SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 22: 19-23; Romans 11: 33-36; Matthew 16: 13-20.
REFLECTIONS: Knowing one’s Purpose in Life.
Fr. Benoit Mukamba, CSSp.
In the prayer for vocations we always say at the end of the intercessions during mass we say that God created each of us for a definite purpose. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells Simon Peter, “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 (Rock), and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it….”
The Lord Jesus reveals to Simon Peter his purpose in life from that day on. He tells Simon about his future responsibility by promising to give him the keys. Simon had been a fisherman by profession and a student of Jesus since he had met him would need to prepare himself for this future way of serving God and society.
You and I might ask us, how will I know my purpose in life according to God’s will? In the first place, we should consider ourselves as most blessed because the Holy Spirit has been outpoured upon us as adopted daughters and sons of God. And God's Spirit speaks to our spirits. We learned from the Baltimore Catechism that God created us so that we may know Him, love Him and serve Him. The third purpose among the threefold purposes above demands our continuous discernment so that we may know what form of service we ought to render to our society in accordance with God’s Will. Hence, we are called to get acquainted with God's ways as we seek daily to know Him. We ought God our committed love and attachment. As a result, God in his kindness and at his appointed time will let our spirits know the type and form of service and guarantee us his accompaniment.
In the case of the Apostle Peter, the Gospel shows us that he had come to know the Lord despite Jesus’ humble state as a human being. He had loved him so much. And the Lord revealed to Peter his future type of service.
The first reading carries a different story of the failure of Shebna and the rise of Eliakim, son of Hilkiah. God had entrusted Shebna with the honorable office, comparable to that of White House Chief of Staff, over the King’s palace. But Shebna became arrogant and abusive to the citizens of Israel. That means he stopped serving God and society and began to serve himself. Eliakim, on the contrary, is described as a servant of God and promised to replace Shebna. Eliakim will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the entire Judah. This second story confirms the story of Peter in the case of Eliakim and encourages us to remain faithful in the service of God and fellow humans. Otherwise, we shall suffer the humiliation of Shebna when the authority will be taken away from us.