Thursday 5 August 2021
Dedication of St Mary Major
Numbers 20:1-13. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts – Ps 94(95):1-2, 6-9. Matthew 16:13-23.
You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church
I love experiencing the conversational Jesus in the Gospels. I imagine Jesus and the disciples sitting together just shooting the breeze, and then he throws the question at them. ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ There is also a risk and an intimacy about asking the direct personal question of ‘well what about you guys then, who do you think I am?’ There was no doubt for Peter, and I imagine the beautiful expression on Jesus’ face when he says ‘Good for you Peter!’ Jesus has questioned the disciples about their knowledge of him and their faith in him also. The important line for me is that Peter is told that his faith didn’t come from him but from the Father. So, we have to ask for faith. It is a gift, and also a requirement, in order to know Jesus, to have hope and to live from love. Peter’s faith became the rock, the foundation of the Church. God of us all, through your Son Jesus, may our faith be as solid as a rock, remaining steadfast in the face of the challenges that will test it, and may our conversations with Jesus always be intimate and familiar.
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