Scripture Reflection August 24, 2008: From 'Rocky' to 'Rock'

Scripture Readings:
Isaiah 22: 19-23
Psalm 138
Romans 11: 33-36
Matthew 16: 13-20

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Where were you when the first “Rocky” movie came out? If you are a college student or in your twenties, you were still in “negative numbers” at the time – still a gleam in your parents’ eyes, a glimmer in God’s eternal designs. Those of us “older folks” remember all the hype that surrounded that movie. We watched as Sylvester Stallone (in his pre-Rambo days) ran through the streets of South Philadelphia and along the Schuylkill River, jogged up the steps of the art museum, endured countless push-ups and chin-ups, and drank his egg concoctions for breakfast, all the while being serenaded by the sound track. Whatever our age, most of us have probably seen the movie on DVD or a cable channel. If you have actually seen all of the Rocky movies, you might want to keep that to yourself. That’s not something you would want to admit in polite company!!!

In this Sunday’s famous gospel passage, Jesus addresses Simon as “The Rock.” Some Scripture scholars suggest that Simon’s nickname may well have been “Rocky” (Cepha in Aramaic and Petros in Greek). Peter answers Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” with the solemn statement, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In turn, Jesus promises to transform this “Rocky” into “the Rock” – the solid foundation upon which he will build his church. The community that will be built upon Peter will be a place of stability and strength. As Catholics, we believe that this ministry of Peter as foundation and source of unity has continued through the ages in the person of the pope, the bishop of Rome. The recent celebration of World Youth Day in Australia, where thousands of young people gathered from around the globe, was one expression of the pope’s ministry of gathering together followers of the Lord into a community of faith and prayer.

Jesus had his work cut out for him in transforming Simon Peter into “The Rock.” When Peter attempted to walk on the water toward Jesus and sank because of his fear, Jesus called him a man of little faith. In the passage that immediately follows this Sunday’s gospel (a passage we will hear next Sunday), Peter’s objection to Jesus’ words about suffering lead Jesus to say sternly, “Get behind, me Satan!” And, of course, not long after this gospel scene Peter will deny Jesus precisely at the moment when Jesus needs him the most. It seems to have been Peter’s encounter with the risen Christ after Easter that transformed him into a fearless preacher and an eventual martyr. The action of Christ’s grace was persistent despite Peter’s human foibles and failures. We believe that the action of Christ’s grace in the Church has also been persistent through the centuries, despite the checkered history of the leaders of the Church. We have been blessed with many exemplary leaders in the history of the Church. But because our community of faith is comprised of human beings, it has also included leaders who fell short of the ideal, sometimes miserably. Still, there is an essential place for leadership in the Church, and the grace of Christ continues to be powerfully present within the community, transforming his people.

This gospel passage actually speaks to each of us about our own response to Jesus in heart and mind. No leader can ever take the place of each person’s response to Christ in faith. The momentous question that Jesus addressed to his disciples is also asked of each one of us, “Who do you say that I am?” The response to his question is something that is deeply personal, because our response speaks volumes not just about who we think Jesus is, but also about how we understand ourselves and the meaning of our own lives.

Our response to Jesus’ question is never given once for all time. We are not finished with the question at our baptism or confirmation, or at any other point in our lives. Our response must grow and deepen all through the years. And, of course, it is not only in church that we must offer our profession of faith. Outside of church, Jesus’ question is addressed to us at many important moments in the nitty gritty of daily life. When we are asked to offer generous care to a loved one, perhaps a loved one who is not easy to care for, Jesus asks us, “Who do you say that I am?” When we are faced with a choice between honesty and dishonesty – in school or business, in our personal relationships, or as citizens – he puts that same question to us. At moments when we are imprisoned in resentment towards others, finding it difficult to understand and forgive, Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” He puts that same question to us when we are faced with the challenge of respecting and protecting the lives of the unborn, persons with disabilities, the poor and other vulnerable people in our world.

With Peter, and with the leaders of our Church, you and I want to say to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” We make this confession together in church but we also need to speak it with our lives. We are called to profess what Jesus means to us by making choices for integrity, through generous care for others, by deeds of mercy and compassion, through active concern for the most vulnerable in our world. This is a profession that no one can make for us, in our place. Each of us needs to speak it, and to live it, in a most personal way. The more we truly seek to give that answer to Jesus, despite our weaknesses and failures, the more alive and real Jesus becomes to us. He is Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God, the one who loves me and gave himself for me. This is the Jesus who continues to sustain us in our journey of faith as he is nourishes us with his presence in the gift of the Eucharist.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp