A Homily - The Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

The Feasts of Saints Peter and Paul

 

First Reading – Acts 3:1-10

First Reading - Acts 12:1-11

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 18(19):2-5

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 33(34):2-9

Second Reading – Galatians 1:11-20

Second Reading - 2 Timothy 4:6-8,17-18

Gospel Acclamation- John 21:17

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 16:18

The Gospel According to John 21:15-19

The Gospel According to Matthew 16:13-19

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 God does not intervene in the lives of human beings; this narrative is false. The events described in the Book of Acts never happened, and the use of such stories by the early church indicates that sensationalism had become the bulwark of faith.

 Know this!

 God is indeed the creator of all that is, the entire universe and us in it.

 If you intend to seek God, look to your heart. You will find God in loving; in loving you will be blessed.

 Praise God through works of love; serve God through the service you give to your fellow human beings.

 Find glory through humility as Jesus did when he took his place on the cross and know that God is great because God cares.

 Listen to your neighbors, rescue them from fear, reflecting the divine light through hope and love.

 Be mindful.

 With God there is no shame; God is no respecter of station, class or wealth. God loves everyone the same.

 Do not look for God to save you from your troubles. We are all like Job, each in our own way; have faith in God and you will understand how transient your troubles are. Look to your neighbor if you are in peril and need to be saved.

 Know this!

 All pain is temporary, but love lasts forever; therefore do not fear, speak the truth, avoid evil and do good. God see all, hears all and knows all, even your innermost thoughts and secrets, desires and motivations…even those things you keep from yourself.

 Keep your mind in the present and do not focus on the good things that may or may not come to you. Listen to those who deal in hope, ignore the fear-mongers…this is the way to peace.

 Remember.

 Paul did not write the Book of Acts, it was written in community, possibly under the direction of Paul’s principle follower, the evangelist we know as Luke. This community was eager to mythologize the work of the apostle, to propagandize his narrative and to see in his accomplishments the unfailing hand of God…this is false, and has no place in the scriptures.

 Dwell for a moment on the teaching of Timothy and know that God will rescue you whether you are pure and without flaw, or soiled by corruption.

 God will delivery you from this world, though you do not deserve it. God is with you now, waiting for the right moment to touch you with holy fire, not on account of your personal righteousness, not because you have earned it, but because you are beloved by God who has claimed you for God’s own.

 Know this.

 You will not wear a crown of glory earned through righteous-perseverance; instead you will burn hotter and brighter than gold…liquified in the refiner’s fire, you will be reborn through love.

 Do not shun God’s gift to you…return it. Do not devalue God’s love for you, magnify it.

 Do not think less of God’s love for you when you see those who once persecuted you, and those who had abandoned you, receive the same blessing, when those who did not listen to you, when those who ignored you are present with you on the great pilgrimage to the source of all being.

 Consider this:

 Who is a Christian?

What does it mean to be a member of the body of Christ?

Who is a disciple?

What does it mean to be a student in the school of faith?

How do you keep to the way?

 In today’s reading from John we are presented with miracles and visions, there are portents and prophecies, but most significantly, toward they end, there is a moment of instruction.

 We see Jesus with Peter (Simon by his given name); they are sitting together after having a frank discussion. Jesus knows that he is handing over the leadership of his movement to a man with whom he often disagreed.

 Jesus had rebuked him severely; calling him Satan, the enemy. And Peter had abandoned Jesus when he was arrested, he denied knowing Jesus before of crowds of people (many of them knew exactly who he was). Despite those failings, or perhaps because of what Peter had learned from them; Jesus spoke to him in a loving manner, beseeching Peter to in turn be just as loving toward the community that would grow from the seeds of his faith…the seeds of trust that the two of them had planted together.

 In the same way that Jesus had rebuked Peter three times, in the same way that Peter had denied Jesus three times, Peter now confessed his love for Jesus three times, and Jesus responded by issuing the following commission three times, saying to Peter:

 Feed my lambs. Look after my sheep, Feed my sheep.

 Jesus gave Simon a new name; calling him Peter, the rock, indicating the expectation that Peter will establish the foundation of the church…the mission of which is found in caring, feeding and loving...whoever does these things has found the way to follow Christ.

 Now consider Matthew’s Gospel, which was written roughly one hundred years after Jesus was executed, and know that it was Paul, not the disciples who called Jesus “Christ,” Kyrios, the anointed one; this was not a term his disciples used of him, nor was it a term Jesus used of himself.

 Jesus and his disciples did contend with a messianic title: “Son of Man,” which people did apply to Jesus believing that he represented humanity as humanity was meant to be, and they couples it with the hope that he would also free the children of Israel from the grip of foreign rule.

 The title, “Son of Man,” had been circulating among the Hebrew people for about two-hundred years prior to Jesus’ birth; it is most closely associated with the books of Daniel and Enoch, in the Hebrew scriptures. Apart from scripture, the “Son a Man” was a wildly popular figure in Hebrew literature, in a time known as the “inter-testamental” period, among non-canonical and apocryphal writers.

 The authors of Matthew are doing a couple of things: they are connecting the ministry of Jesus, and so by extension their own ministry, to this wider body of literature, including the very popular writings of the apostle Paul.

 The claims they made were intended to redirect the popular understanding of who the “Son of Man” might be; the “Son of Man” was not John the Baptist (some said he was), neither was Jesus, John the Baptist returned (as some claimed).

 The “Son of Man” is not Elijah or one of the other prophets, neither is Jesus the second coming of one of them.

 The “Son of Man” is Jesus, who Paul called the Christ, a man who was uniquely able to claim the mantle of sonship in relation to the living God.

 The leaders of the church were moving the imagination of the people in this direction, and it is pure propaganda…it propagandizes the ministry of Jesus, the ministry of the disciples, and the faction of the church most closely associated with Saint Peter.

 There are no cosmic truths being disclosed here, there is only the struggle of the church to claim an identity that both carries on the most popular traditions in and around the early church, and differentiates itself from those traditions at the same time.

First Reading – Acts 3:1-10

I Will Give You What I Have: In the Name of Jesus, Walk!

Once, when Peter and John were going up to the Temple for the prayers at the ninth hour, it happened that there was a man being carried past. He was a cripple from birth; and they used to put him down every day near the Temple entrance called the Beautiful Gate so that he could beg from the people going in. When this man saw Peter and John on their way into the Temple he begged from them. Both Peter and John looked straight at him and said, ‘Look at us.’ He turned to them expectantly, hoping to get something from them, but Peter said, ‘I have neither silver nor gold, but I will give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!’ Peter then took him by the hand and helped him to stand up. Instantly his feet and ankles became firm, he jumped up, stood, and began to walk, and he went with them into the Temple, walking and jumping and praising God. Everyone could see him walking and praising God, and they recognised him as the man who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. They were all astonished and unable to explain what had happened to him.

 

First Reading - Acts 12:1-11

'Now I Know the Lord Really Did Save Me From Herod'

King Herod started persecuting certain members of the Church. He beheaded James the brother of John, and when he saw that this pleased the Jews he decided to arrest Peter as well. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread, and he put Peter in prison, assigning four squads of four soldiers each to guard him in turns. Herod meant to try Peter in public after the end of Passover week. All the time Peter was under guard the Church prayed to God for him unremittingly.

  On the night before Herod was to try him, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, fastened with double chains, while guards kept watch at the main entrance to the prison. Then suddenly the angel of the Lord stood there, and the cell was filled with light. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him. ‘Get up!’ he said ‘Hurry!’ – and the chains fell from his hands. The angel then said, ‘Put on your belt and sandals.’ After he had done this, the angel next said, ‘Wrap your cloak round you and follow me.’ Peter followed him, but had no idea that what the angel did was all happening in reality; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed through two guard posts one after the other, and reached the iron gate leading to the city. This opened of its own accord; they went through it and had walked the whole length of one street when suddenly the angel left him. It was only then that Peter came to himself. ‘Now I know it is all true’ he said. ‘The Lord really did send his angel and has saved me from Herod and from all that the Jewish people were so certain would happen to me.’

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 18(19):2-5

Praise of God the creator

Alleluia, Alleluia

Blessed are you, Lord, in the vault of heaven.

The skies tell the story of the glory of God,

  the firmament proclaims the work of his hands;

day pours out the news to day,

  night passes to night the knowledge.

Not a speech, not a word,

  not a voice goes unheard.

Their sound is spread throughout the earth,

  their message to all the corners of the world.

At the ends of the earth he has set up

  a dwelling place for the sun.

Like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,

  it rejoices like an athlete at the race to be run.

It appears at the edge of the sky,

  runs its course to the sky’s furthest edge.

Nothing can hide from its heat.

Alleluia

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 33(34):2-9

The Lord, the salvation of the righteous

Those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.

Alleluia, Alleluia

I shall bless the Lord for ever:

  my mouth will proclaim his praise.

My soul will glory in the Lord:

  let the meek listen and rejoice.

Join me and proclaim the greatness of the Lord:

  together let us exalt his name.

I sought the Lord and he listened to me:

  he rescued me from all my fears.

Look to him and he will shine upon you,

  and you will not be put to shame.

This poor man called, and the Lord answered him

  and saved him from all his many troubles.

The angel of the Lord will build defences

  round those who fear the Lord:

  he will come to their rescue.

Taste and see that the Lord is kind:

  happy the man who hopes in him.

Revere the Lord, his saints:

  for those who fear him are never destitute.

The rich are hungry and in want,

  but for those who seek the Lord

  there is no lack of good things.

Those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.

Let peace be all your quest and aim.

Alleluia, Alleluia

Come, children, listen to me:

  I shall teach you the fear of the Lord.

Who is the man who desires life,

  who wants to live long to enjoy good things?

Do not let your tongue speak evil:

  let your lips not utter deceit.

Avoid evil, do good:

  seek peace and follow it.

The eyes of the Lord are on the just

  and his ears hear their cries;

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil:

  he wipes their memory from the earth.

The just cried out, and the Lord listened

  and freed them from all their many troubles.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted:

  the crushed in spirit he will save.

Many are the troubles of the just,

  but the Lord will free them from all of them.

He will protect all their bones:

  not one will be broken.

Their own evil destroys sinners:

  those who hate the just will be punished.

The Lord will redeem the souls of his servants:

  those who put their hope in him will not be punished.

Let peace be all your quest and aim.

Alleluia

 

Second Reading – Galatians 1:11-20

God Specially Chose Me While I Was in My Mother's Womb

The Good News I preached is not a human message that I was given by men, it is something I learnt only through a revelation of Jesus Christ. You must have heard of my career as a practising Jew, how merciless I was in persecuting the Church of God, how much damage I did to it, how I stood out among other Jews of my generation, and how enthusiastic I was for the traditions of my ancestors.

  Then God, who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother’s womb, called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans. I did not stop to discuss this with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were already apostles before me, but I went off to Arabia at once and later went straight back from there to Damascus. Even when after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him for fifteen days, I did not see any of the other apostles; I only saw James, the brother of the Lord, and I swear before God that what I have written is the literal truth.

 

Second Reading - 2 Timothy 4:6-8,17-18

All There Is to Come Now is the Crown of Righteousness Reserved for Me

My life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; all there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his Appearing.

  The Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that through me the whole message might be proclaimed for all the pagans to hear; and so I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from all evil attempts on me, and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Gospel Acclamation- John 21:17

Alleluia, alleluia!

Lord, you know everything: you know I love you.

Alleluia!

 

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 16:18

Alleluia, alleluia!

You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.

And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to John 21:15-19

Feed My Lambs, Feed My Sheep

Jesus showed himself to his disciples, and after they had eaten he said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?’ He answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’ Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.

‘I tell you most solemnly, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go.’

In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, ‘Follow me.’

 

The Gospel According to Matthew 16:13-19

You Are Peter and on this Rock I Will Build My Church

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’

 

A Homily - The Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

The Feasts of Saints Peter and Paul