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Gospel: Matthew 16: 13-19
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Have you ever wondered why the Lord chose Peter to be the rock of the Church?
Why not John, the Beloved Disciple?
John stood faithfully at the Cross while Peter was somewhere else cowering in fear.
Or why not Mary Magdalene, whose devotion to Jesus was undeniable?
She was the first person to approach the empty tomb on Easter Sunday, and the first to see the Risen Lord.
Why not John or Mary? Why Peter?
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Because Peter was embarrassingly human – a man filled with courage, and at times, cowardice.
He was the first disciple to profess his faith in Jesus, saying rightly, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”
But three times he denies ever knowing him.
Peter walks trustingly towards Jesus on the stormy Sea of Galilee – but then he’s overcome by fear and sinks.
Jesus names him the “rock” in today’s Gospel, but later rebukes Peter, calling him “Satan.”
More than any other disciple, Peter experienced both success and failure.
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That’s why the Lord chose him.
Peter could be any one of us.
Like us, he wrestled with fear, anxiety, and doubt. He wasn’t perfect, but he was redeemed.
Peter is meant to comfort us; to remind us that we don’t have to be without fault in order to follow Jesus. Some days we succeed; other days we fail.
But the Lord is with us through it all, leading us into his kingdom.
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