Love and Liberation

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, challenge us to evaluate our understanding of leadership through love that brings liberation to the Children of God.

Path of the Saints

The Reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes Herod’s Persecution of the Christians and Peter.

* [12:1–19] Herod Agrippa ruled Judea A.D. 41–44. While Luke does not assign a motive for his execution of James and his intended execution of Peter, the broad background lies in Herod’s support of Pharisaic Judaism. The Jewish Christians had lost the popularity they had had in Jerusalem (Acts 2:47), perhaps because of suspicions against them traceable to the teaching of Stephen.

* [12:2] James, the brother of John: this James, the son of Zebedee, was beheaded by Herod Agrippa ca. A.D. 44.

* [12:3, 4] Feast of Unleavened Bread…Passover: see note on Lk 22:1. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 34 is thanksgiving in acrostic form.

* [Psalm 34] A thanksgiving in acrostic form, each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this Psalm one letter is missing and two are in reverse order. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Ps 34:5, 7), can teach the “poor,” those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone (Ps 34:4, 12). God will make them powerful (Ps 34:5–11) and give them protection (Ps 34:12–22). (Psalms, PSALM 34 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Reading from the Second Letter to Timothy proclaims the Reward for Fidelity and Paul’s Loneliness.

* [4:6] The apostle recognizes his death through martyrdom to be imminent. He regards it as an act of worship in which his blood will be poured out in sacrifice; cf. Ex 29:38–40; Phil 2:17.

* [4:7] At the close of his life Paul could testify to the accomplishment of what Christ himself foretold concerning him at the time of his conversion, “I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name” (Acts 9:16).

* [4:8] When the world is judged at the parousia, all who have eagerly looked for the Lord’s appearing and have sought to live according to his teachings will be rewarded. The crown is a reference to the laurel wreath placed on the heads of victorious athletes and conquerors in war; cf. 2 Tm 2:5; 1 Cor 9:25. (2 Timothy, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew proclaims Peter’s Confession About Jesus.

* [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).

* [16:13] Caesarea Philippi: situated about twenty miles north of the Sea of Galilee in the territory ruled by Philip, a son of Herod the Great, tetrarch from 4 B.C. until his death in A.D. 34 (see note on Mt 14:1). He rebuilt the town of Paneas, naming it Caesarea in honor of the emperor, and Philippi (“of Philip”) to distinguish it from the seaport in Samaria that was also called Caesarea. Who do people say that the Son of Man is?: although the question differs from the Marcan parallel (Mk 8:27: “Who…that I am?”), the meaning is the same, for Jesus here refers to himself as the Son of Man (cf. Mt 16:15).

* [16:14] John the Baptist: see Mt 14:2. Elijah: cf. Mal 3:23–24; Sir 48:10; and see note on Mt 3:4. Jeremiah: an addition of Matthew to the Marcan source.

* [16:16] The Son of the living God: see Mt 2:15; 3:17. The addition of this exalted title to the Marcan confession eliminates whatever ambiguity was attached to the title Messiah. This, among other things, supports the view proposed by many scholars that Matthew has here combined his source’s confession with a post-resurrectional confession of faith in Jesus as Son of the living God that belonged to the appearance of the risen Jesus to Peter; cf. 1 Cor 15:5; Lk 24:34.

* [16:17] Flesh and blood: a Semitic expression for human beings, especially in their weakness. Has not revealed this…but my heavenly Father: that Peter’s faith is spoken of as coming not through human means but through a revelation from God is similar to Paul’s description of his recognition of who Jesus was; see Gal 1:15–16, “…when he [God]…was pleased to reveal his Son to me….”

* [16:18] You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church: the Aramaic word kēpā’ meaning rock and transliterated into Greek as Kēphas is the name by which Peter is called in the Pauline letters (1 Cor 1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:4; Gal 1:18; 2:9, 11, 14) except in Gal 2:7–8 (“Peter”). It is translated as Petros (“Peter”) in Jn 1:42. The presumed original Aramaic of Jesus’ statement would have been, in English, “You are the Rock (Kēpā’) and upon this rock (kēpā’) I will build my church.” The Greek text probably means the same, for the difference in gender between the masculine noun petros, the disciple’s new name, and the feminine noun petra (rock) may be due simply to the unsuitability of using a feminine noun as the proper name of a male. Although the two words were generally used with slightly different nuances, they were also used interchangeably with the same meaning, “rock.” Church: this word (Greek ekklēsia) occurs in the gospels only here and in Mt 18:17 (twice). There are several possibilities for an Aramaic original. Jesus’ church means the community that he will gather and that, like a building, will have Peter as its solid foundation. That function of Peter consists in his being witness to Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. The gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it: the netherworld (Greek Hadēs, the abode of the dead) is conceived of as a walled city whose gates will not close in upon the church of Jesus, i.e., it will not be overcome by the power of death.

* [16:19] The keys to the kingdom of heaven: the image of the keys is probably drawn from Is 22:15–25 where Eliakim, who succeeds Shebna as master of the palace, is given “the key of the House of David,” which he authoritatively “opens” and “shuts” (Is 22:22). Whatever you bind…loosed in heaven: there are many instances in rabbinic literature of the binding-loosing imagery. Of the several meanings given there to the metaphor, two are of special importance here: the giving of authoritative teaching, and the lifting or imposing of the ban of excommunication. It is disputed whether the image of the keys and that of binding and loosing are different metaphors meaning the same thing. In any case, the promise of the keys is given to Peter alone. In Mt 18:18 all the disciples are given the power of binding and loosing, but the context of that verse suggests that there the power of excommunication alone is intended. That the keys are those to the kingdom of heaven and that Peter’s exercise of authority in the church on earth will be confirmed in heaven show an intimate connection between, but not an identification of, the church and the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB, n.d.)

Rev. Lar­ry Gillick, SJ comments that we recall in our Read­ings for this Eucharis­tic litur­gy the non-slip­ping of faith in the events of Peter and Paul. They both kept faith in the Christ Who was faith­ful to them in their distress.

So that’s all well and good for Peter and Paul, but what’s well and good for us as we move toward the Sacra­ment of the Eucharist? As we have been read­ing from the Acts of the Apos­tles dur­ing East­er­time, Peter and Paul had dis­agree­ments and had to set­tle up about impor­tant issues in what was to be the new Way of God’s call and our responses.

Pope Leo and Pope Fran­cis before him, have been call­ing us to a “deeper­ness” of belief, or faith, or trust or just walk­ing out on the slip­pery log of life. Faith is not just what we say or think, but how we walk from what is deep inside to what invi­ta­tions to walk as peace­ful­ly into the pains of this life. We are encour­aged to attend funer­als of mar­ried part­ners, bed­sides of the suf­fer­ing, read the sto­ries of mar­tyrs as well as our liv­ing the joys and pains of those slip­pery expe­ri­ences of living.

Per­haps deep­en­ing comes from our trust­ing that, though we slip and slide, His faith­ful­ness is what rais­es us up. We might expe­ri­ence embar­rass­ments from our falls, but the more impor­tant act of faith is when we allow His Love to be the cen­ter of our faith. If we stand up for our true self, we do not have to be fright­ened of tem­porar­i­ly falling for some­thing and this is deep faith which Peter and Paul lived and died. He alone can save us from ourselves. (Gillick, 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 16:13-19 that the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, became the very foundation of Peter and Paul’s lives. It was the reality that spurred them to keep following the Lord.

As you consider these two holy men today, you can almost hear them saying, See how Jesus has changed our lives! Who do you say that he is? How does that make a difference in the way you live?

“Jesus, I believe you are the Christ! Let this truth become my foundation today and every day!” (Meditation on Matthew 16:13-19, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that in the Acts passage we hear how Herod Antipas arrests James, kills him and has Peter arrested too. The angels release Peter to proclaim the Gospel. The Letter to Timothy was not written by Paul but in his name, before he died, decapitated in Rome. Paul speaks of the time coming of being poured out as a libation. He realizes he will die but not be conquered. The proclamation in Matthew’s Gospel in Ceasarea Phillippi: “The Christ of the son of the living God”  is more than Mark. In Matthew, Peter is commended as the revelation of the Father as the “rock” and the leader of the “Church” institution that would follow. Friar Jude notes Peter is a “super rabbi” and the gates of the netherworld close to Ceasarea Phillippi are a visual image.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, explains how the Gospels impart a message of liberation, particularly for people pushed to the margins of society.

Liberation theology—which focuses on freeing people from religious, political, social, and economic oppression—is often dismissed by official Christianity. Perhaps that’s not surprising when we consider who interpreted the Scriptures for the last seventeen hundred years. The empowered clerical class enforced their own perspective instead of that of the marginalized, who first received the message with such excitement and hope. Once Christianity became the established religion of the Roman Empire (after 313 CE), we largely stopped reading the Bible from the side of the poor and the oppressed. We read it from the side of the political establishment and the usually comfortable priesthood instead of from the side of people hungry for justice and truth. Shifting our priorities to make room for the powerless instead of accommodating the powerful is the only way to detach religion from its common marriage to power, money, and self-importance. [1] 

When Scripture is read through the eyes of vulnerability—what Catholics call the “preferential option for the poor” or the “bias from the bottom”—it will always be liberating and transformative. Scripture will not be used to oppress or impress. The question is no longer, “How can I maintain the status quo?” (which often happens to benefit me), but “How can we all grow and change together?” We would have no top to protect, and the so-called “bottom” becomes the place of education, real change, and transformation for all. (Rohr, n.d.)

We call upon the Holy Spirit to enlighten our understanding of the suffering and imprisonment of good people as we respond to the call from Jesus to be agents of liberation of our brothers and sisters.

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/12?1 

Gillick, L. (n.d.). Daily Reflection June 29, 2025. Online Ministries Creighton University. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-june-29-2025 

Matthew, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/16?13 

Meditation on Matthew 16:13-19. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/06/29/1319117/ 

Psalms, PSALM 34 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/34?2 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Hearing Another Story. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/hearing-another-story/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). You Are the Christ - the Son of the Living God. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=jun29a 

2 Timothy, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 29, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2timothy/4?6 

Eternal and Temporal

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today nudge us to contemplate our mortality even as we find grace and meaning in the eternal Presence of God.

Community action

The reading from the Second Letter of Peter is an exhortation to preparedness.

 * [3:17–18] To avoid the dangers of error and loss of stability Christians are forewarned to be on guard and to grow in grace and knowledge (2 Pt 1:2) of Christ. The doxology (2 Pt 3:18) recalls 1 Pt 4:11. Some manuscripts add Amen.1

Psalm 90 contrasts God’s Eternity and human frailty.

 * [Psalm 90] A communal lament that describes only in general terms the cause of the community’s distress. After confidently invoking God (Ps 90:1), the Psalm turns to a complaint contrasting God’s eternity with the brevity of human life (Ps 90:2–6) and sees in human suffering the punishment for sin (Ps 90:7–12). The Psalm concludes with a plea for God’s intervention (Ps 90:13–17).2

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus addresses the question about paying taxes.

 * [12:13–34] In the ensuing conflicts (cf. also Mk 2:1–3:6) Jesus vanquishes his adversaries by his responses to their questions and reduces them to silence (Mk 12:34).3

Kyle Lierk comments “As I read today’s Gospel and consider this theological lens, I can’t help but wonder, “What can I look to in my life, like Jesus asked the leaders to do with that coin, and see the ‘image and inscription’ of God?” And then, once I have taken this inventory, face the harder question: “Am I repaying ‘to God what belongs to God’?””

 As my wife and I lean into the grand “Yes!” of our vocation to marriage with the multiple, smaller, daily “yeses,” we are embracing the stance that Fr. Anthony deMello, S.J. recommends we take with God:  “Behold the One beholding you, smiling.”  As our dog pursues us with unapologetic love, affection and acceptance, I witness Thompson’s depiction of the Divine as a “hound of heaven.”  As I watch the four locust trees planted by the original owner of this home standing like sturdy sentinels through multiple human lifespans, the cardinals and bluejays flit and flurry in feathery exuberance, and the seasons break through on the heels of one another in some sacred square dance, I am humbled by God’s creative composition.  And as I gaze with gentle eyes at the ways in which I live out this human adventure (some days better than others), I see the Divine author continuing to pen the story of my life.  
After all of this embracing, witnessing, watching and gazing, it is then time to do what Jesus asks:  repay to God what is God’s!  But how?  I have found that the greatest way to provide God the “return on investment” for this abundance of gift is through the ways in which I choose to share and engage these wonderful treasures for “the greater glory of God” and in an effort to bring reconciliation to our world.4

Don Schwager quotes “Put off the earthly image and put on the heavenly one,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).

 "Some people think that the Savior spoke on a single level when he said, 'Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar' - that is, 'pay the tax that you owe.' Who among us disagrees about paying taxes to Caesar? The passage therefore has a mystical and secret meaning. There are two images in humanity. One he received from God when he was made, in the beginning, as Scripture says in the book of Genesis, 'according to the image and likeness of God' (Genesis 1:27). The other image is of the earth (1 Corinthians 15:49). Man received this second image later. He was expelled from Paradise because of disobedience and sin after the 'prince of this world' (John 12:31) had tempted him with his enticements. Just as the coin, or denarius, has an image of the emperor of this world, so he who does the works of 'the ruler of the darkness' (Ephesians 6:12) bears the image of him whose works he does. Jesus commanded that that image should be handed over and thrown away from our face. He wills us to take on that image, according to which we were made from the beginning, according to God's likeness. It then happens that we give 'to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what is God's.' Jesus said, 'Show me a coin.' For 'coin,' Matthew wrote 'denarius' ( Matthew 22:19). When Jesus had taken it, he said, 'Whose inscription does it have?' They answered and said, 'Caesar's.' And he said to them in turn, 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.'" (excerpt from HOMILY ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 39.4-6)5

The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Peter 3:12-15, 17-18 urges, “on a spiritual level, consider evaluating your “spiritual diet” every now and then. Think about the media you consume or the leisure activities that you participate in. Do they lead to peace, or do they leave you agitated or anxious? Do they help you become the person God created you to be, or do they take you down hurtful or self-centered paths? It can be hard to change our viewing habits or our leisure activities, of course, but anyone who has tried and succeeded will tell you that it is well worth the effort.”

 One word of caution: as you make it your goal to “be eager” to avoid marring your soul, don’t let the past weigh you down and don’t let the future discourage you. That’s not the point! Instead, “consider the patience of our Lord” (2 Peter 3:15). Remember that he didn’t come to condemn you for your blemishes, but to save you from them and wash you clean. Through his Spirit, his divine grace is always available to help protect you and set you free.
“Jesus, teach me how to rely on you as I try to steer clear of anything that could mar my soul or damage my spirit.”6

Friar Jude Winkler shares the sense of the author of 2 Peter that a merciful God has given first century Christians time to convert. The people trying to trap Jesus were carrying a Roman coin. Friar Jude reminds us that Christians have supported the Roman Emperor and also condemned civil authority as Satan on earth.

StAnthonyCompanions · June 2, 2020

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that an important element of this new power (among the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized) is that it is not power for the sake of personal gain, but power for the sake of all the oppressed, ignored, forgotten, and exploited members of society. The powerless are recouping power . . . the power of the gospel, which works for the betterment and liberation of all, especially those in greatest need.

 In all this, prophecy is not just being spoken about; it is being lived out in ongoing confrontations by the previously powerless of society who now dare to go to the Jerusalems of today’s society: city hall, transnational corporations, boards of education, ecclesiastical offices. Those who had before simply accepted their state of exclusion and exploitation are now coming out of their tombs of substandard housing, disease-infected neighborhoods, economically enslaving jobs, schools that strengthened illiteracy, and churches that perpetuated segregation. Those who had been dead are now coming back to life.
In this awakening . . . renewed Christians are called to exercise a prophetic role. True prophecy is based upon a prophetic lifestyle, which of itself—wordlessly—confronts an ungodly society. It is this new lifestyle—this new way of relating with persons, goods, institutions, and God—that is itself an arresting alternative to the ways of the world.7

We are creatures in the image of God who make visible by our selfless action the power of the Gospel to transform communities.

References

1	(n.d.). 2 Peter, chapter 3 - United States Conference of Catholic .... Retrieved June 2, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/2peter/3
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 90 - United States Conference of Catholic .... Retrieved June 2, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/90
3	(n.d.). Mark, chapter 12 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 2, 2020, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/12
4	(n.d.). Daily Reflections - OnlineMinistries .... Retrieved June 2, 2020, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 2, 2020, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
6	(n.d.). Meditations - The Word Among Us. Retrieved June 2, 2020, from https://wau.org/meditations/2020/06/02/
7	(2020, June 2). A New Power — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 2, 2020, from https://cac.org/a-new-power-2020-06-02/