HOMILY I ~ Rev. Benjamin Roberts, D.Min.
It all began with an invitation from the Lord Jesus.
Walking by the Sea, the master called two sets of brothers. It all began with the words, “Come, follow me.” Today, the encounter between Jesus and the disciples begins with a question: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The Lord Jesus then asks a more direct question, “But who do you say that I am?” By a special revelation from the Father, Simon professes, “You are the Christ" From the mouth of Simon the Fisherman come the words of Peter the Shepherd. On him and his profession of faith Christ our Lord has promised to build his Church and the gates of the netherworld shall not overcome it. Death will not conquer the Church. Death will not bring an end to the mission of Peter. In every age, and from generation to generation, the office of the Apostle Peter continues in the Church. The office of the Apostle Peter continues in Our Holy Father, the Pope, who is the Bishop of Rome.
It is the task of our Holy Father, the Pope, to confess the faith of the Church. It is the task of our Holy Father to confirm the brethren as the head of the college of Bishops, and it is his task to bind and to loose with the authority of Jesus Christ. It is his responsibility as the Successor of St. Peter to declare that which is in conformity with our profession of faith and that which is not in conformity with the faith of the Church.
But chiefly, the Holy Father exercises the office of unity. The Holy Father keeps us united to the Apostles, to the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, to the saints of ages long passed, and the saints whose voices we heard with our own ears. The Holy Father keeps us united to our past. Like a good shepherd, the Holy Father leads the flock into the green pastures ahead of us. For the whole Church, he guards her faith from error so that the gift that we have received from the Lord through the Apostles might be faithfully handed on to the next generation. Saint Peter, now through Pope Francis, continues to profess the faith, to shepherd the flock, and to proclaim the message of salvation.
And yet, what Christ the Lord has given to Peter in a very particular way, Christ has also shared with each of us. We are here today because we have made our own the confession of faith made by the Apostle Peter. We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. We make that profession of faith our own each time we say “Amen.” We make that profession of faith our own profoundly when we pronounce our “Amen” at Holy Communion. For Simon, the Fisherman of Galilee, this profession of faith took him from his homeland and from his culture, and from his daily work. This profession of faith took him to prison, to persecution, to crucifixion in the circus of Nero, and to burial on a hillside where his bones still rest. Our journey will likely be different, but the one who calls us, the one in whom we place our faith, and the one whose Gospel we live and proclaim is the same. It is Christ the Lord who invites us.
And now the invitation of Christ calls us to his table. We join in prayer with and for our Holy Father Francis as he professes the faith and shepherds the flock. We are nourished so that we can faithfully hand on the gift of faith that we have received. And we join with St. Peter as we stand before the Lord and confess, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Amen.
HOMILY II ~ Susan McGurgan, D.Min.
That question,
“Who do you say that I am?”
has echoed from Caesarea Philippi
challenging each generation of disciples.
It sounded in the violent battles of the crusades,
through the gilded courts of medieval popes,
and from the abandoned barracks at Auschwitz.
Today, it lingers in the air over Gaza
and from a grieving community in Georgia.
Who do you say that I am?
This question arises when good people die;
when hearts are broken open;
when life changes in an instant.
When he was asked this question,
Peter answered boldly,
“You are the Christ!”
But in that moment,
Peter was responding to the God
who can be found in triumph and success,
in healings,
and worship,
and adoring crowds,
shouting out God's name.
Jesus rebuked Peter—
because he wanted Peter to know this Truth:
that the Son of Man would also be found
along a lonely path
in the midst of failure and pain.
The Christ would also be found
in broken bodies,
and grieving parents,
and communities torn with sorrow.
Peter responded to the God
who can be found
in the beauty of the Temple,
but Jesus wanted Peter to know
he would also be found
in the darkness
and the silence of the tomb.
Who do you say that I am?
I take comfort in Peter’s faith,
his insight,
his quick answer.
He speaks for me when I cannot
and his words often resonate
But I also take comfort knowing
that even Peter stumbled.
Even Peter,
the Rock,
the Keeper of the Keys,
the disciple entrusted
with the Church herself,
had his moments.
Like me,
Peter struggled to accept
the hard teachings of suffering,
rejection,
and death.
Like me,
Peter struggled to understand
that the way of the cross
is the way of discipleship.
“Who do you say that I am?”
Jesus summoned the crowd and told them,
"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
and that of the gospel will save it."
It can be hard, sometimes,
to know that the cross is never,
Ever
behind us,
but lies somewhere on the road ahead.
Fortunately,
on those days when our own voices
fade into silence,
other voices--
voices of Peter, and Mary, and John,
Voices of Phoebe, and Paul, and Martha and Luke;
Voices of parents and friends;
Voices from the pages of Scripture
and the Communion of Saints
speak up when we cannot.
Fortunately when our steps lag
and our strength fails,
we can look to the strength of Peter;
the strength of Mary Magdalene,
the strength of Elizabeth.
We can hear the footsteps of Pope Paul VI,
and Maximillian Kolbe,
and Catherine of Sienna
carrying their crosses
and saying with Isaiah,
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?
And so Jesus continues to ask,
Who do you say that I am?
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