Thus says the Lord to Shebna, the master of the palace: “I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your post. On that day I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and will clothe him with your robe and bind your sash on him. I will commit your authority to his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open. I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honour to his ancestral house.
O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor?” “Or who has given a gift to him, to receive a gift in return?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.
Second reading Romans 11:33-36
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Reflection
Reflection
By Bernard M. Borja
Almost six months after the community quarantine was enforced, churches remain to celebrate The Eucharist, with very few people who attend physically, but continue to extend through online media. During the first weeks of the quarantine, the faithful have been longing to receive the sacraments especially The Holy Eucharist. But because of the quarantine and to slow the spread of the virus, churches have temporarily closed their doors to the people. Since then, the hunger and thirst for spiritual consolation has grown for many people.
After more than a month, many parishes still held Masses especially the commemoration of The Passion and Resurrection of Christ during Holy Week. Many people wanted to go back to
church insisting that the church should also be reopened along with business establishments.
Some even pointed out that the decision of the bishops and clergy to remain close is not acceptable because the faithful need to receive The Eucharist physically. They also went on saying that it is the very foundation of our Catholic faith. While this desire is valid and true because of our longing for Christ, sometimes people forget how Jesus built the Church through Peter and the apostles. Jesus built not just a physical house of prayer but a spiritual home in each of us. Jesus continues to desire to live in our hearts and make it our home, if only we realize that and welcome Him. Sometimes, we become blinded by our pride of knowing more about our faith. Our understanding of the Church is hindered by thinking for our own selves and being entitled to being served. We forget that most of the time, God reveals Himself to us when we are outside of the house of prayer. This is evident during this pandemic and even continues today through the efforts of helping those in need. When the Church closed its doors during the quarantine, it is because the Church has been deployed, and God opened many more churches at homes.
In the Gospel today, Peter, without a doubt, acknowledged who Jesus is. Even though there
were times when Peter has doubts, especially during difficult situations like the storm, he would always remind himself that Jesus is The Son of The Living God. It is our human frailty that reminds us that we need God in our life and through this weakness, we are able to see clearly the power of God through us.
Everything that God has revealed to us is enough for our human mind to take and understand.
There are things that have been revealed to us but could not fathom what it really means, so we interpret in our own human ways (like the different interpretation of the Bible verses). But in these interpretations, it will never be enough to understand the whole of God’s wisdom. This is a limitation of our humanness. But this limitation is a reminder for us to open our hearts in faith. It is because of our humanness that we long to see more of the wonders of the Lord in extraordinary ways. But it is because of our limited understanding that our faith is strengthened. Just as how God’s power is mostly revealed in our weakness, God entrusts the key to the gates of heaven to a human being who also became the foundation of the very Church that God continues to build on earth. The Church is the people. For in this Church that God continues to reveal Himself through each of us, to let His kingdom be brought from heaven to earth.
Prayer
Dear Jesus,
We know in our hearts and we proclaim to the world that You are The Son of The Living God. We open our hearts to welcome You as we continue to be the church and serve You as we should. We ask You to free us from any binding of spiritual pride which hinders us from thinking and caring for others. We beg for Your grace of patient heart to continuously receive
You spiritually, and in the near future physically through The Eucharist. We ask all these with
dear Mother Mary’s intercession as we also commemorate her coronation. Amen.
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