The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today
celebrate the chair of the Saint Peter the Apostle. The gigantic influence of
the life and person of Peter on the Church is a force which continues to
inspire and attract people to the present day. The declaration of Peter about Jesus
has been described as the fundamental choice for believers. Father Robert
Barron in the magnificent video series Catholicism looks at this importance of
this decision. Peter makes the declaration which all who choose to follow Jesus
to holiness must address. Peter leads. The Gospel of Matthew which bridges the
Word of the Hebrew Testament to the Word made Flesh of the Christian Testament
identifies Jesus as the Messiah who is come to establish the Kingdom of God.
The psalmist expresses the nature of the Shepherd Leader, God, in the deeply
rich phrases of Psalm 23. These are the qualities of the leadership given to
Peter, described by Friar Jude Winkler as the rabbinic authority to decide who
was within the community and what this membership required of them. The passage
from the first letter of Peter emphasizes the need for the leadership of
Christian communities to exercise their ministry in service. It is not power
which leads people but the example of service which looses self in the mission
to bring others to Christ.
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