First reading: 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.”
Second reading: 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.
In other words
Fr. Roger Bag-ao, SVD (University of San Carlos, Cebu City)
“But who do you say that I am?” True information nowadays is complicated because of the advent of new technologies and philosophies. The post-truth philosophical era has ushered new perceptions and interpretations of what is true and what is false, exacerbating the belief in relativism.
In the Gospel today, Jesus, who is the Truth, is posing this question to His disciples to measure their knowledge of Him not according to the opinions of others but according to their personal knowledge borne from their personal experience of His person. Peter’s answer was exceptionally right for the heavenly Father revealed that to him. He alone could not have arrived at the truth, for human knowledge is inadequate to grasp the full truth.
That is why Peter was given the authority that whatever he declared loose or bound on earth was confirmed in heaven.
Lessons to learn from the Gospel are the following:
- True knowledge can only be obtained from the inspiration of the Father, which can happen through prayer and discernment.
- Relativism is always a temptation for it offers quick solutions to our questions and doubts. To avoid that temptation, we must constantly be attuned to the promptings of the Spirit through prayer and meditation.
- If we are close to Jesus, the Truth and the Life, we will not be on harm’s side. Like Peter, we can also say, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”