21st Sunday Ordinary Time August 27, 2023

Readings:Isaiah 22:19-23, Romans 11:33-36, Matthew 16:13-20

The first reading, from the Prophet Isaiah, uses terminology that Jesus uses in today’s Gospel from Saint Matthew. The first thing to note in both readings is that God is the one who gives authority to those whom He chooses. So often we think of religious authority in the same way as we think of secular, civil authority: might makes right, the most unscrupulous person gets most of the power or those who can pay off others with money and other benefits. That is a pretty dismal view of secular, civil authority, but it does not take too much research to see that in general, it is true.

Religious authority, according to the Gospel, is about forgiveness of sins and about service to others. We Catholics are not, however, people who live only by the Spirit. The Church is an incarnate presence of the Lord Jesus, founded by Him and sustained by His Holy Spirit. Because it is incarnate, even the authority of the keys has at times been corrupted by sin. Still there is a promise of infallibility to the Church and to the person of the Pope. 

Only an authentic faith shows us the truth of these assertions. Only a deep belief in the transmission of authority and office in the Church convinces us that this is so. The early Christians believed this, without a doubt, even though they may have squabbled about how it was lived and expressed. Today’s Scriptures invite us once again to renew our faith in the Lord Jesus, in the establishment of one Church, in the authority of Peter expressed in the Pope and in God’s divine presence within the humanity of the Church institution. May our own understanding and acceptance grow.