August 24, 2014 Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 121 Audio Readings: ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/14_08_24.mp3 Reading 1 IS 22:19-23 Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace: “I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station. On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim’s shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut when he shuts, no one shall open. I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family.” Responsorial Psalm PS 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8 R/ (8bc) Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands. I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; I will worship at your holy temple. R/ Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands. I will give thanks to your name, because of your kindness and your truth: When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me. R/ Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands. The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees, and the proud he knows from afar. Your kindness, O LORD, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands. R/ Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands. Reading 2 ROM 11:33-36 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? Or who has given the Lord anything that he may be repaid? For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. Gospel MT 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. Meditation: Who is Jesus for you? At an opportune time Jesus tested his disciples with a crucial question: Who do the people say that I am and who do you say that I am? (Matthew 16:13). Jesus was widely recognized in Israel as a mighty man of God, even being compared with the greatest of the prophets, John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah. Peter, always quick to respond, exclaimed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. The gift of faith What enabled Peter to recognize that Jesus was more than a man of flesh and blood? Through the gift of faith Peter recognized that Jesus was the Anointed One - called the Messiah in Hebrew and the Christ in Greek - and the only begotten Son who was sent from the eternal Father in heaven to redeem a fallen human race. No mortal being could have revealed this to Peter; but only God himself. We cannot recognize the true reality of God the Father and the only begotten Son except through the gift of revelation which God gives to those who seek him. Jesus then conferred on Peter authority to govern the church that Jesus would build, a church that no powers could overcome. Jesus played on Peters name which is the same word for rock in both Aramaic and Greek. Spiritual rock and living stones To call someone a rock is one of the greatest of compliments. The ancient rabbis had a saying that when God saw Abraham, he exclaimed: I have discovered a rock to found the world upon. Abraham put his trust in God and made Gods word the foundation of his life and the bedrock of his faith. Through Abraham God established a nation for himself. Through faith Peter grasped who Jesus truly was. He was the first apostle to proclaim that Jesus was truly the Anointed One (Messiah and Christ) and the only begotten Son of God. The New Testament describes the church, the people of God, as a spiritual house and temple of the Holy Spirit with each member joined together as living stones (see 1 Peter 2:5). Faith in Jesus Christ makes us into rocks - spiritual stones. The Lord Jesus tests each of us personally with the same question: Who do you say that I am? Lord Jesus, I profess and believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are my Lord and my Savior who has set me free from sin and deception. Make my faith strong like the Apostles Peter and Paul and give me boldness to speak of you to others that they may come to know you as Lord and Savior. Video Reflection: bcove.me/5yqaxn6n
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 20:04:37 +0000
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