29 June 2013
Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
Here at the conclusion of our summer course on Christian Identity we find ourselves ending where we began, with a test; this is the final exam. “Who do you say that I am?” Fr. Robert Barron points out in hisCatholicism series that no other religious leader in human history asks this question. Muhammad points to the message he delivers, Buddha to the path he found, and so on. For the Christian, however, it is all about who we believe Jesus to be; is He the Son of God, or isn’t He? If He is not, then go about your business. But if Jesus is the Son of God that changes everything. Can you imagine a world where every Christian believed in Christ’s divinity as much as they believed in, say, gravity?
But such a belief is a grace that moves us from within; there is nothing about Christ, as Isaiah foretold, that would attract us to him (53:2) and certainly those who saw Jesus face-to-face had no automatic sense that He was God. Rather our belief is a response, an act of love and trust, based on knowing Christ personally, as St. Peter did. As mentioned in the past few days this personal, intimate relationship with Christ is the heart of our identity as His people; it is this relationship upon which our faith-and our Church-is founded. For if we know Christ we know who we are, and likewise if we know Him we know the Father and by this we come to know the Father’s will and we then can live out our lives as children of God in imitation of the Son.
What a comfort to know that our Church is built on so firm a foundation as St. Peter! Earlier in the week we read about the house built on rock that withstood everything Mother Nature could throw at it. Yet our Church is capable of withstanding both the natural and the supernatural: the very gates of Hell. That is how solid our footing is when we know Christ, when we live as though He absolutely matters and that belief touches on every aspect of our lives. As you leave Mass today, brothers and sisters, take to heart those final words: “Go forth…” We have a Kingdom to build, a King for whom to prepare the way, and we have absolutely nothing to fear whatsoever.