The Chair of St. Peter

Homily for the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter

We just heard St. Mark’s version of this incident last week. Today we hear from the Gospel of St. Matthew. Whereas St. Mark tells us of Jesus rebuking St. Peter, today’s Gospel tells us of Jesus bestowing authority on St. Peter as the rock on which the church is founded. The first reading and the responsorial psalm remind us that this authority is to be exercised in the context of God’s creative love for each of us individually.

We may take that context for granted. Shepherds usually look after large flocks of sheep. Yet Psalm 23 portrays the shepherd caring for a single sheep. That care is evidenced through the protection that the shepherd offers the sheep as well as in providing pasture in which the sheep is to graze. Food and protection are two basic ways in which those who are in authority provide for those in their care.

Think of the first authority figures in our lives – our parents. Food and protection are very much the way that they care for their children.

Many other authority figures appear as our lives move forward. Each of them exercises authority by caring for us in some way or another.

As we celebrate the authority of the Bishop of Rome today, we also remember our own responsibility to pray for Pope Francis and to ask God’s constant protection for him and for the entire Church.