Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20
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.
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Reflection:
If Jesus were to ask us the same question that he asked his disciples—'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?'—of course, all of us would say that He is Jesus, the second person in the Trinity, and He is Jesus, the son of Joseph and Mary. These answers are what our minds would feed us.
But looking deeper into our hearts, 'Who is Jesus to us?' If we have a personal relationship with Jesus, our answer would be: He is Jesus, my God, Savior, and Friend who is always there for me.
To personally know Jesus, we need to read the Bible, especially the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Because it is in these four Gospels that we would gain an in depth knowledge of who Jesus really is. We also need to attend Holy Mass consistently because at Holy Mass Jesus is always present.
The Word of God is read in the Liturgy of the Word, and in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, Jesus is made present by the priest through Consecration. Upon consecration, the ordinary bread and wine are transubstantiated to become the body and blood of Jesus.
If only we would read the Bible; if only we would be attentive and observant during Holy Mass. Carefully listening to the words of God being read by the lectors and to the Gospel reading being proclaimed by the priest.
Being observant of his every movement and gesture —, if we would be like that, eventually, the grace of the Holy Spirit would be upon us. It would be the beginning of a much more profound relationship with Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
Among the disciples present, it was only Simon Peter who said, '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' (Matthew 16:16-17).
It was pure grace from God that Simon Peter knew the true identity of Jesus. Among the disciples, why was Peter chosen? Maybe because Peter was always close to Jesus; he had the hunger to always be in the Lord's company.
For example, when Jesus went to the mountain to be transfigured, Peter was there (Matthew 17). When Jesus walked on water, Peter was also there, walking on water towards Jesus (Matthew 14:29). When Jesus was about to be arrested, it was Peter who defended Jesus by cutting off the ear of the soldier Malchus (John 18:10).
Peter is also the first apostle to enter the empty tomb of Jesus, (Luke 24:12). And Peter is the first apostle to whom Jesus appeared after His resurrection, (Luke 24:34). Of course Peter had his own shortcomings too because he denied Jesus but he was remorseful of his denials.
Jesus rewarded Peter by founding the Church through him: When he said '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' (Matthew 16:18). This is still the same Catholic Church to which we belong right now. From Peter, who is our first Pope, to our present Pope, Pope Francis, who is the 266th successor of Peter.
After our lifetime, Jesus may ask us, 'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?' How would we answer Jesus during that time? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
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