Tomorrow, on the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, we hear Saint Matthew’s account of the Apostle Peter’s confession of Jesus Christ. Jesus asked his disciples who people thought that He was. In reply, they told Him that some thought He was John the Baptist, others Elijah or Jeremiah or another of the prophets. He then asked them who they thought He was and Peter responded: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” We are surrounded by people who have differing ideas about who Jesus was and is. Some view Him as a prophet, but for many of our contemporaries He was simply a good man, a moral teacher, an important figure from the past. And yet the Church’s faith, which is grounded on Peter’s confession of faith, is that He is something much more than this. He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He is the Messiah, the Saviour of the world – the One whom the people of Israel had been long awaiting, the One who changes all of history. This confession of faith is not something that the Apostle Peter arrived at on his own. Yes, he had seen Jesus close-up, but even that was no guarantee of recognizing His true identity. It was not simply a matter of weighing up the facts. Rather, the ability to see who Jesus Christ truly is was a gift that was given to him by God. “For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” This gift of faith – the possibility of seeing who Jesus Christ truly is – has been handed on to us today in the gift of the Church, which is grounded on the faith of the Apostles. The faith of the Church is not based simply on what we may think about who Jesus was or is, but rather on the sure foundation of what is given to us by God. It is this that enables us to confess with the Apostle Peter: “You are the Christ, the Son of the God.” - from Evangelion, bulletin of the Archbishopric of Good Hope, Patriarchate of Alexandria & All Africa
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 17:39:49 +0000
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