Matthew 16:13-20

 TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME – YEAR A

Commentary of Fr. Fernando Armellini

“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.’” 

A good Sunday to all. 

The dialogue between Jesus and the disciples that we will hear in today's Gospel passage takes place in Caesarea Philippi, a city in the extreme north of Israel, at the foot of Mount Hermon, at the sources of the Jordan River. 

How did Jesus lead his disciples there and want to have that dialogue that we will hear precisely in that place? We remember that last Sunday, Jesus had left the land of Israel and gone to the region of Tire and Sidon. There, in a pagan land, he found a Canaanite woman who had given his disciples a good lesson on faith. 

Today, Jesus meets his disciples in Israel, but really, that place is also a land of pagans because the Jews who lived there worshipped idols; they built temples to idols and led a pagan life. Why is that city called Caesarea Philippi? Caesarea because Philip, who founded it, called it after the name of the Roman emperor, Tiberius Caesar; however, since in Israel, there was already another Caesarea along the shores of the Mediterranean, this one was called Caesarea Philippi. Philip was one of Herod's favorite sons, and just before he died, his father assigned him the northern part of his kingdom, the land of Bashan, the present Golan. 

In the Bible, this land is famous because of the fertility of the soil, the lush pastures, the fertility of the herds, and then the entire region has a large amount of water, and countless streams water the plain; the reason why there is exuberant vegetation, a true earthly paradise; and it is in this place where Philip founded his capital; a wonderful place, so much so that when Alexander the Great arrived here ... he exclaimed, but this ... is undoubtedly the home of the 'god Pan and the nymphs' and it was called "Panias," where the current name of Banias comes from. 

Therefore, the apostles are certainly fascinated by this landscape and the comfortable life of the inhabitants, and they indeed wonder about the pleasant life that Philip can afford in his two palaces, one up the hill, where you see that construction among the trees. That was where he had built one of his palaces; the other was just in front of the Jordan River surge. From that position, you have a charming panoramic view of the entire ‘Fule’ valley ... 

Let me mention one last marginal detail, but it must have been the subject of some apostle comment. Philip wife's daughter, Salome, seventeen years old, is the famous dancer who asked for the Baptist's head; she undoubtedly animates the nights and parties in the triclinium (couches around a table) from Philip's palaces. 

In this enchanting setting, Jesus addresses his disciples and asks them the first question: "Who do people say the son of man is?" "Son of man" is a Hebrew expression that simply means ‘man.’ Translated into simple language, he asks this: ‘Who am I to the people?’ The apostles have before them many men who have reached prestigious positions, men everyone admires and envies, even men whom the disciples want to resemble. Here is the question: Who am I to people? Does the human I incarnate say something good to people? ... or does everyone think Philip is handsome and successful? 

The disciples also have that ideal of man … which we also have in mind because we would also like to be successful and possibly wealthy. The disciples answer what people think of Jesus and say, "Some say you are John the Baptist, others Elijah, others Jeremiah or some of the prophets." 

It is already a good thing that no one has noticed in Jesus any resemblance to the great of this world. No, they have seen similarities with the Baptist, and indeed, because Jesus is one with a straight back, as the Baptist had been. Jesus does not bend like reeds struck by the wind. He also resembles Jeremiah because Jesus contested the temple and the religion of rituals that do not correspond to the adhesion to God with the heart. And he also looks like Elijah, who professed faith in the only God and rejected any commitment to idols. 

Here, we are in the land where idols are worshiped. See what idols give to all these people. See the idol temples behind me, especially the beautiful white marble temple built by Herod the Great and dedicated to Augustus and the goddess of Rome. Then there are the temples of the nymphs and Pan. 

What do these idols give these people? Everything. They are people doing very well, and the disciples certainly looked back. They must have thought that idols are generous to their worshipers, and they think so, especially wealthy people who can afford all the pleasures. And we also experience this. If we adore idols, ... they give us many things, ... if you love money ... they provide you with everything; however, you have to obey them and do what they tell you; therefore, if they ask you to exploit, lie, or even kill, and you don't do it, then they do not give you anything. 

In this context, what does Jesus offer those following his proposals? We see what idols offer. Here is the question that Jesus wants to lead his disciples to: Emperor Philip grants wealth and prestigious positions of power, makes his friends share the joys and the sumptuous life at court… What does Jesus offer? Before the disciples answer, Jesus wants to know if they have understood correctly who he is and what he proposes. 

Let's listen to the question he asks them: 

“He said to them, “But who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter said and replied,
“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.” 

We have heard what people think of Jesus, but Jesus wants to know what the disciples think about him. Then he asks the question: "Who do you say I am? Paraphrased: Who am I to you? How much do I count in your lives? It is the question that the lover asks the beloved. We want to build a life together, but on what basis? ... Do you know who I am? ... Do you know what it means to be with me? Do you want to follow me just a little bit ... become a little bit nicer? Or are you determined to get fully involved in my project of a new man? In other words, do you want to be a man like Philip or like me? Because you have already seen that he offers… a very different image of man. Who are you in love with? 

This is the question that Jesus asks us today as well. We often reduce our adherence to Christ to some devotional practice, but faith is the fundamental problem. Believing means having understood who He is and uniting our life with his. Peter responds decisively: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God ... you are the expected, the Messiah." He said the right thing but still hasn't understood who Jesus is or what Messiah Jesus is. Peter still has in mind the messiahs of this world, those who are great. According to the tradition of his people, ‘the son of David’ is the one who will conquer the world. 

In any case…. at least, he understood that Jesus is the Messiah, and Jesus said to him: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. Certain things, certain infatuations with Jesus, cannot be reached with human reasoning because human reasoning leads you to fall in love with those who are very different from Jesus, with those who look like Philip. 

Jesus says to Peter, ‘Congratulations, you are one with a pure heart, open to the revelation of the greatness that is those of God. It wasn't the flesh and blood that revealed it to you,’ were not the suggestions that came from you, your dreams, your passions, your yearnings. No, only from God could this revelation come to you that leads you to love a man like me. 

Peter recognized Jesus's identity, and now Jesus declared the identity of Simon, the son of Jonah. Let us listen: 

“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.”

Jesus changes the name of Simon, calls him Peter, and adds, ‘On this stone, I will build my Church.’ What stone is the church that Jesus built on? Is it Peter ... the solid rock? Peter's primacy, the rock on which the Church is built? The misunderstanding arose because in some languages, ‘Peter’ and ‘stone’ seem masculine and feminine, with a similar name. In the original Greek text, this is not the case. "Pètros" is one thing, and "pètra" is another. "Petrós" is the stone, the brick, and "pètra" is the solid rock on which a palace can be built and it doesn't collapse. Peter is not the rock. 

In the Old and New Testaments, the rock is always and only God or Christ. Who is Peter, then? It is "petros," a brick of this construction, but the rock is Christ. We find it in the letter of the Ephesians when the author tells the pagans who were converted: "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Eph 2:19-20). 

Also, Peter, in his letter, when addressing that moving homily to the neophytes, who were baptized on Easter night, says: "... never separate from Christ, because “he is a living stone rejected by men, but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4-5). And even Paul, in the letter to the Corinthians, says: “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 3:11). 

Who is Peter, then? He is "petrós," the first brick of this community. He is the one who will profess his faith in the Messiah of God, Jesus of Nazareth. He will build his life on the rock; no earthquake will destroy this life. We also remember that at the end of the discourse on the mountain, Jesus is inviting us to reflect on the foundation on which to build our lives. He says that life can be built on sand, that is, on the values of this world ... which then crumble ... What remains of those paper-mâchè (pulpwood paper) buildings that everyone admires? In the end, they collapse. Or you can build it on solid rock. 

And the only solid rock is faith in Jesus, his word, and his gospel. Whoever builds his life on this rock can be sure that even death will not destroy that life. He adds, "The gates of the netherworld will not prevail against this church." What does he mean by this image of the doors? 

The gates of the walls of a city were the most difficult part of defending because they had to close but also to open. Therefore, they put into practice all possible stratagems to make them impenetrable. Jesus says: the netherworld, that is, the kingdom of the dead, Sheol, which is the symbol of all the kingdoms of death that are in this world; they have their doors to protect themselves so as not to be attacked by the Church, by the Gospel of Christ ... and these doors are very robust. 

In the background, I have put the netherworld gates found in Hierapolis, Pamukkale, currently a city in Türkiye. From the beginning of the first century, a Christian community existed in this famous Roman city. There are hot springs, and smoke and toxic gases come out of the earth's bowels; they seem to come from Hades, from the realm of the dead. Archaeologists later placed the Hades Pluto statue at the gate of hell, and the Cerberus dog—often referred to as the hound of Hades—in front of that door of hell, protecting that door. Here is the image of Hades, the kingdom of the dead, which is impenetrable. 

This kingdom of death is the symbol of the unquestionable kingdom of death we experience today. The kingdom of moral corruption, lies, violence, and inhuman behavior. A kingdom that perhaps we also think is impregnable, invincible because it protects itself in a thousand ways ... use every ploy to avoid being destroyed. And we know that whoever attacks this kingdom of death always has losses. Let's think: if we attack the kingdom of death, of the manufacturers of weapons ... how can it be broken? It is too powerful. Who will change the cruel laws of the international market that starve so many people? How do you attack the kingdom of lies ... that are spread by the media and that destroy moral values, ... destroy the family, ... or the realm of political corruption? They are too strong. 

Let us also think of ourselves ... 'nobody will bring them down,' it is true because if we try to close these doors with their weapons, we will lose. But if we face this evil realm, carrying the word of the Gospel and trusting alone in our human weakness, those doors, Jesus says, will not resist. Here is the invitation to trust in the strength of the announced gospel; otherwise, the kingdoms of death will continue to triumph. We have in hand the strength that Jesus has given us, which is his Word; if we trust his promise, we will announce the Gospel... with determination ... with confidence. 

Now let's listen to Jesus' promises to Peter: 

“I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.” 

Jesus makes two promises to Peter and presents them with two rabbinical images. The first is the image of the keys. What did it mean to hand over the keys to a butler? It gave him the power to manage the building's life and decide who had access and who should remain outside. 

Now Peter receives the keys. What does it mean? Has he become the guardian of paradise? NO. The meaning is different; here, it refers to a rabbinical image. The rabbis said that they had the keys of the Torah because they knew the Scriptures; they interpreted them, and, therefore, all depended on their sentences ... they declared who was right and wrong, who was holy, and who was a sinner. Jesus rebukes them because he says: "You take possession of the keys of Torah and do not open the doors of salvation to anyone, and you do not even enter through this door, which is the wisdom of the Word of God.” 

Jesus now gives the keys to Peter; in Hebrew, ‘key’ is ‘Maf team,’ which comes from the verb ‘patáj,’ and that does not mean to close, but to open, to open wide. What should Peter do with the key that Christ has given him? He must open wide access for all to the discovery of Christ and the knowledge of his Gospel, especially using his person as a model of the incarnate Gospel. That is the way to open everyone's access to salvation. 

It is necessary to pass through this door opened by Peter, which is the profession of faith in the Messiah of God, Christ, which he has made. The second image: tie and untie. This is also a rabbinical image; it means to pronounce judgments about what is right and what is wrong and discern between what is good and what is bad. It is a task for Peter, but first, he must assimilate the wisdom of the Gospel; then, he can pronounce the correct sentences about good and bad. 

It should also be kept in mind that this binding and loosening task was not only entrusted to Peter; immediately afterward, Jesus said to all his disciples: "What you bind on earth will also be bound in heaven, and what you lose on earth, it will also be loosed in heaven." It means that the sentences you will pronounce about what is right and what is wrong, as long as your discernment has assimilated the wisdom of the Gospel, will correspond to the thought of God. 

It is the problem of our life choices, of discerning between what is good and what is bad, and what is right from what is wrong ... what is life and what is death ... and Jesus has entrusted this task to the Church; if the Church is faithful to the faith professed by Peter, if it adheres to the proposal of Christ, the Church will be a sure guide for everyone in life's choices.

This is a reason for reflection for us because it is an immense and delicate task that Christ entrusted us. 

I wish you all a good Sunday and a good week.