The Church is a hospital for sick people like you and me. The church is not a museum of holy people

Reading: Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Matthew 16:16.

Good morning, happy Thursday, and many blessings my dear family.

In today’s Gospel (Matthew 16:13-23) we learn that when Peter is moved to identify Jesus with the Messiah – Jesus congratulates him, so to speak, on having allowed himself to be inspired in his answer by the heavenly Father: at last his thinking has been raised onto the properly spiritual plane.

Jesus reveals that he is founding a church – a community of faith and worship – which the powers of hell will not be able to overcome. But community always needs leadership; and to Peter (whose name resembles the word for ‘rock’ – depending on the language being spoken) is entrusted the authority of binding and loosing – always associated with a people with whom the Lord has entered into a covenant bond.

Jesus asks me this question today “Who do you say that I am?” This question forces me to consider what I really believe. Who is Jesus for me? What do I believe about him? Why am I a Christian?

I sit with Jesus and try to honestly answer each of these questions. I don't judge myself for my answers but talk to Jesus and listen to what he says to me.

If Peter is to be a rock, it is because he has found the rock that is Jesus. We all need strong and firm foundations for our faith and for our lives. We need strong steppingstones to guide us through life. Jesus is the way and the steppingstones. In him we need not fear for the future nor lose confidence in the present. To be able to say that Jesus is the living God is a grace to be treasured.

Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter giving him a new assignment, as was true of the change of Saul to Paul in his mission to the Gentiles. Jesus saw the potential in Peter to become the rock, the solid foundation of the building for the fragile faith community. I wonder, did Jesus choose Peter for his strengths or for his weaknesses? Can I apply this question to myself?

Let’s remember that the Church is the assembly of the people of God. Is a hospital, for sick people like you and me. The Church is not a museum of holy people. Each of us is called to be a foundation stone for the up building of the lives of those around us. St John tells us in the Apocalypse that each of us will receive a new name when we reach heaven. Let us do all we can to prepare ourselves, here on earth, to receive joyfully that mysterious new name.

Blessings,

Fr. Luis+