Author: admin

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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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Lent is a penitential season.

By now, I’m sure we’ve all thought of something we can abstain from – anything from coffee to Netflix. 

But if you’re still unsure, allow me to offer a bit of advice.

Most parents would agree that pacifiers are one of the best inventions ever. When babies are crying and all else fails, that little piece of plastic can calm them instantly. It’s like magic!

While we quickly outgrow them, there are all kinds of other pacifiers that we may cling to – snacking, shopping, working, complaining, television – things that offer us momentary relief, but not lasting nourishment. 

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What’s my pacifier?

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Whatever it is, that may be the perfect thing to give up this Lent.

Instead of watching an extra thirty minutes of mind numbing television, for example, spend that time reading the bible or in private prayer. Seek lasting nourishment from the Lord.

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We must also be on our guard, making sure that our fasting doesn’t lead to a poor attitude. I remember trying to give up coffee one Lent but became the quite the grouch!

That wasn’t beneficial to anyone; giving up the coffee was only half the penance. The other half was being charitable towards others while tired.

“When you fast,” Jesus says, “do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden” (Matthew 6:16-18).

Fasting from our pacifiers – whether it’s coffee or Netflix – can be spiritually fruitful, but only if we do it with the right attitude.

Am I beginning Lent with the right attitude?

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Embrace this period of renewal. The Lord will never be outdone in generosity.

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If we venture into our kitchens this morning and do a “head-count” of all our dishes, we may find we have a few imperfect sets.

7 dinner plates, 5 saucers, 9 glasses, 3 soup bowls. But why?

Incomplete sets are the mark of a “lived-in” kitchen. Many of us have children or grandchildren running around, for example. I myself am clumsy from time to time.

Maybe a bowl fell off the counter last week; a glass broke in the dishwasher; a wet plate slid from our hands.

What do we do when a dish breaks?

We sweep it into the garbage.

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That’s how we deal with most things when they’re broken. 

That space heater that fizzled out this winter; that wobbly wooden chair; that old couch the kids jumped on just one too many times. 

Toss it. Drag it out to the curb. Throw it in the dumpster.

But what about a broken heart? A weak marriage? A fractured friendship? A COVID positive patient? A crumbling relationship with God? 

Are we to be disposed of like a broken bowl?

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The Japanese have a fascinating custom called Kintsugi. 

When a bowl is broken, they don’t throw it away; rather, they piece it back together using glue and gold.

They say that breakage and repair are all part of the history of that object. The focus is not on how the object broke, but that it was restored.

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Haven’t we all been broken like a bowl at some point in our lives? 

We’ve been diagnosed with cancer; we’ve struggled with addiction; we’ve lost our job, our home, our marriage, or even a child.  

Life has a way of breaking us. 

But broken hearts – and by extension, broken lives – can be put back together. That’s what our faith – and forgiveness – is all about.

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Throughout the Gospels, Jesus seeks out the sinful, the sorrowful, the possessed – and he heals them. 

“For I did not come to call the righteous,” he says, “but sinners.” 

The broken ones.

Ask any of those healed, Jesus has a way of filling those cracks and chips in our lives with the golden glue of his mercy.

In that sense, the Lord is the ultimate Kintsugi artist. He can piece anyone back together, no matter how much damage has occurred.

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Where are the cracks in my own life? Where do I need to be pieced back together?

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Often people associate Ash Wednesday with the passage of time; with death. 

But it’s about much more than that. It’s about new beginnings; restoration; resurrection.

As you come forth to have ashes sprinkled above your head, remember the words, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

Turn to the Lord, trusting that he can – and will – piece us back together, because no life, no circumstance, no person is disposable in the eyes of God. 

We’re all made with glue and gold.  Those cracks in our lives are simply part of our story.

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