The Chair of St. Peter

Homily for the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter

Every committee has a chairperson; every Board of Directors has a chairperson. Today we celebrate the chair of St. Peter the Apostle. It may sound a little silly to compare him or any Pope to the chairperson of the committee or a Board of Directors. However, in reality that is exactly who the Pope is. He sits on the chair of St. Peter. Today’s feast is a celebration of a position in the Church that has given us many saints as well as many sinners.

The Pope is invested with authority or power to absolve sins, pronounce doctrine, and make disciplinary decisions in the Church. This authority has been passed down from St. Peter through every generation of Church history to our current Pope. Though given primarily to St. Peter, the other apostles also received a share of it, and they are succeeded by the college of bishops.

Jesus has handed the task of shepherding the flock to human beings who are called to follow the example of laying down their lives in service to their sheep. Through the centuries a number of popes have died violent deaths. Twenty or more popes have been declared martyrs, seven have been murdered, and one (believe it or not) was beaten to death by a jealous husband. Eighty-one popes have been canonized, ten have been beatified, one has been declared Venerable, and one to have been called a Servant of God. Consequently, we can justifiably say that the number of good popes is far greater than the number of scandalous popes. However, it is important to remember that be they Saints or be they sinners, they were all human beings. One might, therefore, say that the heights and depths of human nature find exemplification in the men who have sat on the chair of St. Peter. The best example of this is actually St. Peter himself. While he was passionately devoted to Christ, he was also guilty of betrayal and weakness. Jesus both honored him and rebuked him.

In today’s Gospel text, St. Peter is honored by Christ as the rock on which Jesus will build his church; the verses immediately following this selection show Peter being addressed as Satan by Christ. The mix weakness and strength in St. Peter is familiar as well as consoling for us; his love for Christ and his ability to start over again is always timely for any of us.