Do the struggles in life lead us to Jesus as the source of our true inner strength?

Jesus asked his disciples:  “Who do you say that I am?”  Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah…And so, I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church…I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.”

Peter got it right, and this correct statement of faith constitutes his blessedness.   Jesus then shifts the focus from himself to Peter.   Peter has seen and acknowledged the identity and mission of Jesus, and now Jesus is unfolding the identity and mission of Peter.  The two are intimately linked together.

Simon Peter is a paradoxical leader of the Church in that he exhibits both strength and weakness in his faith journey.  In next Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus is saying to Peter:  “Get behind me, Satan!  You are an obstacle to me.  You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

And yet, Peter was chosen to be the first pope not by accident, but rather by divine design.  His very failure somehow became his credential to be the foremost preacher of God’s limitless mercy.  The lack of faith that had broken him to the core had made room for an equal measure of grace.  From being a stumbling block for others to becoming the cornerstone of the Church, Simon Peter had lived the Gospel he would announce to others.  This is why Jesus had appointed him leader.  They would see in his face the look of one who knows the giving and forgiving God.   Peter could speak from his own experience:  Do not be afraid.  God’s love has pursued you even in your sin, found you and given you new life.

Today I invite you to reflect on your own faith journey and see if you can identify with the faith journey of Peter – yes, the inconsistency and sinfulness of Peter’s spiritual  journey.  I know the great Saint Augustine could identify with Peter when he said:  “I believe; help my unbelief.”

I know for myself that conversion has happened when I’m not in control of the situation, when I’m nervous or anxious or feeling vulnerable about where we’re going, when I’m misunderstood or when I misunderstand another, when I’m not in my comfort zone,  these life situations remind me of the truth of my life.  I stand in need of the grace of God from moment to moment, day to day.  Ultimately those situations of failure in my life that make me more aware of my need for Jesus are really blessings for my life.

St Paul says:  “When I am weak, I am strong.”  His weakness enabled to know that the source of real strength in his life was his trust in Jesus.

How does it go for you in your spiritual journey?  How have you experienced the conversion moment when you realize it all depends upon God’s limitless mercy and love?  As the glass shines brightest when it is broken, so too, our faith is strongest when we, in the midst of our own vulnerability, recognize that it our trust in Jesus that is the source of our spiritual identity.  Can your experience of dealing with a divorce or an addiction or a relationship that has gone South or unemployment or downsizing or some disillusionment from a person you had previously trusted – can this experience --make you more aware of the truth of your life that Jesus is your rock and your salvation.

The movement in the spiritual life of each one of us is that as we become aware of God’s limitless mercy and love for ourselves, we are then missioned to witness to the love of Jesus for others.  We are to share what we have been given.

Jesus said to Peter:  “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.”  The first and most important power that was given to Peter and his successors was the forgiveness of sins.  Pope Francis has made a hallmark of his papal ministry a tireless call for all of us sinners to embrace and celebrate God’s boundless mercy and untiring forgiveness.  What was true in the mystery of the Church in the days of Peter is equally true in the mystery of the Church in our day.

St Peter is the gate keeper.  However, his role is not just the afterlife security officer who hears and judges our pleas for entrance.  Peter’s keys are to throw open wide the kingdom’s gate, to welcome all to join the community of us sinners who celebrate God’s forgiveness and love for each and every one of us.  A great grace of Holy Spirit parish is our practice of celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  That is a grace of our parish, and may even more in our parish community celebrate this sacrament of God’s forgiveness in our lives.

 Part of the take home message of today’s Gospel is that certain keys have been entrusted to each of us.  They are not just given to the Pope or the pastor; they are given to all the baptized.  This is what it means to be Church.  We are all the Rock upon which the Divine Builder wishes to build His Church.  I invite you in your prayer today to respond to the question:  What keys has the Lord entrusted to you that serve for the building of the Church of Jesus?  How have you listened prayerfully to the call of God in your life?  As a parent, as a son or a daughter, as a neighbor, as a parishioner?

May we use the keys that have been given to us to open rather than close the way to Jesus.  We should welcome more people than we turn away and serve more people than we refuse.

May the struggles of our life lead us to trust in Jesus as the source of our inner strength.  May all of us commit ourselves to do what the Lord asks of us in the building of the Church.