Nurturing our Faith in God and the Life of the Church
This Sunday’s Gospel presents us with the scene of Jesus dialoguing with His disciples about Himself. The dialogue took place at a crucial moment. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to fulfil the plan of salvation for us. Jesus knew that He would face rejection and crucifixion from the Jews. Therefore, in the midst of that situation He wanted to make sure that His disciples really knew who He was and to what extent they should be committed not to abandon Him.
While most people only saw Jesus as a prophet, Peter saw Him as more than that. Peter recognised that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Peter's answer and acknowledgement of Jesus' Messiahship became a very important point of recognition. When Jesus heard Peter's testimony, Jesus spoke to him as a happy man. “Simon, son of Jonah, you are a happy man. Because it was not flesh, and blood revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.” In other words, Peter's answer did not come from himself, but from God. Thus, God used Peter to reveal to the world that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God.
Interestingly, from that day on, Peter became the “living rock” on which the foundation of the Church would be laid. Jesus also gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven. That there, on that rock, Jesus would establish His Church, which would not be touched by the world of destruction. Jesus will build His holy Church on the rock, on the hill of troubles and on the mountain of problems.
This gospel actually invites all of us to reflect further on the extent to which we have faith in God and the extent to which we respond to our faith in God in relation to Church life.
Indeed, true happiness is knowing Jesus in the grace of God. And, this knowledge brings us to be a member of the Church. Everyone who believes in Jesus - the Son of the living God - becomes part of the Church. Remember that the Church is not a collection of saints but a collection of sinners trying to live a holy life according to the teachings of the Lord Jesus. The most important thing in our lives is how deeply we understand God and how closely we relate to God and others.
As Church members, we will always face various challenges in life. Never be afraid to trust God and ask for His guidance in our lives every day. The Lord our God says that He will be with us until the end.
Peace be with you