OMELIE / Omelie EN

27 ago 2023

27/08/2023 - 21st Sunday of the O.T. - Year A

27/08/2023 - 21st Sunday of the O.T. - Year A

1st reading Is 22,19-23 from Psalm 137 2nd reading Rom 11,33-36 Gospel Mt 16,13-20

St Paul makes us share in his amazement at God's designs. He has seen how the sacrifice of Jesus, condemned to death by the Jewish leaders, has become salvation and blessing for the pagan peoples, and how this event does not draw chastisement upon the Jews, but also becomes a source of salvation for them. God's wisdom and knowledge are so profound that we could in no way presume to give him advice.

He made a handover: from the Jewish people the blessing passed to the pagan peoples who welcomed Jesus. The event narrated by Isaiah is a prophecy of this. The Lord takes away the office of the overseer of the palace in order to invest another person who can be trusted. He describes his investiture in this way: "I will lay upon his shoulder the key of the house of David; if he opens, no one shall shut; if he closes, no one shall open".

These words return in Jesus' dialogue with Peter: he, aware of his imminent death, is careful to discern the Father's will, to whom he will hand over the task of leading the disciples. He now discovers that the Father has manifested his true identity to Peter. Peter in fact answered the question: "Who do you say that I am?", and answered with words that were not the result of intelligence and reasoning, but were revealed to him by God. Jesus therefore promises him "the keys of the kingdom of heaven", with the task of opening and closing its doors. He will do this not on a whim of course, but with the same wisdom and love that he will receive from the Father.

We know that these words of Jesus are words that do not pass away, that retain their value, and so we pay attention to the one who is Peter's successor in leading the disciples. Of course, we too commit ourselves to answering Jesus' question: we do so by also listening to the Father, as Peter listened to him, after observing his actions in favour of our hearts. We join Peter in saying: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God". We say this with love and humility, knowing that it is not our merit to utter these words, but a gift from God.

Jesus had earlier also asked his disciples this question: "People, who do they say that the Son of Man is?" Jesus' disciples know that they stand before their Lord in a different position from the people, in whose midst they are to be witnesses. And it is important to know how people see Jesus. This is the only way to know people, to realise what kind of world we live in, to know whom we can trust.

It is not important to know political orientations, nor social or health status, not even what people's most frequent sins and disorders are. The Christian, a witness of Jesus, wants to find ways and opportunities to announce to all, honest and dishonest, with or without words, the love of the Father that has come to us through Jesus. Whoever accepts the proclamation receives the Holy Spirit, and with the Holy Spirit a spirit of communion to live as brothers. Living together in society becomes beautiful and pleasant when Jesus is present in people's hearts and family relationships.

"Who do you say that I am?" You are the only one who can change our hell into heaven, the only one who can restore unity between spouses, between children and parents, between brothers ruined by the desire for wealth. Jesus, you are the only one whom God, Father of all, has sent to transform us all into his children.