Faith in Christ, Our Authority and Power (Sunday, Week 21, Year A)

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The gospel (cf. Matt. 16:13-20) opens with a statement that Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi. Caesarea Philippi was an ancient Roman city. Few facts about this city will help us understand better what is actually happening in today’s gospel passage. 

This city, Caesarea Philippi, was the political stronghold of Emperor Caesar Augustus who was worshipped as a god. In the history books of the Ancient Roman Empire, Augustus was described as Deus Epiphanes (God Manifest). Caesarea Philippi was later renamed Caesarea Paneas because of the so many shrines dedicated to the god Pan, the Greek god of nature. Caesarea Philippi was a place where everything in nature was a god: the sun, moon, stars, water, earth, air, animals, etc were worshipped as gods. 

The picture we have now is a picture of a city with so many deities, sovereignties, and, if you like, a conflict of supremacies. At this time, it seemed the disciples had not fully known who Jesus is: maybe, they were not even aware that He was the Messiah, the Savior, and God Himself. In Caesarea Philippi where there were so many gods, I am sure there was a strong temptation to believe that Caesar or a particular god is supreme, or is the Messiah or is the Savior. And that is why it was right and very appropriate that Jesus should test the disciples’ knowledge of his identity, to know whether they truly knew Him and be courageous enough to profess who He is (the Christ, the Messiah, God Himself). 

And so, in such a “god-saturated” or “idolatrous” place, it was necessary that Jesus asked them: What do people say that the Son of Man is? Who do you say that I am? In the Jewish apocalyptic literature, the title, “The Son of Man” (cf. Dan. 7:13) is used when making reference to the expected Messiah. So, Jesus was asking them: “Who do you think is the Messiah or Savior? 

The responses of the disciples indicate that either they did not know who Jesus is or they were not courageous enough to say who He is. If they didn’t know who Jesus is, how could they even believe in Him? Faith comes through knowledge: and that is why St Paul tells us in Romans 10:17 that “faith comes by hearing”. The disciples needed to know Him not just know about Him, so that they could grow and mature in faith. It was Peter who was inspired enough to answer the question and at the same time profess his faith that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah) the Son of the Living God. Peter did not just say who Jesus is, he professed his faith in Jesus who is the Christ, the Messiah and God. And what followed after such a strong profession of faith was the conferment of authority and power. By giving him the keys of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus conferred upon Peter power and authority for leadership. And by this singular event, the foundation of the Church was laid: “You are Peter; and on this rock, I will build my Church”. 

Faith in Christ confers upon us some power and authority: over sin, over our imperfections and weaknesses, over self and over elemental spirits and forces. We say that we believe (we have faith); but do we truly believe? If I truly believe, where are my power and authority? In Isaiah 22:19-23, a certain man by name Shebna was thrust down from his office; he lost his power and authority because he was irresponsible. When Assyrian forces were surrounding Jerusalem, he was busy hewing for himself a tomb (Is. 22:16) and grabbing some property. Some of us have lost our power and authority because of greed, fear and recklessness. St Paul says, in Romans 11:33-36, that “deep are the riches of God; deep is His wisdom and knowledge”: His wisdom and knowledge is so deep, so mysterious that it has pleased Him to bestow upon us (mere humans) such power and authority in the service of His kingdom.

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