Upon this Rock, by Gayle Somers

Gayle Somers is a member of St. Thomas the Apostle parish in Phoenix and has been writing and leading parish Bible studies since 1996. …

In a conversation with Peter and the apostles, Jesus declares His intention to build His Church on a human being.  Whatever was He thinking?

Gospel (Read Mt 16:13-20)

Today’s Gospel is so familiar to Catholics that the potential for missing the punch it packs is inordinately high.  If ever we are challenged on our belief in the papacy, we always look to this passage to begin our defense.  We see that when Jesus quizzes the apostles about His developing reputation, they are well aware of what people were saying.  This helps us understand that there was a buzz in the air about Jesus.  The apostles had families and friends; they heard the conjectures about the itinerant preacher/miracle worker.  The Jews, from their own history, had lots of ideas of who Jesus might be—Elijah, Jeremiah, or “one of the prophets.”  Some even thought the spirit of the now dead John the Baptist had somehow come back to live in Jesus.  Then comes the pivotal question:  “But who do you say that I am?”  We should move through this familiar part of the passage slowly if we are to let its importance register. …

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