The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate the direction our journey takes when we realize how the Spirit reveals the Presence of God close to us in our thoughts and encounters with others.
The reading from the Prophet Jeremiah reveals a New Covenant.
* [31:31–34] The new covenant is an occasional prophetic theme, beginning with Hosea. According to Jeremiah, (a) it lasts forever; (b) its law (torah) is written in human hearts; (c) it gives everyone true knowledge of God, making additional instruction (torah) unnecessary. The Dead Sea Scroll community claimed they were partners in a “new covenant.” The New Testament presents the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as inaugurating a new covenant open to anyone who professes faith in Jesus the Christ. Cf. Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; Heb 8:8–12. Know the LORD: cf. note on 22:15–16. (Jeremiah, CHAPTER 31 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 51 is a prayer for cleansing and pardon.
* [Psalm 51] A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms, prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought. The poem has two parts of approximately equal length: Ps 51:3–10 and Ps 51:11–19, and a conclusion in Ps 51:20–21. The two parts interlock by repetition of “blot out” in the first verse of each section (Ps 51:3, 11), of “wash (away)” just after the first verse of each section (Ps 51:4) and just before the last verse (Ps 51:9) of the first section, and of “heart,” “God,” and “spirit” in Ps 51:12, 19. The first part (Ps 51:3–10) asks deliverance from sin, not just a past act but its emotional, physical, and social consequences. The second part (Ps 51:11–19) seeks something more profound than wiping the slate clean: nearness to God, living by the spirit of God (Ps 51:12–13), like the relation between God and people described in Jer 31:33–34. Nearness to God brings joy and the authority to teach sinners (Ps 51:15–16). Such proclamation is better than offering sacrifice (Ps 51:17–19). The last two verses express the hope that God’s good will toward those who are cleansed and contrite will prompt him to look favorably on the acts of worship offered in the Jerusalem Temple (Ps 51:19 [20–21]). (Psalms, PSALM 51 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of Matthew presents Peter’s declaration about Jesus and Jesus foretells His death and resurrection.
* [16:13–20] The Marcan confession of Jesus as Messiah, made by Peter as spokesman for the other disciples (Mk 8:27–29; cf. also Lk 9:18–20), is modified significantly here. The confession is of Jesus both as Messiah and as Son of the living God (Mt 16:16). Jesus’ response, drawn principally from material peculiar to Matthew, attributes the confession to a divine revelation granted to Peter alone (Mt 16:17) and makes him the rock on which Jesus will build his church (Mt 16:18) and the disciple whose authority in the church on earth will be confirmed in heaven, i.e., by God (Mt 16:19). (Matthew, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB, n.d.)
Vivian Amu comments that when most of us visualize Jesus in prayer, our image of Jesus tends to look like one of the depictions from art or the movies, or we might even find ourselves redesigning the face of Jesus to look like someone we like, so we might listen better or approve.
The problem is that when Jesus then shows up as someone we don’t recognize, or someone we don’t think has anything to tell us, like a five years old child, a homeless man begging on a street corner, or a person whom we don't find physically attractive, we resist the message. We decide how the conversation will go. We get in the way of God's work instead of fully investing in it and being open to whatever gets revealed in the process. We lose sight of the unexpected message revealed by God; we lose sight of who Jesus is. To me, Jesus is not just the Son of the living God and the Christ; Jesus is a profound message of love, and the message opened says, "I love you to death." These days, that message is all I need. May we have the faith to see and know Jesus and also the courage to accept what comes along with following him and being loved. (Amu, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Only by hope,” by Basil the Great, 329-379 A.D.
"'Turn, O my soul, into your rest: for the Lord has been bountiful to you' (Psalm 114:7). The brave contestant applies to himself the consoling words, very much like to Paul, when he says: 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. For the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice.' These things the prophet also says to himself: Since you have fulfilled sufficiently the course of this life, turn then to your rest, 'for the Lord has been bountiful to you.' For, eternal rest lies before those who have struggled through the present life observant of the laws, a rest not given in payment for a debt owed for their works but provided as a grace of the munificent God for those who have hoped in him." (excerpt from HOMILIES 22) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 16:13-23 comments that we might wonder how the Lord could expect Peter, a human being, to think like God. But Jesus knew that Peter would need to adopt a heavenly perspective if he was going to spread the gospel and lead the Church. For Peter, this call would involve suffering and ultimately death.
Because we are human, we will always struggle to think as God does. But that doesn’t mean we should just throw up our hands. As we follow the Lord and stay close to him, God will help us overcome our blind spots. Over time, he will reveal more of himself and his plan to us. His perspective is so much wider and broader than our own. As Peter ultimately discovered, it’s a gift to see things God’s way!
“Jesus, open my mind and heart to think and see as you do.” (Meditation on Matthew 16:13-23, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the role of the Holy Spirit to inform us about God as he reflects on the understanding of the New Covenant described by Jeremiah. The pagan worship at Caesarea Philippi and the renaming of Peter as “rock” connect with the mention of “Church” in Jesus' response to Peter’s confession. Friar Judes reminds us that, like Peter, God develops what he sees in us to build the Church.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Benedictine sister Joan Chittister who reflects on a wisdom teaching from the Desert Fathers. This teaching from Abba Mateos is on the illusion of innocence and the humbling truth that we all are wounded.
Contemplation breaks us open to ourselves. The fruit of contemplation is self-knowledge, not self-justification. “The nearer we draw to God,” Abba Mateos said, “the more we see ourselves as sinners.” We see ourselves as we really are, and knowing ourselves we cannot condemn the other. We remember with a blush the public sin that made us mortal. We recognize with dismay the private sin that curls within us in fear of exposure. Then the whole world changes when we know ourselves. We gentle it. The fruit of self-knowledge is kindness. Broken ourselves, we bind tenderly the wounds of the other. . . . (Rohr, n.d.)
We find in our humanity the experiences that may be illuminated by the Spirit to draw us closer to recognition of the Love of God within our being.
References
Amu, V. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/080422.html
Jeremiah, CHAPTER 31 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/31?31
Matthew, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/16?13
Meditation on Matthew 16:13-23. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/08/04/461685/
Psalms, PSALM 51 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/51?12
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Contemplation Reveals Our Wounds. Daily Meditations Archive: 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/contemplation-reveals-our-wounds-2022-08-04/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=aug4
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