Today is the feast day of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle. It’s the day when we celebrate the nature of the succession of Papal authority, an unbroken line from St. Peter to Pope Francis. Before I converted to the faith, I always envisioned St. Peter as being someone who always had everything sorted out for him. I mean, he was trusted with the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven (as proclaimed by Jesus in today’s Gospel selection). I wouldn’t trust my keys to someone who was prone to mistakes, lapses in judgment, and overconfidence; surely Christ is the same way, right?
Of course, as I grew in faith and read Sacred Scripture, I realized that St. Peter wasn’t perfect. He tried to emulate Christ by walking on water and ultimately failed (Matthew 14:22-33), causing Jesus to chastise him: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” He argued with Jesus’ prediction of the Passion: “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” This caused Christ to rebuke Peter: “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.” Perhaps most famously, he denied Jesus three times (Matthew 27:69-75). Even after Christ’s death and resurrection, absolute clarity wasn’t assured; Paul calls out Peter’s hypocrisy at one point (in 2 Galatians 2:11-14).
And yet, we still (rightly) view Peter as being . . . well, the Rock upon which the Church was built.
In a lot of ways, Peter’s journey is one shared by many of us. Being a follower of Christ doesn’t mean you will never make mistakes; Peter made several. It doesn’t mean you will know what the best course of action will be; Peter didn’t. It doesn’t mean you will be iron-clad in your faith in all situations; Peter wasn’t. It doesn’t mean you will always know what’s going to happen; Peter didn’t.
So what made Peter special? Well, ultimately, he had a powerful faith. When Jesus walked on water, the other disciples certainly didn’t speak up and say, “Hey, I bet I have a strong enough faith to do that!” They knew they weren’t strong enough in their convictions to even consider it. But Peter asked Jesus to call him, and Christ did so . . . and, indeed, Peter did briefly walk on water!
Peter had the faith to continue to follow Christ despite shortcomings. Even when Peter erred, even when he was wrong, even when he denied Christ on his darkest day, his heart was still strong enough to return to the fold — and quickly. He didn’t succumb to despair and go into hiding (or something more drastic, like Judas’ final fate); he pressed on.
Thinking about Peter’s journey, it seems to me that many aspects of how he envisioned following Jesus didn’t work out as he expected. If he had visions of the triumphant Christ the King restoring Jerusalem, he would not see that dream realized. When he felt confident about his abilities, he realized his limitations. When he felt certain that Jesus would never die, he was rebuked by Christ himself.
And yet, through Peter’s journey — through that rock that Jesus trusted – the Church itself was formed. And it’s stood the test of time for over two thousand years.
Not all aspects of the Church have been perfect, nor has the Pope ever been flawless. The Popes and bishops can no more see what the future holds than St. Peter could. But the teachings of our Faith and Tradition have been solid as . . . again, rock. And, starting with Peter, God has worked with our imperfections to form a Church that’s greater — and more perfect — than its component parts.
Let us reflect today, then, on the wisdom of the Church, continuing to guide the faithful around the globe, as it has for millennia. And let us also reflect on how the succession of authority has remained unbroken, from Christ to Peter and beyond, with hundreds of Popes becoming the ultimate servants of the Church. This stewardship has been with us since the beginning, as the reading today from the First Letter of Peter makes clear: “Tend the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock.” Like Peter, we may not know what tomorrow holds, but we can remain confident that our faith in Christ and the Church he founded remain solid . . . solid as rock.
Today’s readings: 1 Pt 5:1-4; Ps 23:1-3A,4,5,6; Mt 16:13-19
