Reading 2
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord
or who has been his counselor?
Or who has given the Lord anything
that he may be repaid?
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen.
Gospel
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and
he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter said in reply,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply,
"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
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 shall be loosed in heaven."
Then he strictly ordered his disciples
to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Reflection
Today’s Mass readings are a snapshot of the central question of Scripture: Who is God? In these passages, we experience the mystery and majesty of Jesus Christ, Who is God’s fullest revelation of Himself to us. Inevitably, we will struggle to fully comprehend the Divine Being Who made us, sustains us, and loves us, but we can still know, love, and serve Him by His grace.
In St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, he reminds us there is much we cannot and will never understand about Our Lord, and yet we recognize that He is worthy of praise. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!” These words emphasize that God’s ways are beyond our full understanding, and while perhaps we may find this mystery frustrating, it is evidence of God’s incomparable wisdom. Thus, this mystery is a reason to praise. As St. Paul concludes, “To him be glory forever. Amen.” Every time we don’t understand God’s plan, let us remember that His inscrutability is evidence that He is so much greater than we are, and we should be grateful that He is guiding all of us.
In the Gospel, we see what a profound gift of grace it is to recognize Jesus as “the Christ, Son of the Living God.” Knowing Jesus, even in the flawed and limited way of St. Peter and the Apostles, is a profound blessing. Jesus says, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” This grace was so monumental that Jesus deemed St. Peter our first Pope, giving him the “keys to the kingdom of heaven.” So, we can see that although we are incapable of perfectly understanding God, knowing Him even imperfectly is a blessed gift, not a cause for frustration.
Of course, knowing Jesus does not make each of us a pope. However, recognizing the Lordship of Christ, along with our reception of the Sacrament of Baptism, incorporates us into the Church that Peter and subsequent popes protect. We can rejoice in Jesus’ promise that “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” — that is, against us.
Let us give thanks today for our Catholic Christian faith. God’s plan for us and our Church, guided through the years by the Holy Spirit under the leadership of the popes, may not always be clear to us. However, we can praise God in our confusion, recognizing that while we may not see His reasoning, we know that He is perfectly wise.
Please be assured of my prayers for you before Our Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
+ Bishop Schlert
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