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Reflection for Sunday 06/29/08

READINGS
First Reading: Acts 12:1-11
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18
Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19

REFLECTION:
Jesus said to his disciple, “…you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church…”. With these words Jesus appointed Peter to lead his band of followers after his death. In some ways this is a remarkable choice. Peter wasn’t educated. He wasn’t a theologian or a philosopher. He acted more from his heart than from logic. He was impulsive and often blundered because he acted before he thought. But he was open to the truth so it was often Peter who answered Jesus’ hard questions. “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked. And it was Peter who responded, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” This answer came more Peter’s soul than from his head. His faith in Jesus led him to the truth instinctively. Jesus points out that no man taught this truth to Peter. It came to Peter directly from our Heavenly Father. Peter is an inspiration to us because of his faith and simplicity. He seems to succeed in spite of himself. If Peter, flawed though he was, is the rock on which Christ built the church, then all of us, flawed yet faithful, are the stones that continue to build the church.

1. Answer the Gospel question for yourself: who do you say Jesus is?
2. By what signs do you see Christ alive in the church today?

PRAYER:
Draw me closer, Lord, so that I grow in knowledge of your goodness and witness more clearly to your truth. Amen

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