Isaiah 22:19-23 Romans
11: 33-36 Matthew 16: 13-20
Deacon Jerry Franzen - Cathedral August 26, 27, 2017
Caesarea Philippi was an area populated by Gentiles, not Jews.
They worshipped false Gods; they were pagans.
Jesus asked his disciples,
“Who
do people say that the Son of Man is?”
The Messiah was referred to as the “Son of Man”
in the Book of Daniel.
The disciples would have understood that.
The people of Caesarea Philippi did not know Jesus,
but
they seemed to know enough about the Jewish faith
and
the expected Messiah
that they gave answers familiar to the
Jews.
John the Baptist had quite a following among the Jews.
Elijah was taken up into heaven in a fiery chariot
and
was to return at the completion of the Kingdom.
Prophets were among the most famous of the Jews.
Then Jesus asked his followers, “But who do you say
that I am?”
Peter’s reply was: “You are the Christ, the Son of the
living God.”
Where are we in this small part of St. Matthew’s
Gospel?
We certainly are not like the pagans of Cesarea
Phillipi
who did
not know much about Jesus.
We are disciples, followers of Jesus, like Peter and
the others.
Our answer would have probably been similar to
Peter’s.
We all KNOW ABOUT Jesus as the Messiah.
But the question is: “Have we really gotten to KNOW
Jesus
as
Peter had been getting to know Jesus?”
I
What is the difference between knowing ABOUT someone
and
knowing someone?
Up until a few weekends ago I knew about Bishop Sam
Jacobs.
People had told me that he was a friendly and revered
bishop
who has had a long-time involvement
with
the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
I knew that he is a retired bishop from Louisiana.
I knew that those who had heard him speak thought
the world of him.
I knew about him.
At the National Charismatic Conference in Pittsburgh
in July,
(I
should probably whisper the word Pittsburgh)
I was fortunate to meet Bishop Jacobs.
I can now say that I know him to some extent.
I have heard him preach, and he is a wonderful
homilist.
I asked him questions, and he gave me insightful
answers.
I can recognize him, if I should encounter him again.
I have seen him speak since the conference in a video,
and now
I know some of his story, some his faith journey.
I get email reflections on the daily readings authored
by him,
and I continue to get to know him better in
that way.
I knew OF him, but now I KNOW him, if only a bit.
This is similar to Peter’s relationship with Jesus.
Peter may have heard about Jesus,
and may have formed an opinion about him
before
Jesus called him to be an apostle.
But Peter got to know Jesus only by hearing him
preach,
by
hearing him interpret the Jewish scriptures for the disciples,
by
asking him questions and learning from his answers,
by
witnessing his miracles.
Peter knew Jesus up to this point by having been with
him.
II
But there is another important line in today’s Gospel.
Jesus said to Peter, “Blessed are you, Simon son of
Jonah.
For flesh and blood has NOT revealed this to you,
but my
Father in heaven.”
All that Jesus had done and said with His flesh and
blood
had NOT
revealed to Peter that Jesus was the Messiah.
It was not the human nature of Jesus that had revealed
this to Peter;
it was
the divine nature of Jesus,
the
nature that Jesus shares with the Father
and
with the Holy Spirit.
It was the grace of faith that revealed Jesus as the
Messiah to Peter.
Peter would have understood that this grace came from
the Father.
Jesus had not yet taught his disciples about the Holy
Spirit.
In the catechism of the Catholic Church, we find the
following:
#684 “Through his grace, the Holy Spirit is the first
to awaken faith in us and to communicate to us the new life, which is to ‘know
the Father and the one whom he has sent, Jesus Christ’” (John 17:3)
Even though Peter’s faith was later tested
and
found to be not as strong as it would seem in this Gospel reading,
Jesus
told Peter that he, Jesus,
would build His church on Peter as its
foundation.
And that did happen only after the Holy Spirit
came
down upon the apostles at Pentecost.
Let us not forget or overlook the role of the Holy
Spirit,
the
second gift from the Father for our salvation.
In #689 In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we
read:
“When the Father sends his Word, he also sends his
Breath.”
Here Word begins with a capital “W”; that means
Christ.
“Breath,” also capitalized, refers to the Holy Spirit.
That paragraph goes on:
“In their joint mission, the Son and the Holy Spirit
are distinct but inseparable. To be
sure, it is Christ who is seen, the visible image of the invisible God, but it
is the Spirit who reveals him.”
The Holy Spirit is the source of our Faith.
To really know Jesus as a person one must know the
Holy Spirit.
III
At our baptism, we received the gift of the Holy Spirit;
faith was awakened is each of us.
As we grew, the Holy Spirit guided us, directed us,
revealed Jesus to us as the model of how we
should live.
As we followed the promptings of the Holy Spirit,
we
found what is good in life, what God wants of us,
even
though we may not have recognized the Holy Spirit,
We probably perceived that the promptings came from
parents, teachers, the clergy, friends,
relatives etc.
The Holy Spirit was working through those around us.
This was the beginnings of getting to know Jesus,
of our
developing a personal relationship with him.
Our faith, our trust in God should have grown through
this.
As we have moved on as adults,
the
promptings of the Holy Spirit continue from
those around us.
But the promptings also come from within us.
Maybe I should do this.
I am being drawn to that.
Something is missing in my life.
It is up to us to be open to these promptings of the
Spirit,
to have
faith in them, to trust them, to respond to them.
We grow in our faith
and thereby
in our personal relationship with Jesus.
Often these prompting will be such that we are
puzzled,
we may
not see where they will lead us.
Or they may look like they will lead us outside of our
comfort zone.
We must trust that the Holy Spirit pushing us toward
the good.
The Holy Spirit will never lead us down the wrong path.
He will not lead us down what looks like a difficult
path without
also being the source of grace necessary
for our successfully navigation of that difficult
path.
All the while our faith in God, Father, Son and Spirit,
grows,
we get
to know Jesus better,
and
the path to our salvation becomes clearer.
I have often told you that my favorite definition of
faith is:
“Our trusting response to a God who is ever inviting
us
into a closer relationship with His Son,
Jesus.”
It then seems to me that the Holy Spirit is
the
continual messenger of that invitation.
We must not ignore the power of the Holy Spirit.
What is God asking of me?
How is he asking me to serve Him?
Should I step out of my comfort zone to share my
faith.
How can I be an instrument of the Holy Spirit?
Peter heard God’s plan for him to be the foundation of
the Church, and it took the power of
the Holy Spirit at Pentecost
for
that plan to be realized in Peter.
That same power of the Holy Spirit is here for each of
us,
if we
just have the faith to let it work within us.
Wherever you are in your relationship with God,
follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit,
and
let your relationship with Jesus Christ grow.
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