The disciple
Turns over in his sleep
And murmurs:
“My regret!”

The disciple will awaken
When he knows history
But slowly slowly
The Lord of History weeps into the fire.   

Feast Day of St. Dominic

August 9, 2026

Your contribution to the kingdom is important.

GOSPEL

“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.* You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. (j) Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. (k) Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. (l) “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. (m) Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.*

* [5:1–7:29] The first of the five discourses that are a central part of the structure of this gospel. It is the discourse section of the first book and contains sayings of Jesus derived from Q and from M. The Lucan parallel is in that gospel’s “Sermon on the Plain” (Lk 6:20–49), although some of the sayings in Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount” have their parallels in other parts of Luke. The careful topical arrangement of the sermon is probably not due only to Matthew’s editing; he seems to have had a structured discourse of Jesus as one of his sources. The form of that source may have been as follows: four beatitudes (Mt 5:3–4, 6, 11–12), a section on the new righteousness with illustrations (Mt 5:17, 20–24, 27–28, 33–48), a section on good works (Mt 6:1–6, 16–18), and three warnings (Mt 7:1–2, 15–21, 24–27).

* [5:13–16] By their deeds the disciples are to influence the world for good. They can no more escape notice than a city set on a mountain. If they fail in good works, they are as useless as flavorless salt or as a lamp whose light is concealed.

* [5:13] The unusual supposition of salt losing its flavor has led some to suppose that the saying refers to the salt of the Dead Sea that, because chemically impure, could lose its taste.

* [5:17–20] This statement of Jesus’ position concerning the Mosaic law is composed of traditional material from Matthew’s sermon documentation (see note on Mt 5:1–7:29), other Q material (cf. Mt 18; Lk 16:17), and the evangelist’s own editorial touches. To fulfillthe law appears at first to mean a literal enforcement of the law in the least detail: until heaven and earth pass away nothing of the law will pass (Mt 5:18). Yet the “passing away” of heaven and earth is not necessarily the end of the world understood, as in much apocalyptic literature, as the dissolution of the existing universe. The “turning of the ages” comes with the apocalyptic event of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and those to whom this gospel is addressed are living in the new and final age, prophesied by Isaiah as the time of “new heavens and a new earth” (Is 65:17; 66:22). Meanwhile, during Jesus’ ministry when the kingdom is already breaking in, his mission remains within the framework of the law, though with significant anticipation of the age to come, as the following antitheses (Mt 5:21–48) show.

* [5:19] Probably these commandments means those of the Mosaic law. But this is an interim ethic “until heaven and earth pass away.”

i. [5:13] Mk 9:50; Lk 14:34–35.
j. [5:14] Jn 8:12.
k. [5:15] Mk 4:21; Lk 8:16; 11:33.
l. [5:16] Jn 3:21.
m. [5:18] Lk 16:17.

ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

Preparation for the Session

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence.  Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me.  May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others.  Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God?  With others in my life? What am I grateful for?  Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret?  I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt.  God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

Opening Prayer

Lord, it is through engagement with others that our light will shine. So it was with St. Dominic, and so it is with me.  I need to see how important I am to the mission, even though my contribution may be small. Help me to persevere in personal time of blandness and darkness so that I can reflect and amplify the beauty of your Kingdom.

Companions for the Journey

A History of St. Dominic and the founding of the Dominican order. Adapted and sometimes stolen from various sources, including the magazine of the English and Scottish Dominicans, 2021 (O.P.’s quoted by name are English Dominicans.)

The Order of Preachers honors St Dominic de Guzman (c.1174 - 1221), who was born in the small Castilian village of Caleruega, as its founder but, as Fr Simon Tugwell OP notes, “the Order was not simply his personal brainchild and he was not, and never claimed to be, its sole inspiration or even the primary embodiment of its nature and ideals.” Rather, Dominic was raised up by Providence to bring to birth a new movement within the Church - itinerant mendicant friars - and he accomplished this by engaging with the needs of his time and in collaboration with other people. “It was always with his brethren and with the authorities of the Church that he shaped the nascent Order of Preachers. As an adolescent, he had a particular love of theology and the Scriptures became the foundation of his spirituality.  During his studies and Palencia, Spain, he experienced a dreadful famine, prompting him to sell all his books and other equipment to help his neighbors.  He was made a canon and ordained to the priesthood in the Monastery of Santa Maria de la Vid.  After completing his studies he was appointed to the cathedral chapter of Osma.  In 1203, Dominic, now a Canon, traveled with his bishop, Diego, through the south of France and encountered the Albigensians who taught that the physical world is evil.  This heresy not only devalued our own humanity, but also Christ and the sacramental life of the Church.   After an all-night debate in Toulouse with an Albigensian innkeeper whom he converted, Dominic was moved by compassion and realized the great ignorance of the Faith that existed.  Thus he saw the need for preachers who could reach the people and could explain and defend the faith. So began the friars’ life of itinerant mendicancy, with their base at the newly-founded monastery of nuns at Prouille. After Diego’s death in 1207, Dominic, eschewing the violence which was then being waged against the Albigensians, devoted himself to preaching and the rigors of the apostolic life which he had begun with bishop Diego. In Languedoc, where Dominic called himself “the humble servant of the preaching”, a small band of co-workers had joined him and in 1215, Bishop Fulk of Toulouse approved the foundation of a new religious order. “Concern for the Faith was the main concern of the new Order”. Later that year, he travelled with Fulk to Rome to meet Pope Innocent III. The pope advised Dominic to adopt an existing Rule as new rules were forbidden by the Fourth Lateran Council. In 1216, Dominic and his brethren adopted the Rule of St Augustine which he had already been keeping as a canon of Osma. Fr Vladimir Koudelka, OP, notes that “they chose the Augustinian Rule, not for what it contains, but for what, by virtue of its universality, it does not contain. This enabled them to specify in the customs which they added to the rule the goal of their order and the new means for attaining their goal, without contradicting the rule.” On 22 December 1216, Pope Honorius III approved the foundation of the St Dominic’s community and took them under papal protection. Finally, on 21 January 1217, Pope Honorius III issued a second bull to Dominic which crowned the first and completed the confirmation of the Order. The new bull conferred on the new Order a ‘revolutionary’ name and office - an order of preachers rather than just an order comprised of people who are preaching. The pope thus addresses Dominic and his sons as “Friars Preachers” and entrusts them with the preaching mission. Dominic had obtained, explicitly and officially, what he had first petitioned from Innocent III: “An Order which would be called and would be an Order of Preachers.” Having obtained confirmation of his Order from Pope Honorius III, on 15 August 1217 St Dominic placed his trust in God and dispersed the sixteen brethren that then comprised the Friars Preachers to Paris, Spain, Rome and Bologna, and the pope commended the universal mission of the Dominicans to the bishops in 1218. Dominic inspired his followers to develop a ”mixed” spirituality. They were both active in preaching and contemplative in study, prayer and meditation. The brethren of the Dominican order were urbane and learned as well and contemplative and mystical in their spirituality. From the beginning, friars have been drawn to urban centers and, in distinction from the monks, preached the Gospel to city-dwellers in their own vernacular languages, not Latin. As Fr Anthony Ross OP said, “the Black Friars lived in contact with the bustle of life in towns and cities, although some monastic elements of prayer and silence were retained in the domestic life of their communities”, thus combining the Dominican elements of contemplation and apostolic ministry. However, St Dominic did not just choose cities but university towns, for there his friars could study, engage with new ideas and recruit new friars. On August 15, 1217, Dominic dispatched seven of his followers to the great university center of Paris to establish a priory focused on study and preaching. The Convent of St. Jacques, would eventually become the order's first studium generale. Dominic was to establish similar foundations at other university towns of the day, Bologna in 1218, Palencia and Montpellier in 1220, and Oxford just before his death in 1221. Fr. Simon Tugwell notes: “Dominic’s policy is clear: it was from the great universities of Europe that he wanted his order to radiate. The friars clearly met the needs of rapidly expanding city life and the intellectual challenge of the new universities, and St Dominic’s strategy of expansion, which was ably continued by his successor, Bl Jordan of Saxony, was immensely successful.” Between 1217 and 1222, the Order had established 40 priories in 8 provinces. By the end of the thirteenth century there were 404 priories and almost 15,000 friars including a province in the Holy Land. The Order in eight centuries has encompassed theologians and philosophers like St Albert and St Thomas Aquinas, Garrigou-Lagrange and Chenu, Congar and Schillebeeckx, mystics like St Catherine of Siena, Tauler and Meister Eckhart, artists like  Fra Angelico and Michelangelo, humble saints like St Martin de Porres and St Agnes of Montepulciano, reformers like St Antoninus and Pope St Pius V, and prophetic preachers like St Vincent Ferrer, Savonarola, Bartolomé de las Casas, Francisco de Vitoria, Lacordaire and Gustavo Gutierrez. Today, there are Dominicans in over 100 countries, over 41 provinces and vicariates and some 6,500 friars, 4,000 nuns, 35,000 active sisters, and over 100,000 lay Dominicans in the Dominican Family.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow.

Reflection Questions:

The enemy of this gospel is the feeling that we are too insignificant to matter. In my own life, how can I counteract this self-defeating tendency to be passive rather than active?

What is an “everyday saint”? 
Do you feel you are one?
What does it mean to be light for the world?   
What does it NOT mean?

For a lot of our religious history, we have been taught that our main mission is to avoid sin, to stay out of trouble, to perfect our interior spiritual development. Period.  This gospel passage runs counter to that.   How much of my life has been spent on my own personal growth and spiritual development, and how much has been spent witnessing to others?

Walter Burghardt, S.J., has described our mission in life as “Grace on Crutches”.   How does work as a metaphor for our own personal brokenness and imperfection and our role in this world?

Is the career I find myself in utterly divorced from the directives contained in this gospel?   
How?   
Is there anything I can do to change this?

Are there people or places in our area where a Christian witness is for all intents and purposes absent? 
Can we do anything about that?  

What are some “non-heroic” actions people can take to make God’s kingdom more present?

Who are some of the discarded in this world for whom Christians can be salt and light?

Often criticism and judgmentalism leach all the flavor and joy out of life. Has this been my experience?   
How do I counteract it?  

Joy is something that can actually change the world.  In what everyday ways do I radiate the joy of the gospel?

Without salt, food is tasteless and uninviting, or spoils and is discarded. Without care and concern, our world can become flat and unwelcoming, causing people’s hope and energy to wither and disappear.   Despite all that we do already, many of us can do a little more.   What is one thing you can do to spice up your little corner of the world?

Closing Prayer

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for. 

(Adapted from Sacred Space)

Lord, help us to see that we are children of the light, that our lives are illumined by you, the light of the world (John 8:12). Help us to see in your light the hidden hope of glory that is in us, so we can rejoice even in the darkness of the world.   Help us to be light for others, for that is our commission.

For the Week Ahead

Weekly Memorization:

(Taken from the gospel for today's session)

You are the salt of the earth; your light must shine before others.

Meditations:

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions: Very often, when we are confronted with the teaching of Jesus that we are to be the light for the world, we claim that we would love to do more, but we are just too busy. Life is crazy right now, etc., “I don’t have time”. Here are some problems with that statement:  

1. When will you ever have more time than you do now?  
2. Who, actually, has more time than you do?  
3.   Have you evaluated the time commitment you might have to make, or are you dismissing any time commitment at all?
4.  Excuse #492: I am so messed up myself I cannot possible be a good resource for anyone else.
Query:  Were the first apostles always models of unselfishness, maturity and piety?
Query:  What daily practices can I follow to sustain myself as someone for others?
Excuse #493: I have so much I am personally dealing with right now; I do not have the bandwidth to take on anyone else’s needs.
Query:  Did the first apostles not have families, economic difficulties and relationship commitments as well?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action: Read Isaiah 58:6-10 "6.Is not this the sort of fast that pleases me: to break unjust fetters, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break all yokes? 7. Is it not sharing your food with the hungry, and sheltering the homeless poor; if you see someone lacking clothes, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own kin? 8. Then your light will blaze out like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over. Saving justice will go ahead of you and Yahweh's glory come behind you. 9. Then you will cry for help and Yahweh will answer; you will call and he will say, 'I am here.' If you do away with the yoke, the clenched fist and malicious words, 10. If you deprive yourself for the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, your light will rise in the darkness, and your darkest hour will be like noon." Both Sunday’s gospel and the first reading fly in the face of the commonly acknowledged “truth” that it takes money and power to change the world. Instead, says Walter Burghardt, S.J. the world needs Christian disciples, not just popes or martyrs, not great orators or donors to great causes. The world needs everyday, ordinary disciples who go about their lives witnessing to the message of Jesus to forgive, to care for the lonely, the sick, the hungry , to heal those has He did. Can I say I am disciple? Why or why not? Pick one thing you can do this week to be Christ for others. And do it.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship: (From Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits) Light does not change a room: it enables us to see what is in it. It helps us appreciate what is good and beautiful, just as it facilitates avoiding pitfalls. We are children of the light: our lives are illumined by Jesus, the light of the world (John 8:12). This light helps us to see the hidden hope of glory that is in us. So we can rejoice even in the darkness of the world.

Psalm 112: 4-9

"For the honest he shines as a lamp in the dark, generous, tender-hearted, and upright. 5. All goes well for one who lends generously, who is honest in all his dealing; 6. for all time to come he will not stumble, for all time to come the upright will be remembered. 7. Bad news holds no fears for him, firm is his heart, trusting in Yahweh. 8. His heart held steady, he has no fears, till he can gloat over his enemies. 9. To the needy he gives without stint, his uprightness stands firm for ever; his reputation is founded on strength.

Read this psalm as example of what it means to be salt and light, then write your own mini-psalm transliterating the words of the psalm into to first person (“all goes well for me who lends generously”, etc). Pray it every day this week.

Poetic Reflection

Thomas Centolella, a former Stegner Fellow from Stanford, has written a poem about “raising ourselves to the power of ten” in order to accommodate all the needs that are out there in our world.  See if it says anything to you.

At Big Rec
A few hours spent in the dry rooms of the dying.
Then the walk home, and the sudden rain
comes hard, and you want it coming hard,
you want it hitting you in the forehead
like anointment, blessing all the days
that otherwise would be dismissed
as business as usual. Now you’re ready
to lean on the rail above the empty diamonds
where, in summer, the ballplayers wait patiently
for one true moment more alive than all the rest.
Now you’re ready for the ancient religion of dogs,
that unleashed romp through the wildness, responding
To no one’s liturgy but the field’s and the rain’s.
You’ve come this far, but you need to live further in.
You need to slip into the blind man for a while,
tap along with his cane past the market stalls
and take in, as if they were abandoned, 
the little blue crabs which within an hour will be eaten.
You have to become large enough to accommodate
all the small lives that otherwise would be forgotten.
You have to raise yourself to the power of ten.
Love more, require less, love without regard
For form. You have to live further in.