Sermon by Emmanuel Suntheni OSB, Twenty-First Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A
Sermon And Christian Act In The Word
Theme: God’s Ways are Mysterious! Divine Choices! Leadership is listening to God’s way! The identity of Jesus Christ!
Point of Reflection: Do I understand God’s way? Do I know the identity of Jesus Christ as God? Do I listen to God to understand his ways? The readings of today remind us of God’s choices and our duty to listen to the Word of God and do the will of God.
First Reading: Isaiah 22:19–23
Psalm: Psalm 138:1–3, 6, 8
Second Reading: Romans 11:33–36
Gospel: Matthew 16:13–20
Sermon (Reflection): In the first reading of today, Isaiah decries the misguided confidence of Shebna and all his preparation, because the official ignored God and did not take his plans into account (22:11). God, in turn, speaking through Isaiah, declared Shebna unsuitable for leadership. He would be removed and replaced by another leader capable of providing sound leadership according to the model of King David. This new leader, Eliakim, would exercise his task of governing well; he would have the ability to authoritatively “open and close”, which implies acting according to God’s decisions and purposes. Shebna’s inability or unwillingness to ponder and understand God’s will made him blind to God’s purposes; instead of considering God, he chose to make his own choices and cater to his own desires. As Christians, when we do not listen to God and understand God’s ways, we risk being removed from our leadership roles. Some leaders in our societies do not understand God’s mysterious ways and they end up leading others astray. As Christians, we need to pray now and then to God to give us the spirit of understanding God’s ways, which are divine.
God’s ways and choices are ultimately mysterious and arbitrary, and in the second of reading of today, St Paul acknowledges that no one had initially understood God’s intentions. Only after reflecting deeply on what God had done in Christ, Paul realised that God’s purpose from the very beginning of time was the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles. This led Paul to utter the words of praise which humbly acknowledge that God’s purposes are unfathomable and mysterious, but ultimately salvific.
As Christians, we will understand God’s way in our life by listening to the Word of God and acknowledging the salvation bestowed on us as Christ’s followers.
Listening to God’s mysterious ways is to understand the identity of Jesus Christ as encountered in the Gospel reading of today. Today’s Gospel passage consists of two distinctive parts. The first is the so-called “confession of Peter” where the apostle, in response to Jesus’ inquiry, correctly identifies him as the Messiah (the Christ) and the Son of God. His words reflect an accurate understanding of Jesus’ identity and of the purpose of his Messianic mission on earth.
The second part of the passage might be called “the confession about Peter”. Here, it is Jesus who makes a declaration about Peter and his mission. Peter would be entrusted with leadership of the new Christian community which, for the first time in the New Testament, is called “the Church”.
As a part of his leadership, Peter is entrusted with the authority of “binding and loosening” on earth and in heaven. “Binding and loosening” is a Jewish expression which stands for laying down rules and obligations which the community members ought to follow. The same authority will be extended to the entire community in a later passage in this Gospel (cf. Matt 18:18). This means that Peter, and the Christian community he would lead, are entrusted with grasping and clarifying God’s will, and implementing it in their midst.
Their discernment and decisions would be so significant that they would have a binding character extending to both heaven and earth. This means that God stands behind what the community does in his name. Such authority is an awesome gift but comes with a great responsibility.
Interestingly, this great authority is given to a flawed individual and an imperfect community. Peter would soon show himself to be a man of questionable commitment and disloyal to Jesus, whom he would betray to save his own skin. Likewise, the Christian community described in Matthew ch. 18 faced problems of internal scandals and divisions, which led Matthew to issue stern warnings against scandalising others, and detailed instruction on reconciliation and forgiveness.
Today’s Gospel shows that God still entrusts imperfect individuals and communities with his own authority.
Still, God’s autonomy and free will in choosing the individuals and groups he wishes to carry out his purposes remain unquestionable.
Christian Act in Word of God “God’s ways! ”
The decisions and choices of God are beyond our human comprehension, because, as human beings, we tend to explain the ways of God using our limited understanding and senses. Let us look at some examples of God’s choices in the history of humankind and see what we can learn from them.
Firstly, God chose the people of Israel as his favourite nation (cf. Deut 7:6). We may wonder why God, the creator of all living beings, chose the Israelites and not any other nation as his special people; what did they do to win his heart? The answer is that they did nothing; it was God’s choice to elect them, and, through them, to extend his loving mercy to all nations.
As Christians, we too cannot fully comprehend the mind of God. We marvel at the authority and the rulings of God. Why should a loving God send rain and sunshine on the wicked who constantly renounce his name and cause his children to suffer? The reason is that God follows his own ways which are not ours. We could speculate what would happen if God were to be influenced by sentiments and moods like we are – someday God could capriciously decide that there will be no oxygen or no sunshine for us to live. While humbled by our limits, we should be grateful for God’s constancy in providing us with the essentials to live by. We thank God for his faithful love which endures forever.
Secondly, God chooses earthly leaders and endows them with authority. In the first reading and the Gospel, we hear about God electing leaders to govern his people in fairness and justice. It was in the mind of God to elect Peter, an imperfect man, to be the head of the community. Pope Francis understood this dynamic of human imperfection to serve God’s perfection when he asked the faithful to pray for him, so that he may lead God’s people ably and in truth. However, all of us are called to discharge the offices and duties that are entrusted to us, as well as we can, starting from the household or a community. As Christians and as the father or mother of a family, as a Church leader, in the SCC, parish level or even as a civic or political leader, we ought to direct God’s people with unwavering love and justice.
We are all called to have an active response to God’s ways. God’s freedom of choice demands our active response. We should always seek to understand God’s will for our lives so that we may also cooperate with his plans for ourselves and the world. God chose you and me to be alive today. It is not by chance or coincidence that we are here; our life is a result of God’s steadfast love and free choice. To better understand God’s will for us, we ought to deepen our faith in and knowledge of Jesus and allow him to inspire our minds and thus help us in making fundamental choices that lead us to eternal life. If we let the Holy Spirit enlighten us in our decision-making process, we shall be blessed like Peter and say like the Psalmist, “On the day I called, you answered me”.
Action: I will understand God’s ways.
Prayer: Lord our God, we praise and glorify your Holy Name. We recognise that your ways are not our ways, your choices are not ours. Your wisdom and knowledge surpass our human limited thinking. We ask you to inspire our thoughts and minds so that the decisions and choices we make may be guided by you and lead us to eternal life. Give us strength to confess and witness your Son Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour daily. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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