Deacon Cornell's Homily

"And so I say to you, you are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church." I always smile when today's Gospel comes around every three years because it reminds me that God loves a good pun as much as I do. Over the years many commentators have remarked that as writers they are delighted that something as significant as the Catholic Church was founded with a pun. The pun is a little more obvious in Aramaic, the language Jesus almost surely spoke these words in, because both words would be kepa: “You are Kepa and on this kepa I will build my Church.”

One of the commentators I read this week also said that there are at least 14 different important points that we could reflect on in this one Gospel story. But I am going to focus on just one.

When I was younger I was a little put off by Jesus saying to Peter, "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 will be loosed in heaven."

To me that sounded like Jesus was giving Peter and the Church the power to tell God (heaven) what to do. Why on earth or in heaven would Jesus do that, knowing how unreliable human beings are? But now that I am older and know a little bit better where to go for help understanding the scriptures, I understand that statement very differently. I found out that the Greek words that are translated here as "shall be bound in heaven" and "shall be loosed in heaven" are forms of the verb that imply past completion. A more literal translation might be "shall be already bound in heaven", and "shall be already loosed in heaven". In other words, it is not that Peter or his successors are able to make a decision here on earth which then causes that to happen in heaven, but rather Jesus is promising that when Peter or his successors make a decision of importance here on earth, that Jesus will be there to guide that decision so that it is made in harmony with what is already true in heaven. And then even when the Church gets it wrong, Jesus promises to stay right with her and guiding her back on track.

We witnessed the practical application of that power and guidance a little over a year ago, as all the cardinals gathered in the Vatican to choose the successor to Pope Francis. I remember reading more than one secular newspaper report at the time that tried to liken what was going on to a political election. Several journalists were speculating on how various factions within the college of cardinals would be able to come to agreement to be able to pick a new Pope that would further their different agendas. But the reality was that all of those cardinals gathered behind closed doors and began to pray and meditate that both individually and as a group that they would be able to discern who God had already chosen to be the next Pope, and to the surprise of a number of the secular journalists, they chose Pope Leo XIV.

So does any of this have anything to do with us, or is it just about the pope in communion with all the bishops? I would suggest that understanding this exchange between Jesus and Peter can be a wonderful instruction for our own prayer lives. All too often I know that I start to pray by asking God to do what I would like to have happen, whether it is to send healing to a certain person, or wisdom to another, or for God to change a situation. Basically I am praying as if Jesus told me that what ever I bind or loose here, that God will respond by binding and loosing as well. After reflecting on today's Gospel, I have learned to pray differently. I pray not that God will do what I want God to do, but for the Spirit to enlighten me, to show me, what God has already chosen for me, or for that other person or for that situation. I am learning to place my complete trust in the knowledge that whatever God has already chosen is by far the best thing possible, far better than anything I could imagine. I am learning to pray along with Paul that from God, and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

homily index