21st Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A (Aug. 24, 2014)

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 our 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 reading: 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.”

 

Introductory theme summary:

The obvious common theme from the Old Testament and Gospel readings today is the papacy.  Less obvious, however, is how the second reading ties into the papal theme.  I would remind the readers that the Lord himself established the prominent role of Peter, which did in fact evolve into what has become the papacy.  The second reading should therefore be applied to the real importance of the papacy, whether the reader accepts what it has become or not.
 

Reflection:

The issue of the papacy begins with understanding what its purpose actually is.  The first clue to that point is revealed to us in why Peter was distinguished apart from the rest of the apostles – because he was the first to understand Jesus’ then hidden significance to God’s plan of salvation.  That reveals to us the primary purpose for the papacy, which is to safeguard the authentic understanding of Jesus as the Christ and his message of salvation – i.e. the Catholic (universal) truth. 

Then there is the issue of the power Jesus gave Peter at the declaration of his prominence among the rest of the apostles.  That power is to bind and to loose.  Though this binding and loosening can be applied to their power to forgive sins in which they empower priests to share with them, this passage is addressing a different need specifically.  That need is to distinguish those who are consistent with that authentic truth – orthodoxy.  Though this power can be exercised over anyone who teaches the faith, it is primarily intended to be applied specifically to those who share in the official responsibility of representing the faith to the world along with Peter – i.e. the apostles.  For the Church today that now applies to the individual who occupies the office of pope and all those who participate in the apostolic succession – all the bishops, along with those who share in each bishop’s teaching authority – priests and deacons.

The “binding” function is exercised through the process of ordination.  By determining a candidate suited for ordination they are not being judged as better than other Christians.  They are being determined as authentically called by God and sufficiently prepared to represent the true faith accurately (i.e. orthodoxy) for the benefit of the entire faith community.  This process always begins with the office of deacon, with most becoming priests shortly thereafter.  Some, who are recognized as possessing the capacity for the office, receive the full measure of representing the faith.  These are those who become bishops.  Cardinals are bishops who become designated as such for a specific service to the pope.  Their primary function is to safeguard the succession of the seat of Peter – the papacy.

The “loosening” function is exercised by declaring someone excommunicated.  This is necessary in the cases where someone who had previously received official approval (became ordained in any capacity and therefore presumed trustworthy by all the faithful) deviates harmfully from the orthodox representation of the faith to which they committed themselves under the condition of obedience.  This obedience is an absolutely necessity because the influence associated to their office as deacon, priest, or bishop, comes from the Catholic Church, in service of which this power was given.  Contradict the will of the organization to which one becomes empowered to represent and the right to retain that power becomes forfeited due to their own infidelity.  This is not a condemnation of that individual, but a suspension of the teaching authority previously given to that individual.  In other words, their teaching is no longer to be trusted by any of the faithful.  This determination is made for the protection of the faithful.

As it is the salvation needs of the entire human race that the Catholic Church sees herself as commissioned to serve, it is in regard to faithfully accomplishing that purpose commanded her by the Lord that she strives to provide the faith as it was given to her from the apostles.  That is what it means to be an apostolic church.  Those who call their faith apostolic without remaining faithful to the original message of the apostles are falsely representing their faith.  Only that which is Catholic is truly apostolic, and therefore truly trustworthy, as our Lord desired the faith to be presented to us, even to the ends of the earth.

Ascension Thursday (on Sunday) – Cycle A (June 1, 2014)

My apologies for the delay again.  Thank you for your patience.

First reading: Acts 1: 1-11

“In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.  He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.  While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for ‘the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

They asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’  He answered them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’  When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.  While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.  They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?  This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”

Second reading: Eph. 1: 17-23

“Brothers and sisters:  May the God of our lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.  May the eyes of you hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come.  And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.”
 

Gospel reading: Mt. 28: 16-20

“The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.  When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.  Then Jesus approached and said to them, ‘All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

 

Introductory theme summary:

The common theme of today’s readings in on the anticipation of the great event to come, Pentecost. 

Reflection:

In the first reading we have Jesus instructing the apostles to not be concerned with “when” the kingdom will be restored, or even specifically “how” that will be accomplished.  Rather, Jesus redirects their attention to the power and responsibility they will receive when they become baptized with fire as John had told them Jesus would do for them – Receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

In the second reading we have Paul instructing us on what we are all to look for as a result of receiving the Holy Spirit, each of us in our own turn.  His prayer is for us all to receive the Spirit in the fullest possible measure, even to the extent of fully participating in the oneness of the body of Christ, thereby sharing in the fullness of Christ himself.

There is a slightly different specification in the gospel reading, however.  While addressing the apostles specifically, Jesus commands them to, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”  The contention is that this command Jesus gave to the apostles he also gives to all of us.  However, only the apostles knew first-hand what Jesus had commanded them, therefore this statement could only apply to the apostles specifically.  From this we gather that there is a specific responsibility charged to the apostles exclusively: that being keeping the Church faithful to Jesus’ original message. 

If you recall, on the second Sunday of Easter the gospel reading describes a specific encounter the apostles had with Jesus after Jesus’ resurrection, which goes, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.  Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’  This account informs us very clearly that the apostles received something unique in relationship to everyone’s reception of the Holy Spirit.  In this reading we have the declaration that the apostles receive Jesus’ power to remove sin. 

Returning to today’s gospel reading we learn of an additional power Jesus charges to the apostles: the governance of the Church.  By the words of today’s gospel, they received in addition to the power of governance, also a charge of responsibility.  In fact it is in view of their responsibility to safeguard the authenticity of Jesus’ original message that they are given this power, for all power is given to serve a specific function.  Furthermore this power and responsibility was to continue until the end of the age.

As life continued, and the apostles began to die, it become obvious that the Second coming was going to be delayed beyond what they originally anticipated.  This led to the realization that there was an inescapable need for the responsibility Jesus charged the apostles with to continue to be carried out.  Thus we have what in now known as the apostolic succession.  The apostles appointed specific men to carry out their responsibilities in their stead after they became deceased.  There remains only twelve apostles.  Those who have been entrusted with the succession of their ministry are in fact fulfilling the same ministry of those original twelve apostles, thought their numbers have necessarily grown to accommodate the present size of the Church.

The descent of the Holy Spirit we celebrate on Pentecost is rightly considered the birthday of the Church, but equally important is accepting the apostolic succession as an intended part of our Lord’s Church.  For by it alone can we know what is consistent with Jesus’ original message, because the Lord assured us of that very thing when he said, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.  But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.  He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.”  (Jn. 16: 12-13)

I know how difficult it is to subject oneself to authority in this day and age of defiance, but that remains an essential part of true faith in Christ. 

Obedience ...  the ignored virtue!