Gospel Reflection for The 8th day of August in the year of Our Lord, 2024

Gospel

Matthew 16:13-23

13 And Jesus came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is? 14 But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am?

16 Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. 20 Then he commanded his disciples, that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.

21 From that time Jesus began to shew to his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again. 22 And Peter taking him, began to rebuke him, saying: Lord, be it far from thee, this shall not be unto thee. 23 Who turning, said to Peter: Go behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal unto me: because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men.

Hopefully, this is a passage of the Gospels with which every Catholic is thoroughly familiar. It is the establishment of our Church, in which our Lord gives His authority to Saint Peter as the first pope. Although Protestants quibble over the grammatical gender of the name Peter in Latin, Jesus was very clear. Jesus spoke to His Apostles in the common language of the Jews in His era, which was Aramaic. Our Lord said, literally, that Saint Peter was the rock, with no ambiguity at all.

But, it is the end of this passage that is surprising. Why would Jesus seemingly rebuke Saint Peter for showing concern for his well-being? Is He referring to the man to whom He just entrusted His Kingdom on earth as the devil? Although most in our time think this is the case, actually no.

The Douay Rheims gives the following explanation:

"And Peter taking him": That is, taking him aside, out of a tender love, respect and zeal for his Lord and Master's honour, began to expostulate with him, as it were to rebuke him, saying, Lord, far be it from thee to suffer death; but the Lord said to Peter, ver. 23, Go behind me, Satan. These words may signify, Begone from me; but the holy Fathers expound them otherwise, that is, come after me, or follow me; and by these words the Lord would have Peter to follow him in his suffering, and not to oppose the divine will by contradiction; for the word satan means in Hebrew an adversary, or one that opposes.

Seen in that light, this verse makes much more sense. While Saint Peter is still a fallible man who lacks consistency and courage at this time, he has been given his office. He will be transformed from the one who denies our Lord when He is arrested to a willing martyr for the faith. Sacred tradition holds that when He was taken to be executed by pagan Rome, he asked to be crucified upside down, feeling unworthy to die identically to Jesus. And, while he was being killed, he preached the gospel boldly, amazing the crowds gathered to witness his execution and leading to the conversion of many. His bones were gathered and his grave became a holy site for early Christians....the site where the Basilica of Saint Peter would be built. The bones of Saint Peter lie under the altar of the very center of Christianity.

Once again, we see that we need the Holy Church to guide us in understanding the Bible. If Protestants were honest about what the Bible actually teaches, they would have to admit as much.

Acts 8: 29-35

29 And the Spirit said to Philip: Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip running thither, heard him reading the prophet Isaias. And he said: Thinkest thou that thou understandest what thou readest?

31 Who said: And how can I, unless some man shew me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32 And the place of the scripture which he was reading was this: He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb without voice before his shearer, so openeth he not his mouth. 33 In humility his judgment was taken away. His generation who shall declare, for his life shall be taken from the earth? 34 And the eunuch answering Philip, said: I beseech thee, of whom doth the prophet speak this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip, opening his mouth, and beginning at this scripture, preached unto him Jesus.

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Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings July-December, 2024 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3ZTXQB4

and

Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK

His new podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic