Greetings to all who read this Page

The Third Sunday Before Advent

Being With the Lord and Being Alone

The Lord Uses All

        "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16 vv 18-19

        Today In the gospel Jesus establishes the Church founded on Peter. The name Peter comes from the Latin word, Petra, meaning rock. Jesus named Simon, "Peter", the rock upon which the Church would be built. Authority in the Church was entrusted to Peter, "whatever you declare bound on earth would be bound in heaven, whatever you declare loosed on earth would be loose in heaven."

        Now I am sure that the Lord could have found many different ways of establishing his church. He could have entrusted it to the angels. He could have worked out a Church of some sort of direct inspiration where every move on earth was exactly dictated from heaven. Instead the Lord put the church in the hands of people of faith. Good people, like Peter, but still people with all the limitations of being human. As all human beings, sometimes the humanity of individuals got in the way of their divine charge. Peter tried to keep Christ from going to Jerusalem and was called "Satan" for he was doing the work of the devil. After boasting that he would never deny the Lord, he did in fact deny him three times. Peter was a good man, a man of faith, but sometimes he lost the vision of whom he was and what he was entrusted with. After Pentecost when the Church was in its primal stage, Peter realized that Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians were equal. Yet, at Antioch he ignored the Gentiles in favour of the Jews, for which he was berated by Paul. Peter was a holy man, but still, a man, and as a man he made human mistakes.

        When we think of how Peter lived and died for the Lord and how the Church flourished despite his human failings, as well as those of all in Church authority who would follow him, we have to recognize the hand of the Holy Spirit in the very life of the Church. Christ gave his authority to the rock, even though every now and then those who exercise this authority let their humanity get in the way of their responsibility. Still, because we do have a concrete authority, rock-solid, we know who we are when we say we are Children of God. We know the fundamental beliefs of our faith and the basic dictates of our morals. We are so firm in our faith, that even if those in authority should give us a poor example of living the faith, we still maintain our Christianity. When leaders depart the Church or are so caught up in their humanity that they don't recognize the result of their actions, we all hurt. Yet, the Church still flourishes. Why? Because the Church is far more than individuals, it is the Body of Christ.

        When I think of some of the ways in which I, as an ordained leader have let my humanity get in the way of my responsibility here, and yet still witness the wonderful ways the Lord uses me for others, I have to realize that God's power is far stronger than my own limitations. When I am clear that a course of action for the all must be undertaken, even though this may be unpopular with some, such as the new religious education policies, and when I receive support for this direction from those in authority over me, I realize that God is using me as pastor and as priest. After several years as a priest, I am still shocked at the way the Lord uses me despite my continual human failings.

        I'm sure that there are situations in your own lives that you feel the same way. I'm sure that you have all made decisions based on what you conscience is telling you. I'm sure that you recognize the Lord's presence in these decisions despite your own human failings. We, the confirmed, are entrusted with the responsibility of leading others to the Lord. We recognize that we do not do this alone. We realize that we must allow the hand of the Lord to work his wonders through us despite our human mistakes.

        Today's gospel reading, "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church" leads us to make an act of faith in the Lord who uses human beings, you and me, to proclaim his wonders.