21 st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A August 21 st, 2011

Transcription

1 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 (Matthew 16:18). 21 st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A August 21 st, 2011 First Reading: Isaiah 22: I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your post. 20 On that day I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah, 21 and will clothe him with your robe and bind your sash on him. I will commit your authority to his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open. 23 I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his ancestral house.

2 Responsorial Psalm: 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8 Lector: 1 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; All: before the gods I sing your praise; Lector: 2 I bow down towards your holy temple All: and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; Lector: for you have exalted your name All: and your word above everything. Lector: 3 On the day I called, you answered me, All: you increased my strength of soul. Lector: 4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord, All: for they have heard the words of your mouth. Lector: 5 They shall sing of the ways of the Lord, All: for great is the glory of the Lord. Lector: 6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly; All: but the haughty he perceives from far away. Lector: 7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, All: you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; Lector: you stretch out your hand, All: and your right hand delivers me. Lector: 8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for us; All: your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Second Reading: Romans 11: O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? 35 Or who has given a gift to him, to receive a gift in return? 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever. Amen.

3 Gospel Reading: Matthew 16: Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is? 14 And they said, Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. 15 He said to them, But who do you say that I am? 16 Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

4 Homily Today s scriptures bring up issues that have been studied by many able scholars and researchers in attempting to resolve the Gospel passage in the lectionary today. Our Roman Catholic friends tend to view it one way and those from other traditions think otherwise. I will tell you that I ve read literally pounds of scholarship from various perspectives, much of it from well-recognized Roman Catholic scholars as well as those from other sacramental and reformed traditions. I do not think that I dare to try to winnow it all down to a few paragraphs. In the Study Notes section, I will cite you some resources in the early church fathers if Peter s keys to the kingdom are a burning issue for you. I suspect for most of you that it is not. I will offer the following on this passage from the Gospel of Matthew. There are two accounts of Peter s confession of who Jesus is, and they are rather different. The account in Mark is the older of the two, and Matthew is judged by Fr. Reginald H. Fuller and Fr. Daniel Westberg to have introduced considerable alterations into his Marcan source. The words Son of the living God are added to Peter s confession, and not found in Mark. In Mark, Jesus almost ignores Peter s confession and enjoins the disciple to silence. He then proceeds at once to speak of the necessity of his passion. Peter protests and is met by the rebuke Get behind me, Satan. 1 For someone who was going to become wholly set apart from the other disciples, this would seem a bit strange. In Matthew, the prediction of the passion, Peter s objection to Jesus talking about such an end, and Jesus rebuke comes after Peter s confession. Jesus says that Peter is blessed, and gives him the name Peter, translated as Rock. There follows a series of promises including the promise of the keys and the saying about binding and loosing. And Catholic scholars report a converging opinion that the words to Peter was in a postresurrection setting, not prior to the crucifixion. The verses from are thought to reflect early material going back to the Aramaic-speaking church. Of course, there are different views today, depending on whether one is protestant, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, or other perspectives. Anglicans and Orthodox scholars have interpreted the power of the keys and binding or loosing as held by the entire episcopate (bishops, collectively) rather than in the papacy. There is some support for this in that some verses later (18:18), all of the apostles are given the power to loose and bind. And in the Gospel of John, sins being forgiven or retained is given to the apostles (20:23). What does this mean about the keys? It helps if one understands the Jewish context where keys are mentioned in Isaiah (22:19-22). The servant Eliakim will be given authority, he will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and God will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder, when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open. The reference was not to a heavenly kingdom but God s kingdom on earth. Matthew uses the Greek word ekklesia, which meant a political assembly of citizens, a gathering of the community. 1 St. Louis University Liturgy Website: Scripture in Depth, 21 st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, August 21, 2011

5 Binding and loosing had some carry-over from the Temple system merging into governmental legal matters as there was no separation of church and state in that era. We know that Peter [also known as Cephas] went on missionary journeys along with his wife (I Corinthians 9:5), and some Corinthians described themselves as belonging to Cephas (I Corinthians 1:12) so he must have also spent some time there too. It is pretty certain that Peter was not in Rome when St. Paul wrote his Letter to the Romans (roughly CE), although early Christian writings suggest he died in Rome as a martyr in Nero s persecutions. But he probably engaged in missionary activities in a number of locations. Most of his time apparently was in Jerusalem, and the Gospel of Luke mentions his ministry in Samaria (8:15). He also went to Caesarea and preached the Gospel for the first time to Gentiles (Chapter 10). Christians in the East had always held that Peter was the Bishop of Antioch, and so exactly how this passage would be interpreted today is still very much discussed. Its meaning has to be weighed in light of the known history and activities of the Apostles as described in other passages. In the first century, Ignatius spoke invariably of the bishop with the presbyters (priests) and deacons or the bishop together with the presbyters as comprising one body, one unit like strings on a harp. 2 In the Orthodox tradition, the same concept has held. The local church is complete in itself, because of the whole body of Christ is present within her, the whole Christ in one Eucharist under the leadership of the Bishop. 3 Each community was complete in itself and the idea of an overarching ecclesial authority was not envisioned. The idea of an apostle presiding permanently over a local church in the NT era seems only to have occurred with James in Jerusalem. Most everyone else seemed to be moving around through most of the apostolic era. The idea of a super bishop probably evolved from Roman concepts of organization and administration and came about later. Sometime in the first half of the 2 nd century, some Syrian Antiochian and Asia Minor congregations began to distinguish between church leaders with a three-tier ecclesial structure. This seems to have been the first differentiation of roles. It was here that Ignatius became bishop of the church in Antioch in Syria his letters give the very earliest reference to what later was considered the traditional three-levels of bishop, presbyters and deacons. At the beginning, there were deacons and bishops, and presbyters were a later innovation. Ignatius asserted that nothing without a bishop, presbyters and deacons could be called a church, and he also spoke of bishops being appointed through the world at that time. The consensus of most scholars, including reputable Roman Catholics, is that the church in Rome was led by a group of presbyters, not a single bishop for at least several decades of the second century. In the 90 s, when the letter of I Clement was written, Rome and Corinth had a similar structure with no bishop in charge. The Greek terms for their leaders are all in the plural: episkopoi, presbuteroi, archontes, and it appears that a group of presbyters that were in charge. 2 Adams, Raphael (2010). Recovering and revisioning the office of Bishop. The Progressive Catholic Review: An Evangelical and Ecumenical Discourse. Here is the link that will get you the entire article. It is 60 pages long, but it integrates information on the office of Bishop in the first 200 years more succinctly than anything else I have read: 3 Zizioulas, John D. (2001). Eucharist, Bishop, Church: The Unity of the Church in the Divine Eucharist and the Bishop During the First Three Centuries. Brookline, Massachusetts: Holy Cross Orthodox Press.

6 And in a work that was almost included in the NT, the Shepherd of Hermas which was written in Rome during the first half of the second century, people in leadership roles again are all referred to in the plural, making no reference to any one person. Roman Catholic scholar Francis A. Sullivan, SJ says in his view the stronger evidence in I Clement and The Shepherd in addition to the writings of Ignatius leads him to disagree that there was a presence of a bishop in Rome in the first century. 4 But we also know that Jesus said, In my father s house, there are many rooms, which reflects his openness to bearing tension between enormous differences and all are under his care. God s embrace is wide, and thus we can hold differences that we have on interpretation of scripture and early church history with respect, charity, patience toward others. It is better to hold the tension rather than to look for theological resolutions that result in some being included and others excluded. If we do not love, it is not of God. A well-revered Roman Catholic NT scholar, Raymond Brown, talked about how all the disparate views present in the various communities of Paul, Luke, Mark, Matthew and John all did things very differently. At the end of Brown s book, The Community of the Beloved, Brown says the church chose to live with the tension. It kept both the Gospel of John and the synoptic gospels in the NT canon. By this decision, he says that the church has not chosen a Jesus who is either God or man but both; has chosen not a Jesus who is either virginally conceived as God s son or pre-existent as God s son but both; not either a Spirit who is given to an authoritative teaching magisterium or the Paraclete-teacher who is given to each Christian but both; not a Peter or a Beloved Disciple but both this means that a church as my own, The Roman Catholic, with its stress on authority and structure, has in the Johannine writings an in-built conscience against the abuses of authoritarianism. So also the free churches have in the Pastorals an inbuilt warning against abuses of the Spirit and in I John a warning against the divisions to which a lack of structured authority leads. Like one branch of the Johannine community, we Roman Catholics have come to appreciate that Peter s pastoral role is truly intended by the risen Lord, but the presence in our Scriptures of a disciple whom Jesus loved more than he loved Peter is an eloquent commentary on the relative value of the church s office. The authoritative office is necessary because a task is to be done and unity is to be preserved but the scale of power in various offices is not necessarily the scale of Jesus esteem and love the greatest dignity to be striven for is neither papal, episcopal, nor priestly; the greatest dignity is that of belonging to the community of the beloved disciples of Jesus Christ. 5 St. Paul spoke much more of charismatic authority as seen in evangelizers, discerners, healers rather than those with institutional gifts. Fr. Richard Rohr notes that Pau; seemed to validate actual competence over titles or ascribed roles. But the movement toward institutional gifts was seen in the letters of Timothy, as the church developed after Paul s death. Fr. Richard says It is inevitable and probably even necessary, so don t waste much time reacting against it. His 44 Sullivan, F. A. (2001). From Apostles to Bishops: The Development of the Episcopacy in the Early Church. Mahwah, NJ: The Newman Press. 5 Raymond Brown (1979). The Community of the Beloved Disciple. Mahweh, NJ: Paulist Press.

7 little house churches are his audiovisual aid to reveal that this force field called Christ is for real and changes people. He is like a new parent trying to create perfect children! 6 And so, today, we have many forms of church leadership, some rejecting the concept of bishops and priests, and some rejecting the concept of clergy all together. As Christians living in different rooms, as it were, we come down to living with ambiguity, tension, which is required of us. Not to oversimplify, not to discount the conclusions of others, not to divide into us and them, but to know who he is, to come back to Jesus as the center and to live with our differences in love. Amen. Holy Spirit, Fit the love of God to our hearts Make it like a round peg in a round hole. Let us be firmly and securely one Church. For who has known your mind, O Lord or who has been your counselor? Or who has given you anything expecting to be repaid? For all things are from you and through you and for you. Glory to you in the depths of your riches and wisdom and knowledge! Amen. Prayer reproduced by permission Copyright 2011, The Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce for personal or parish use. Study Notes: It is James who in the Jewish Christian community in Jerusalem who gives the final word regarding what Paul should require of Gentile converts, and his words become the official view: He says that the Gentles who turn to God should avoid eating meat sacrificed from idols, unlawful marriage, or meat from strangled animals and blood (Acts 15:19-20). He decides not to impose the entire Jewish law upon them, but sought to find the minimum and common ground that would allow Jews and Gentiles to sit at the Lord s Table together. We see that Luke indicated that problems were to be reported to James and the brothers (Acts 12:17). Paul, in Galatians 2:9, mentions James, Cephas, and John as the pillars and that he and Barnabas were 6 Fr. Richard Rohr s Daily Meditation: Paul as Liberator, August 17 th, 2011.

8 given the mission to go to the Gentiles while they in Jerusalem were directing their ministries to the Jewish people (the circumcised) (Galatians 2:9). James was viewed as the first among the leaders. Paul clearly had his conflicts with Peter (Cephas) (Galatians 2:11-12). There are several references in early church fathers, particularly Eusebius, where it is clear that James was considered the leader of the Church of Jerusalem. We are talking about history written about CE. From the Nag Hammadi Library, in the Gospel of Thomas, the disciples asked who was to be their leader and Jesus said you are to go to James, the Righteous (Logion 12). Edward Gibbon says, based on the writings of Eusebius that the first ten bishops of the church in Jerusalem were circumcised Jews using the Jewish liturgy for their daily prayers. Early Church Fathers: There s a book that has been very important to me in my studies which anyone who is interested in tracing any particular tenet, doctrine or belief and how it evolved over time would find very useful. For each topic, it begins with the scripture citations and then progresses chronologically through early fathers references: David W. Bercot (Editor)(2003). A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. It can be gotten used through Amazon for as little as $4. It really helped me in working my way through protestant and catholic versions of various doctrines. Let s see what some of the early church fathers did with the traditions of the apostles, and the ideas of binding and loosing and the keys: Clement of Rome (c. 96): Through envy and jealousy, the greatest and most righteous pillars have been persecuted and put to death. Let us set before our eyes the illustrious apostles. Peter, through unrighteous envy, endured not one or two, but numerous labors; and when he had at length suffered martyrdom, he departed to the place of glory due him. Ignatius (c. 105): I do not, as Peter and Paul, issue commandments to you. They were apostles. Irenaeus (c. 180): Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the church. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, also handed down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter. Irenaeus (c. 180): The universally known church was founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul. Clement of Alexandria (c. 195): They say, accordingly, that the blessed peter, on seeing his wife led to death, rejoiced on account of her call and conveyance home. He called to her very encouragingly and comfortingly, addressing her by name and saying, Remember the Lord! Such was the marriage of the blessed and their perfect disposition toward those dearest to them. Tertullian (c. 197): What man of sound mind can possibly suppose that these men were ignorant of anything, whom the Lord ordained to be teachers?...was anything withheld from

9 the knowledge of Peter, who is called the rock on which the church should be built, who also obtained the keys of the kingdom of heaven with the power of loosing and binding in heaven and on earth? Was anything, again, concealed from John, the Lord s most beloved disciple, who used to lean on His breast? Tertullian (c. 197): As Paul himself narrates, he went up to Jerusalem for the purpose of seeing Peter. This was no doubt because of his office, and by right of a common belief and preaching they accordingly even gave Paul the right hand of fellowship as a sign of their agreement with him. They arranged among themselves a distribution of office not a diversity of gospel. Clement of Alexandria (c. 195): Mark was the follower of Peter, when Peter publicly preached the gospel at Rome before some of Caesar s equestrian knights. Eusebius, citing Clement of Alexandria (c. 195): [Clement of Alexandria] says that Peter, James, and John (after the Savior s ascension), although preeminently honored by the Lord, did not contend for glory. Rather, they appointed James the Just as bishop of Jerusalem. Eusebius, citing Clement of Alexandria (c. 195): To James the Just, John, and Peter, the Lord imparted knowledge after His resurrection. These imparted it to the rest of the apostles. And the rest of the apostles imparted it to the Seventy, of whom Marnabas was one. Tertullian (c. 212): In that dispute about the observance or non-observance of the Law, Peter was the first of all to be endowed with the Spirit. After making an introduction, he addressed the calling of the nations, saying, And now why are you tempting the Lord, concerning the imposition upon the brothers of a yoke that neither we nor our fathers were able to bear? This proclamation both loosed those parts of the Law that were abandoned and bound those that were retained. Hence, the power of loosing and of binding given to Peter had nothing to do with the mortal sins of believers. Tertullian (c. 213): Though you think heaven is still shut, remember that the Lord left the keys of it to Peter, and through him, to the church. And everyone who has here been put to the question [of being a Christian] and has also made confession [of Christ when faced with martyrdom] will carry these keys with him. Origen (c. 245): It seems to be indicated that the things that had been granted earlier to Peter alone are here bestowed on all persons who give the three admonitions to someone who has sinned [i.e. Matthew 18:15-18]. The result is that, if they are not heard [by the sinner], they will bind on earth him who is judged to be as a Gentile and a tax collector. For such a one has been bound in heaven. Origen (c.245): I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. I think for every virtue of knowledge, certain mysteries of wisdom corresponding to the type of that virtue are opened up to him who has lived according to virtue. To those who are not mastered by the gates of Hades, the Savior gives as many keys as there are virtues.

10 Origen (c. 245): But if you suppose that upon only that one Peter the whole church is built by God, what would you say about John, the son of thunder, or about each one of the apostles? Shall we dare to say that the gates of Hades will not prevail against Peter in particular, but tht they will prevail against the other apostles and the perfect? Does not the saying previously made, The gates of Hades will not prevail against it, apply in regard to all?...are the keys of the kingdom of heaven given by the Lord to Peter only and will none other of the blessed receive them? Cyprian (c. 250): Peter, upon whom by the same Lord the church had been built, speaking one for all, and answering with the voice of the church says, Lord, to whom will we go? Cyprian (c. 250): The Lord spoke to Peter, saying, I say unto you, You are peter and upon this rock I will build my church. And again, to the same apostle He says after his resurrection, Feed, my sheep. And after his resurrection, He gave an equal power to all the apostles, saying As the Father has sent me, even so I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit. Anyone s sins you forgive, they will be forgiven unto him. And anyone s sins you retain, they will be retained. Yet that He might set forth unity he arranged by his authority the origin of that unity, as beginning from one apostle. Assuredly, the res tof the apostles were also the same as was Peter endowed with a like partnership, both of honor and power. Still, the beginning proceeds from unity. In the Song of Songs, in the person of our Lord, the Holy Spirit designated this as being one church, saying, My dove, my spotless one, is but one. Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c.390): Speak as one having authority to judge offenders. For to you, O bishops, it is said, Whatever you will bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you will loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. We have much more to discover regarding the early years of Christianity, and discoveries continue to come down that will continue to provide new insight into the early decades and centuries of the faith.