Pursuit

Matthew 16: 13-20
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Getting a sense of deja vu? This year, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul fell on a Sunday in June and the above is the reading for that Sunday as well as for the coming Sunday. If you want to re-read the reflection I wrote back then, go here: The Naming.

But wait. Isn't there anything else about this passage that could be reflected on? Sure there is.

The one sentence that jumped out at me this time around was, "For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven." Is that not one of the most exciting things you've read in a while? No? Well, perhaps that's because you've always assumed it was a statement made just to Peter because he was chosen to be the first Pope. Perhaps it's because you never considered that it was a statement intended for you.

Do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God? If Jesus appeared before you right now and said to you, "Who do you say that I am?" would you not give the same answer as Peter? Well then, you are allowed to hear him say to you, "Blessed are you (your name)! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven." Allow yourself to see joy on Jesus' face as he says this to you. See his huge grin because he is so excited to share with you in the revelation given by his Father.

You could not believe in the Lordship of Jesus unless the Father had revealed it to you. This creates a very special and beautiful bond between you, Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit, whose other names are Desire and Belief. Flesh and blood - meaning your parents, catechists, parish priest and friends - could have told you all about Jesus all your life but if that was the extent of your exposure to Christ, he would have remained a nice story character or an admirable historical figure. If he is more to you than that, then you have been the recipient of a personal divine revelation.

At some point in your life, the Father looked on you with outrageous love and opened your inner eyes to the reality of Jesus Christ; he was the one who filled you with a desire for that reality. He did not tell you to go and get cleaned up first. He did not say, "I think you need to be more pure before I reveal my Son to you." If being pure and all cleaned up was a prerequisite for this divine revelation, Peter would not have received it because Peter was not your regular holy saint by any means. When Jesus told Peter he had received a revelation from the Father, he knew even then that Peter would ultimately betray him. All Peter had was great desire, a desire that he was given. We can't even desire unless God gives it to us.

So, open your heart and mind to the fact that the only way you were able to make a choice to follow the Lord was because you were given the desire and then you received the revelation. Flesh and blood is incapable of filling you with belief. You were loved so much that you were actively pursued by the God of the Universe and he still pursues you every moment of every day.

If that doesn't excite you, I don't know what will.