And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it

 

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

 

- Matthew 16:13-20 

 

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Jesus asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 

 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  My study Bible comments that "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question a person can ever face, for it is the question that defines Christianity.  It says that Peter's correct answer to this question prevents the Christian faith from being seen as merely another philosophical system or path of spirituality, as it names Jesus as the one and only Son of the living God.  This position effectively excludes all compromise with other religious systems.  Peter's understanding cannot be achieved by human reason, but only by divine revelation through faith, as Jesus indicates in His response (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One," and is equivalent to the Hebrew title "Messiah."  My study Bible also asks us to note that Christ first draws out erroneous opinions about Himself.  He does this to identify these incorrect ideas, as a person is better prepared to avoid false teachings when they are clearly identified.

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."  Peter/rock is a play on the word for "rock" in both Aramaic and Greek (petros/petra).  This particular rock refers not to Peter per se, according to St. John Chrysostom, but to "the faith of his confession."  The true Rock is Christ Himself (1 Corinthians 10:4), and the Church is built on the faithful confession of Christ.  The gates of Hades is a reference to the powers of death.  In the Old Testament, my study Bible says, gates suggest a fortified city (Genesis 22:17, 24:60; Isaiah 14:31).  By shattering the gates of Hades, Christ opens the stronghold of death to set free the souls of the righteous.  So also, the Church shall not be stopped in her proclamation of salvation.  There are only two mentions of the term church in the Gospels; here and in Matthew 18:17.  This Church is the true Israel and the Body of Christ; her citizenship is heavenly.  

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ."  My study Bible says that the term keys of the kingdom refers to a special authority that will be given to both Peter and the other apostles after the Resurrection (see Matthew 18:18; John 20:23).  Peter was not a leader over the others, but among them.  This was confirmed at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) where the apostles and presbyters met as equals, and where Peter advised, but James presided.  My study Bible says that claims in later centuries shouldn't be confused with the New Testament witness regarding Peter, nor should the role of Peter be diminished in opposition to those claims.  Binding and loosing is, again according to St. John Chrysostom, a reference primarily to the authority "to absolve sins" (see also John 20:23).  But it also includes all the teaching, sacramental, and administrative authority of the apostles, my study Bible notes.  It says this authority was in turn transmitted to the bishops of the Church and continues in effect to this day.  

If we look at this place where Peter's confession is made -- and the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God -- we find that it is a place of Gentile civilization.  It was established during the Hellenistic period by Alexander the Great and dedicated to the god Pan, previously having been dedicated by local peoples to the god Baal (a form of Ba'al dedicated to luck), and later it became a part of the Roman Empire, as is reflected in its name for Caesar by Philip.  Pan was the god of wild places, or what one might call wilderness or desolate places, and there was a great road nearby upon which marched countless armies in the history of conquering and war in this region.  So perhaps into this place, previously dedicated to Ba'al (a form of the god for Luck), and Pan, and now under the Romans and near a great road that connected the kingdoms of the world and the conquering armies of history, it is fitting and appropriate that somehow the birth of the true faith in Christ should take place.  Jesus calls Peter's confession the rock upon which He will build His Church, made by the appropriately-named Peter (whose name means "rock").  For, after all, Christ is "the stone the builders rejected" which became "the chief cornerstone" (Matthew 21:42, Psalm 118:22).  So, in this place previously dedicated to seemingly all that is the opposite of Christ the Son and Logos, both ancient worship and the conquering armies of history and also of empires of the time of Christ, we have the birth of the Church.  It is fitting in the sense of all that was rejected in the concepts of the history of this place, which was anything but the gracious and humble Christ, dedicated to the will of the Father, and opposed to all manner of manipulation and materialism, we have the birth of the Church which will replace all of that and turn its values upside down.   The empires and ancient gods will come and go, and armies and conquerors as well, but the Church -- based in the rock of faith in Peter's confession -- remains.  And this is our conquering Savior in action.  For His Church is founded in a place whose very foundations stand in opposition to Him (we can see, in some sense, those ancient concepts and values rooted in the temptations put to Him in the wilderness, in Matthew 4:1-11).  He is One who is the rejected stone which becomes the head of the corner, the One who "scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts," who "put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.  He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty" (Luke 1:46-55).  He is the One who is always making all things new, turning the values of the world upside down, and replacing the powerful; He is the "stronger man" who storms the house of the strong man and plunders all his goods, the only One who can say without arrogance or pride, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters" (Luke 11:20-23).  In this place once dedicated to the worship of the demonic, to the conquering power of all kinds of armies, Jesus begins His Church.  In the Holy Spirit, the "leaven" of the Church will continue to transform and make its way through our world, through our values, through all that might be opposed to it.  The world might be far from perfect, but we are armed by the One who dares establish His Church here, armed only with the rock of faith that carries us forward, and the Holy Spirit who continues His work (fitting to think about in this week of Pentecost).  Let us consider what we do when we sign on to this rock of faith, when we engage with the Spirit of truth, when we ask Him to build up our lives no matter what environment we come from or what needs transforming and changing.  He is the One who takes it all on, and continues to work with us and in us and among us, and even the gates of Hades can't prevail against it.  He is the One who storms Hades to free us, against whom even death cannot prevail.  

 

 

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it

 

 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

 

- Matthew 16:13-20 

 

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Jesus asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."   My study Bible comments here that "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question a person can ever face, for it is the question that defines Christianity.  It says that Peter's correct answer to this question prevents the Christian faith from being seen as merely another philosophical system or path of spirituality, for it names Jesus as the one and only Son of the living God.  This position excludes all compromise with other religious systems.  Peter's understanding cannot be achieved by human reason, but only by divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One," and is the equivalent of the Hebrew title "Messiah."   Let us note Jesus' astonishing statement to Peter, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."  This is a statement that implies even God the Father's revelation to human beings.  My study Bible also remarks that we should note that Christ first draws out erroneous opinions about Himself here ("Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets").  He does this to identify these incorrect ideas, as a person is better prepared to avoid false teachings when they are clearly identified.

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."  Peter/rock is a play on the word for "rock" in both Aramaic and Greek (petros/petra).  According to the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, this rock refers not to Peter per se, but rather to "the faith of his confession."  The true Rock is Christ Himself (1 Corinthians 10:4), and the Church is built on the faithful confession of Christ.  The gates of Hades are understood to refer to the powers of death.  In the Old Testament, my study Bible comments, gates suggest a fortified city (Genesis 22:17, 24:60; Isaiah 14:31).  By shattering its gates, it is Christ who opens the stronghold of death to set free the souls of the righteous; this happens through Christ's Passion and experience of death.  My study Bible adds that so also, the Church shall not be stopped in her proclamation of salvation.  Furthermore, there are only two places the term church is mentioned in all the gospels:  here and in Matthew 18:17.   This Church, my study Bible explains is the true Israel and the Body of Christ; her citizenship is heavenly.

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.  My study bible comments that the term keys of the kingdom refers to a special authority that will be given both to Peter and to the other apostles after the Resurrection (see Matthew 18:18, John 20:23).  Peter, it explains, was not a leader over the others, but rather among them.  This truth was affirmed at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) where the apostles and presbyters met as equals, and where Peter advised, but James presided.  My study Bible comments that other claims in later centuries must not be confused with the New Testament witness regarding Peter, nor should the role of Peter be diminished in opposition to these claims.  To bind and loose is a reference primarily to the authority "to absolve sins" according to St. John Chrysostom (see also John 20:23), but this also includes all the teaching, sacramental, and administrative authority of the apostles.  This authority was in turn transmitted to the bishops of the Church and continues in effect to this day.

Today's reading invites us to think about authority.  What constitutes authority in the Church, and in the wider body of the Church as a whole?  Certainly the role of faith cannot be diminished, as today's reading continues on that theme that has been central of our recent readings in Matthew.  But let us also note discipleship as an important factor as well.  These men are the ones who have been with Christ from the beginning.  They have invested their lives in His ministry and teachings.  So we have a combination of both faith and discipleship, each growing together in these apostles.  We tend to divide faith and works, and especially the discipline of following Christ's teachings and the practices of the Church.  But in Peter, the two meet, and when we define these things properly, they go hand in hand, and must not be separated.  Each "needs" the other for wholeness.  In the Epistle of James, he writes of Abraham, "Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?  And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.'  And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only" (James 2:22-24).   While we may consider that "works" includes prayer, almsgiving, and fasting, we must understand that the work of discipleship is the constant fashioning of our own character through the discipline of the teachings of Christ, and the spiritual heritage we all share through the Scriptures and also traditions of the Church.  We might have the greatest faith, but without humility of character before God, what good is our faith?  If we are not aware that God is at work in us, that we will all come to times when repentance is necessarily, how much fruit do we bear of our faith, and even more importantly, how can we grow in our faith?  For even Peter himself will be chastised for his lack of faith, his reliance upon himself, his lack of awareness of his own weakness in a time of temptation.  In fact, in our very next reading, Jesus' discipline will be given with a rebuke to Peter, with the remark, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (Matthew 16:23), when Peter cannot accept Christ's prophecy of His Passion.  In chapter 26, we'll read Jesus' prophecy of Peter's denial of Him, Peter and the other disciples' failure to remain awake and pray with Christ in the garden, the mistake of defending Christ with a sword, and finally Peter's denial that He even knew Christ (see Matthew 26:31-75).  These are failures in a time of tremendous demand, confusion, temptation, pressure, even terror.  But leadership and authority are tested through such times, and Peter's repentance, restitution, and leadership will continue.  It is in this disciplining of faith through the transformation of character that real leadership and authority are honed, built, tested, and grown.  And this, also, can be the story of our own lives of both faith and discipleship as we seek to bear Christ's cross into the world, and participate in our own ways in His Passion, death, and Resurrection.  We look to leadership for these qualities of both faith and discipleship, developed through experience, honed through appreciation and reception of what has come before, and maybe most importantly developed through the humility of service.  Peter has revealed a tremendous secret through faith:  the identity of Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God."  But the character Jesus reveals about this disciple, by changing his name from Simon Bar-Jonah to Peter, is one that will continue to be hewn in the fire of faith, of experience and difficulty, and in the challenges that lie ahead.  Like a statue that is formed from a hunk of stone, Peter's identity will continue to be refined and built, tested and challenged, through many experiences of sacrifice and courage to come.  So it is with us, faith plus discipleship must carry authority and leadership, and so we look today to the Church to continue her work of building up living stones.

 

 

I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it

Soorp Purgich "Holy Savior" Armenian church (wall detail; likely an ancient stone re-used).  1830, Istanbul

 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. 

- Matthew 16:13-20

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"   So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"   My study bible calls this latter question the greatest a person could ever face.  It is the question that defines Christianity.   My study bible invites us to note that here, Jesus first draws our wrong opinions about Himself.  He does so in order to identify the incorrect ideas:  a person is better prepared to avoid falsehoods and false teachings when they are clearly identified.

  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."  My study bible comments that Peter's correct answer to this question prevents the Christian faith from being seen as simply another philosophical system or path of spirituality, as it names Jesus as the one and only Son of the living God.  This distinct understanding distinguishes Christianity from other religious systems.  Peter's understanding cannot be achieved by human reason, my study bible notes, but only by divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One," and is the same as the Hebrew title "Messiah."

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."  In both Aramaic and Greek there is a play on words here.  The same word for Peter also means rock.  St. John Chrysostom comments that this "rock" isn't referring to Peter per se but rather to "the faith of his confession."  The real Rock is Christ Himself (1 Corinthians 10:4), and the Church is built upon the faithful confession of Christ.  The gates of Hades, my study bible says, are the powers of death.  In the Old Testament, gates suggest a fortified city (Genesis 22:17, 24:60; Isaiah 14:31).   My study bible comments that by shattering the gates of Hades, Christ opens the stronghold of death to set free the souls of the righteous.  So also, the Church shall not be stopped in the proclamation of salvation.  "Church" (ἐκκλησία/ekklesia or "assembly") is a term only used twice in the gospels, here and in 18:17.  This Church is the true Israel.  It is the Body of Christ, and her citizenship is heavenly. 

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.  My study bible comments that the keys of the kingdom is a reference to the special authority given to both Peter and the other apostles after the Resurrection (see 18:18; John 20:23).  It explains that Peter was not a leader over the others, but rather a leader among them.  At the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) the apostles and presbyters met as equals, and Peter advised, while James presided.   Peter's role should be neither diminished nor expanded in terms of later controversies.  Binding and loosing refers primarily to the authority "to absolve sins" according to Chrysostom (see also John 20:23).  This also includes the teaching, sacramental, and administrative authority of the apostles, my study bible says, and this authority in turn is transmitted to the bishops of the Church, continuing to today.

Whatever debates and controversies might have ensued from this passage in today's reading down the centuries since this event took place, one thing remains very clear from it:  that is the power of faith.  It is Peter's confession of faith that is the rock upon which the Church has been built, and it is the rock upon which the Church remains standing, through which holy power in any instance or setting -- or at work in a human being -- effectively exists and is present in this world.  There is little doubt, from St. Peter's example, of the powerful effect of this building block.  In fact, Peter himself would go on to use the illustration of "living stones" as the power of the Church in its faithful.  He writes, "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,  you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,  “Behold, I lay in Zion/ A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,/ And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” (1 Peter 2:4-5, citing Isaiah 28:16).  In this image begun by Christ, as He renamed Peter based on His confession made on behalf of all of the others, we find the greatest and most powerful statement regarding faith itself.  Jesus spoke of faith as a mustard seed, from which the greatest tree may grow, housing even birds in its branches (13:31-32).  He used another illustration of the power of faith when He said that faith as a mustard seed could move mountains (17:20).  At this time as we look around the world, we see many entrenched in the power of politics and political movements, slogans, rage, anger, and clamor as methods to change the world, to correct or redress injustices, and fix everything that we might think is wrong with the world.  But I do not see a lot of people reminding us of the power of faith.  So for today I am going to start there.  Because this is what our bible passage is telling us.  No matter how powerful you think the media might be, or political slogans might be.  Regardless of what moves people to build a movement, or even to burn down a city or tear apart someone's neighborhood, we must not forget this all-powerful potent power of faith and Christ's words in today's example in which He renames Peter.  We see a world engulfed in misunderstanding and excitement, but we must not forget also that it is the word of God that goes everywhere in the world and reaches into human hearts, grasping them with its power found only in real faith.  We should not underestimate where the power of our faith might take us, even as we, too, may become living stones to build up life in this world -- to make it and not break it.  Whatever we choose and wherever we go now, 2,000 years after Christ's Incarnation in this world, let us be sure that what we want to do is build up, to make better.  We want solutions and healing.  What makes life better and more meaningful for people?  What builds life?  To my way of thinking -- and also in my experience -- this will not happen properly without faith.   When everything is confusion and so much is couched in rage, let us consider turning first to our faith for guidance and to be led.  Let us turn to faith to correct whatever is in the heart, to adjust us where we are mistaken, to calm harsh and hurt feelings, but most of all to affirm what we need to believe in so that we can build up the good.  If we think we see the gates of Hades showing themselves in chaos, let us remember the rock that will prevail against them.  Christ's love for us is where we start, and His word for how we need to go forward applies to any and all circumstances.  Start there, for the power of faith is real.  We might not see its effects in the next five minutes, but on the other hand prayer does a powerful amount of good to soothe the heart and set us in the right place with the perspective we need to see clearly.  Let us remember to turn to the rock.  Let us all be living stones building something good up, for everyone.

On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it

 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

- Matthew 16:13-20

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."   According to my study bible, the question "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question that a person can ever face.  It is the question that defines Christianity.  Peter's correct answer to this question prevents our faith from being seen merely as another philosophical system or path of spirituality.  Rather it names Jesus as the one and only Son of the living God.   Such a perspective excludes all compromise with other religious systems by the nature of the truth it reveals.  This understanding of Peter could not be achieved merely by human reason.  It's by divine revelation through faith that it comes (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One."  It is equivalent to the Hebrew title "Messiah."   My study bible also makes note that Christ first draws out erroneous opinions about Himself.  This is so that He identifies incorrect ideas; we're better prepared to avoid false teachings when they are clearly identified.

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ."    Jesus' saying here regarding Peter/rock is a play on the word for "rock"  in both Aramaic and Greek (petros/petra).   The rock is not Peter per se, but rather, in the words of St. Chrysostom, "the faith of his confession."  The true Rock is Christ Himself (1 Corinthians 10:4).  Therefore the Church is built on the faithful confession of Christ.   The Gates of Hades are powers of death.  In the Old Testament, gates are suggestive of a fortified city (Genesis 22:17, 24:60; Isaiah 14:31).  Shattering those gates, Christ opens the stronghold of death, my study bible says, to set free the souls of the righteous.  Additionally, the Church shall not be stopped in her proclamation of salvation.   Only twice in the gospels is the church mentioned, and both in Matthew -- here and in 18:17.

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.   According to my study bible, keys of the kingdom refers to a special authority that will be given both to Peter and the other apostles after the Resurrection (see 18:18; John 20:23).  Peter was not a leader over the others, but rather among them.  This truth, it says, was confirmed at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), in which apostles and presbyters met as equals -- where Peter advised, but James presided.  Modern struggles over interpretations of this passage should neither diminish nor over-inflate the role of Peter.  Binding and loosing, according to Chrysostom, is primarily a reference to the authority "to absolve sins" (see also John 20:23).   My study bible says it also includes all the teaching, sacramental and administrative authority of the apostles.  This authority was in turn transmitted to the bishops of the Church and continues in effect to this day.

 Why does faith give such an unfathomable and unshakeable bond to Christ?  Here, the confession of Peter not only renders such a bond as we might conceive of it, but also confers tremendous powers which are shared by Christ with His disciples.  The power to bind and loose sin, for instance, is not something that is conferred through human prestige, nor reasoning, nor intelligence.  This is something that faith confers, an unshakeable bond with Christ, as illustrated by the "rock" in the image Christ gives here.  That bond is such that the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.  We have to think of ancient cities, fortified by city walls and gates as protection against invaders and outsiders.  The gates of Hades are those that prevent anyone from entering upon the territory of that which is against Christ, which would seek to keep God out.  Inside of ourselves we may find all kinds of walls we've set up -- consciously or unconsciously -- against our faith, against incursion by the Holy Spirit's work in the world.  There are all kinds of defenses we have against opening up to what God might have in mind for us, and all kinds of reasons for those defenses.  Psychologically speaking, we may hold onto an identity we don't want to change, relationships that will need shifting, and any number of assumptions about ourselves and our own behavior we don't want to challenge or question for all kinds of reasons and depending upon where they came from.  But Christ promises that faith is stronger than all the fears and troubles and worries that the "gates of Hades" can use to keep Christ out.  This expression, gates of Hades, also puts us in mind of another statement in which Jesus speaks of the taking of a kingdom.   In referring to John the Baptist, He said, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force"  (11:12, see this reading).  The faith of the Kingdom is such that those who grasp this faith in Christ possess a kind of power that isn't available any other way.   Jesus refers again to an action of one kingdom raiding another when He replies to accusations that He casts out demons by the power of demons:  "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?"  (see this reading).  In the centuries just prior to Jesus' time, the history of Israel and the surrounding regions was one of endless wars of kingdom against kingdom.  Jesus gives us a picture of our faith as that which prevails against any gate that would keep it out, keep us bound or oppressed or enslaved or held hostage.  In fact, this bond of faith is that which confers to the faithful the powers that He shares with them.   As faithful, we must remember the power of this bond and the image that Jesus gives of it.  We remember that not only do we share in His life through the gifts He gives, but also through the persecutions we may experience, just as He did.  Ultimately, in the Eucharist and other sacraments or mysteries of the Church, we participate in His life, death, and Resurrection.  When we face what seem like insurmountable problems, or feel assaulted in any number of ways, let us remember the strength and power of this bond that He pictures as a rock, and the power with which He describes it.  We are heirs of that faith and Kingdom.  Let us see how it works in surprising ways in our lives, as it did for these earliest faithful we read about.

But who do you say that I am?

 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

- Matthew 16:13-20

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"   "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question a person can ever face, my study bible tells us.  Indeed, when we consider the controversies and counsels and various heresies throughout the history of Christianity, it all seems to center on this question.  Indeed, the answer defines Christianity.   We note that Jesus first draws out erroneous opinions about Himself.  He does this to identify these incorrect ideas, as a person is better prepared to avoid false teachings when they are clearly identified.  Indeed, in later debate throughout the centuries, this would be a method used by theologians.

 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Peter's correct answer to Jesus' question prevents the Christian faith from being simply another philosophical system or path of spirituality.  It names Jesus as the one and only Son of the living God.  This is an absolute and eternal reality, and embeds the Incarnation as the central act of history, lending myriad and ongoing meaning for human beings.  This position excludes compromise with other religious systems, my study bible says.   Christ means "Anointed One," and is equivalent to the Hebrew title "Messiah."

Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."  Peter's answer about Jesus' identity cannot be achieved by human reason.  It is only understood by divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  This statement about Peter is a play on the word for "rock" in both Aramaic and Greek (petros/petra).  The rock, my study bible says, does not refer to Peter per se.  Rather it refers, in the words of St. John Chrysostom, to "the faith of his confession."  The true Rock is Christ Himself (1 Corinthians 10:4), and the Church is built on the faithful confession of Christ.  The gates of Hades are the powers of death.  In the Old Testament, my study bible notes, gates suggest a fortified city (Genesis 22:17; 24:60; Isaiah 14:31).  By shattering its gates, Christ opens the stronghold of death to set free the souls of the righteous.  My study bible adds that so also, the Church shall not be stopped in her proclamation of salvation.  Church (ekklesia) is used as a term only twice in all the gospels, here and in 18:17.  This Church is the true Israel and the Body of Christ; her citizenship is heavenly. 

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.  Keys of the kingdom refers to a special authority that will be given to both Peter and the other apostles after their Resurrection (see 18:18; John 20:23).  My study bible adds that Peter was not a leader "over" the others, but rather among them.  At the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) this was confirmed.  There, the apostles and presbyters met as equals, and Peter advised, but James presided.   Peter's role should neither be exaggerated nor diminished in accordance with the New Testament witness.  Binding and loosing refers primarily to the authority to "absolve sins" according to St. John Chrysostom; see also John 20:23.  But, my study bible says, it also includes all the teaching, sacramental, and administrative authority of the apostles.  Apostolic succession is meant to continue to transmit this authority to the bishops of the Church, and continues in effect today.

Here in today's reading is the central question of Christianity, and even for the world.  Who is Christ?  "But who do you say that I am?" is an even more important, and personal question.   Depending on our answer is our orientation to life, to the world, to all the cosmos, even to ourselves.  The Incarnation -- Christ the Son incarnate as human being and born as Jesus of Nazareth -- becomes not just the central question of Christianity.  It becomes the central focus of the purpose of our lives.  The Son born as human being indicates that all of our lives in this world, and all the material reality of who we are:  our bodies, our surroundings, our planet, and all of creation, is glorified in this Incarnation.  The Son, purely divine, takes on human nature.  He will even take on death in order to transfigure and defeat its power over human beings, giving us the capacity for eternal life.  The Incarnation of Jesus Christ declares that everything that is created is good -- it is made for glory.  Up until the Incarnation, there were all kinds of philosophical systems that declared the divine or heavenly good, but the material as bad.  Because of our separation from God, because of sin, our bodies and material life were seen as "pulling down" a better nature.  Temptation that is possible through our senses and experience of life was seen as confirmation that material life is inferior and "bad."  But the Incarnation changes all of that.  Sin is a product of separation from God, not of our bodies.  Ascetic practice is meant for the body, not against it.  Moreover, the experiences of the mystics throughout the centuries of our faith confirm that our very senses can be transformed to encounter God in inexplicable ways.  All of this is to say that the Incarnation gives us a perspective on our faith and its purposes.  How else do the fruits of the Spirit manifest in human beings, in the here and the now, except that body, soul, mind, heart, and strength are all one, with a central root in Creator?  How else should we see all the marvelous healing miracles of Christ, whether they be exorcism or healing blindness, lameness, deafness, etc. except to understand the connection between body, soul, and spirit in relation to Creator?  Jesus' Incarnation takes it all on, takes it all in, glorifies it all, even our suffering takes on purpose and meaning because Christ is both divine and human.  We participate in the life He brings into the world.  We participate in His life, death, and Resurrection only through the possibilities of the Incarnation.  And that is why Christianity is important, even essential to understanding life in our world and its basic goodness and capacity for restoration in relationship and union with Creator.  The Incarnation confirms that we are created in God's image; and it teaches that we are free to grow in God's likeness through the fruits of the Spirit working in us.  The Incarnation means that there is not a moment of our lives that is lost to meaning.  That is, every choice becomes important, because every choice that He made was important -- and His life is the example for all of His disciples.  Jesus as Christ brings us as close to God as we can possibly be, and ties the divine into our world, giving illumination to everything.    He has made it possible for us to live in that light and share in it and be a part of its illumination of the world (5:14).  He has commanded us that we do so, even as each one is faithful:  "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (5:16).   His Incarnation has taught us that we are never alone, just as He was not alone, and it made possible the sending of the Spirit for us.  Let us be always grateful and remember what He is here for when we doubt the value, importance, or meaning of our own lives and choices.

On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven

 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

- Matthew 16:13-20

Yesterday, we read that the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."  My study bible says that "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question a person can ever face.  This question defines Christianity.  Moreover, I would suggest that the answer defines God and God's nature, at least to the extent that has been revealed to us, and thereby our relationship to the whole of existence.  Peter's answer defines the Christian faith as something other than just another philosophical system or path of spirituality; Jesus is the one and only Son of the living God.  Compromise with conflicting systems is excluded in this understanding; what is good and true and beautiful is elevated and expanded from this perspective.  Peter's understanding cannot be given simply through human reason, but is given through divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One" in Greek, and is equivalent to the Hebrew title "Messiah."  My study bible also asks us to note that Christ first draws out erroneous opinions about Himself here.  This is so to identify incorrect ideas.  A person is better prepared to avoid false teachings when they have been clearly identified.

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."  Jesus uses a kind of play on words here as both Peter and rock are the same word in Aramaic (the common spoken language of His time and place) and Greek (the language of the Scriptures, both Old and New, at the time of the writing of the Gospel).  That word is petros/petra.  John Chrysostom writes that the "rock" referred to by Jesus isn't Peter per se, but rather to the "faith of his confession."  The true Rock is Christ Himself (1 Corinthians 10:4), and the Church is built upon this rock -- the faithful confession of Christ.  The gates of Hades refers to the powers of death.  In the Old Testament, gates are suggestive of a fortified city (Genesis 22:17, 24:60; Isaiah 14:31).  My study bible says that Christ shatters its gates, and thereby opens the stronghold of death to set free the souls of the righteous.  In the same manner, the Church will not be stopped in her proclamation of salvation.  The term church (Gr. ekklesia) is mentioned only twice in all the gospels, here and in 18:17.  My study bible says this Church is the true Israel, and the Body of Christ; her citizenship is heavenly.

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.  The keys of the kingdom, says my study bible, refers to a special authority that will be given to both Peter and the other apostles after the Resurrection (see 18:18; John 20:23).  Peter isn't given to be a leader over others, but among them.  This is clearly confirmed at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) where the apostles and presbyters all met as equals -- and where Peter advised, but James presided.  My study bible says that Peter's role should neither be exaggerated nor minimized.  Binding and loosing refers primarily to the authority "to absolve sins" according to St. John Chrysostom (see John 20:23), but also includes the teaching, sacramental and administrative authority of the apostles, says my study bible.   This was in turn transmitted to the bishops of the Church, and continues today.

Jesus clearly indicates here a spiritual Kingdom, not bound by worldly authority and neither bound simply to earthly existence.  This is a Kingdom that brings heaven and earth together as one, just as we are taught that the angels worship together with us in the liturgy.   Jesus teaches us to pray to our Father in heaven, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  There are no bars here, nothing held back or excluded.  This is the fullness of time He teaches us about, the fullness of the world's creation -- for a union, a true assembly (the meaning of the word ekklesia in Greek, or Church).  Nothing is kept separate from true faith.  As we participate in the liturgy, even His body and blood, we are invited all in, to all of it.  And this has to be the great good news -- that human beings are fully eligible for participation in this Kingdom.  That the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it says so much more than we nominally understand by these words.  These "gates of death" are all the barriers we may find in life to realizing God's love and our participation in the life of Christ.  It is every little thing that contributes to a "way of death" as we walk in this world, the things that keep us from God's love and our own fullness within that perspective of love.  This is the true power of Christ and the Church in our lives:  to take us back from everything that contributes to death or limitation of who we are and the fullness of our lives in this multi-dimensional picture of creation and existence.  At Easter, in Christ's Resurrection, we say that He "trampled death by death."  So, too, when the things "die" in us that keep us limited, that keep us from realizing the promise of grace in our lives, that hinder us from expanding in our awareness of God's love at work in us, so death is trampled by death.  We give up limitation -- often through forgiveness -- in order to expanded, and to live, to gain Christ's life in abundance where we didn't have it.  We are set free in so doing, "saved," and the gates of Hades can't hold us from this place of life -- life that is always working, like the enzymes in the leaven in Christ's parable, within us, among us, and in surprising ways.  St. Paul said, "I die daily."  The image this may suggest to us is like that of our physical bodies, where cells die each day to be replaced by new ones, a constant renewal.  So it is with our active faith; it is a venture into the Kingdom, into mystery, into new things to be learned so that we expand, and old things discarded that limit and keep us from better understanding.  Let us remember what we are to be about, and what we participate within.  There is so much more to be found, discovered, revealed on this path -- this journey of His Way, the promise of the Kingdom that lives with us and within us.

Keys of the kingdom

 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to Him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

- Matthew 16:13-20

Yesterday, we read that the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it you do not understand the that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

  When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."   Jesus answered and said to Him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."  My study bible says "Who do you say that I am? is the greatest question we can ever face.  You are the Christ, the Son of the living God is Peter's ringing confession -- an insight given to him by the Father.  Jesus' messianic identity and divinity, the mystery hidden from eternity, cannot be truly known by human reason, but only by God's revelation (1 Cor. 12:3).  Christ means 'the Anointed One.'  Christ is the Son of the living God, whom the Father has anointed with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38).  David says, 'Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions' (Ps. 45:7).  Isaiah, speaking in the name of the Lord, says, 'The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me' (Is. 61:1)."

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."   My study bible tells us that Peter/rock is a play on the word for rock in Aramaic and Greek (petros/petra).  Rock refers not to Peter himself but to the confession of his faith.  The true Rock and foundation of the Church is, of course, Christ Himself.  The Church rests upon this Rock by her unchanging faith, her confession. With this faith as the foundation, the gates of Hades, the powers of death, are powerless against her.  In the Old Testament gates suggest a fortified city . . . Hence, by shattering the gates, Christ is opening the stronghold of death to set free the souls of righteous men.  In all the Gospels, church is mentioned twice by the Lord, here and in 18:17, describing the true Israel whose citizenship is heavenly.  She is the body of Christ, the divine-human organism, and to her comes the call of Jesus for the whole of mankind to abide with Him and in Him (Eph. 1:23)."

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.  A note here tells us that keys of the kingdom clearly implies a special authority given to Peter himself, but never separated from his confession of faith.  While Peter was a leader of the disciples and of the early Church, all the apostles were empowered with Christ's authority (18:18).  Further, Peter was not a leader over the others but a leader among them, as seen at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), where elders, or presbyters, met with the apostles together as equals. . . . Binding and loosing is a reference to the teaching, sacramental, and administrative powers of the Apostles which were transmitted to the bishops of the Church."

Today's reading contains extraordinary news, of many kinds.  Not only is there the confession itself, that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, but there's all kinds of other news here.  This Messiah isn't merely a great leader, a human being, the expected One, but He's God who is also human.  There is no getting around this extraordinary and staggering news.  There's not a secondary form of our faith that waters it down.  It is quite literally awe-inspiring or even awe-some in the sense that those two things just can't seem to be put together!  It is the greatest paradox and yet it's the core of our faith.  But that isn't the only news here:  the real news just might be the confession of faith that this is so from Peter, because this isn't an analysis, it's not based on required proofs (which Jesus has steadfastly refused to give to anyone).  No, the staggering news here is given to us by Jesus, that it is the Father in heaven who revealed this understanding to Peter.  God is not only present in human form in Jesus Christ, but God the Father is present (or rather, at work) in each one of us, although there is only one Christ.  Jesus has revealed the Father's presence to us in several readings in the Gospels, perhaps most stunningly and vividly when He tells us that whoever receives a little one in His name, or one whom He has sent, also receives not only Jesus Christ, but also the Father who sent Him (forms of this appear in all four Gospels).  He has also told us that of the little ones "their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven."  This powerful news extends to us as well.  Not only do we have faith that Jesus is God incarnate as human being, but He tells us that God the Father is with us, revealing and working -- even through the angels which guard us.  This is truly "awesome" news, awe-inspiring, because it tells us of our connection with the divine, with that which is so infinitely beyond ourselves.  Inspiration isn't just a matter of brain power (although inspiration will incorporate all skills, gifts, talents that we've been given).  It's a question of the openness of our hearts to receiving this news, with eyes and ears that are ready to hear spiritual truth.  There really could be no greater gift than the depth of this connection, because we have no idea where such a thing can take us.  Let us remember how extraordinary God's love and presence are.  Christ is with us, God is with us, the Father works with us, within us.  How ready are we to accept such an extraordinary gift?  How shall the keys of the kingdom take us ahead, and what strong gates can keep Him out?