Church Almanac
Wednesday Of The 14th Week In Ordinary Time, Yr II
2009-07-09
Matthew 10:1-7I remember as a kid growing up, I did whatever my older brothers did. Sure that got me in a bit of trouble every now and again…but it wasn’t always bad.
I do remember my older brothers loved sports…especially baseball. So, naturally, I loved baseball.
We had large collections of baseball cards, we watched games on our black and white TV and we played in a variety of church and school leagues.
I also remember my brother had a huge sports almanac, a book as large as a phone book. It was filled with baseball statistics – everything from stolen bases and home runs to ERA’s and batting averages. We poured over list after list arguing about who was the best and who was the worst. In every list, our eyes were immediately drawn to who was first…and who was last. I remember wanting to be just like the guy in first place, and I remember feeling sorry for the guy in last place: a rather simple, but effective measure.
It’s interesting how that same method of evaluation can be applied to today’s Gospel reading. Today, Saint Matthew gives us a brief glimpse into the Church’s “almanac.” Here he presents a list of the best and worst of the season. And just like my brother’s old sports almanac, our eyes are immediately drawn to who is listed first, and who is listed last.
Now, I realize that the Church is no “sport,” so I’ll end the comparison there. But, we certainly can glean something useful and important from today’s Gospel.
Many don’t realize this, but the Gospel writers always list Saint Peter, the Rock, first and Judas, the betrayer, last. That, in and of itself, says a lot.
To Catholics, of course, that makes perfect sense. The Church, after all, has always taught and believed that Peter was our first pope. And, the writers of Sacred Scripture concur on multiple occasions that Peter holds a place of pre-eminence over his apostolic brethren.
Jesus preached from Peter’s boat, and to this day, we call the Church the “Barque (or boat) of Peter.”
Who does Saint John tell us was first to arrive at the empty tomb of Jesus? It was John, but he did not enter. He waited for the slower Peter and allowed him to enter first.
Peter presided over the election of Matthias as successor to Judas.
Peter led the preaching at Pentecost.
And, of course, Jesus Himself gave Peter his name – Rock.
By the way, here’s another stat for you…of the Twelve, Peter’s name is mentioned over 190 times in Sacred Scripture. The closest to him is John with less than 50.
And, Church Tradition agrees as well. So many early Christian writers speak of Peter’s pre-eminence: St. Ignatius, St. Clement, St. John Chrysostum, St. Jerome and St. Augustine, just to name a few.
Yes, Peter was indeed the first pope, and any statistician worth his salt can see it.
“So,” you ask, “Why the statistics? Why does this matter to me…today?”
For the answer, let’s go back to Saint Matthews Gospel. Here, in this list, we see a hierarchy. We see an organized body called together by Christ Himself. We see unity, purpose and mission. In short, we see the Catholic Church.
You see, more than just any group of guys, the Twelve were given “authority” by Jesus: authority to cast out unclean spirits, cure disease and to proclaim in Christ’s name, the “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand!” And this authority, has been carefully safeguarded and handed down from generation to generation to this very day.
Our Bishops, successors to the Apostles, in union with Pope Benedict, the Successor to Peter, still carry the Way, the Life and the Truth of Jesus to the four corners of the earth. The same teachings – the love, the compassion and the mercy – that came from the very mouth of Christ, are still proclaimed to us through the authority of this same Church, and are still relevant for each of us today.
In fact, so many people are hungry for the Truth. We’re looking for the Truth. We need the Truth.
And we have so many questions: questions about abortion, about contraception, and the nature and purpose of marriage.
…Questions about sexuality and love, about materialism and getting ahead, about capital punishment and the dignity of the human person.
These are not easy questions.
But, still, we can find the answers, here in our Church “almanac.”
We need to look to the top of our list…the Bishops in union with the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. This is where we can find guidance, hope, healing and love.
And we need to stop looking to the bottom of the list, to the Judases of the world who so casually betray Jesus and His teachings, and pervert the Truth of the Gospel. There we will ultimately find despair, misery and emptiness.
Let us turn from the wasteland of sin, and find refuge in the Light and Truth of the Church, so that our names may be added to yet another record book…the Lamb’s Book of Life.