My Sunday Daily Blessings
Be still, quiet your heart and mind, the Lord is here loving you, talking to you.................
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Roman Rite Calendar
*First Reading: Is 22:19-23
Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace:
"I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station.
On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah;
I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim's shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut when he shuts, no one shall open.
I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family."
"I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station.
On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah;
I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim's shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut when he shuts, no one shall open.
I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family."
*Responsorial Psalm: Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-8
"Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands."
*Second Reading: Rom 11:33-36
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? Or who has given the Lord anything that he may be repaid?
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen.
How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? Or who has given the Lord anything that he may be repaid?
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen.
*Gospel: Mt 16: 13-20
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
**Reflection: Who is Jesus for you? At an opportune time Jesus tests his disciples with a crucial question: Who do men say that I am and who do you say that I am? He was widely recognized in Israel as a mighty man of God, even being compared with the greatest of the prophets, John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah. Peter, always quick to respond, exclaimed that he was the Christ, the Son of the living God. No mortal being could have revealed this to Peter; but only God. Jesus then confers on Peter authority to govern the church that Jesus would build, a church that no powers would overcome. Jesus plays on Peter's name which is the same word for "rock" in both Aramaic and Greek. To call someone a "rock" is one of the greatest of compliments. The ancient rabbis had a saying that when God saw Abraham, he exclaimed: "I have discovered a rock to found the world upon". Through Abraham God established a nation for himself. Through faith Peter grasped who Jesus truly was. He was the first apostle to recognize Jesus as the Anointed One (Messiah and Christ) and the only begotten Son of God. The New Testament describes the church as a spiritual house or temple with each member joined together as living stones (see 1 Peter 2:5). Faith in Jesus Christ makes us into rocks or spiritual stones. The Lord Jesus tests each of us personally with the same question: Who do you say that I am?
**Prayer:
"Lord Jesus, I profess and believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are my Lord and my Savior. Make my faith strong like Peter's and give me boldness to speak of you to others that they may come to know you personally as Lord and Savior and grow in the knowledge of your love". AMEN.
Sources:
The readings on this page are from the Jerusalem Bible, which is used at Mass in most of the English-speaking world.
*Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
**Don Schwager
Author and Writer for The Word Among Us
Member, Servants of the Word (c) 2006
Word Life Community
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