Deacon's Corner by Deacon George S. Harmansky
This Sunday's Gospel is chocked full of information to think about, to sort and all worthy of reflection. It's not one of those Gospels where it's a bullseye topic. What stands out to me is ‘upon this rock I will build my Church’. It’s not just about Peter – It’s about you and me.
What I do think about when I read that is that it takes more than a rock to build a foundation for a building – the foundation for a building is constructed of many ‘rocks’ bound together forming the foundation. From the foundation rises the building. The building is only as strong as each of the ‘rocks’ while additional strength is found in their binding/uniting together to form one.
Christ isn't talking about a building, a structure or literally the building where we most often find ourselves worshiping. He is talking about the Church, capital ‘C’ meaning us, comprising the Body of Christ. Just as it takes more than a single rock to build the foundation to support a building consequently it takes all of us inclusively to make the Church.
In baptism the newly baptized whether infant, young adult or adult person is commissioned as a disciple of Christ, a ‘rock’ in the Church of Christ, in a long line of succession from Christ to Peter ‘upon this rock’.
Often at the baptism I relate to them a story using a chain as an example. A chain is made of links, individually they’re nothing but links, but connected together we have a chain.
Christ’s command is directed to each of us individually. He, commanded that each of us individually contribute to the collective Church, the Body of Christ. As Peter received his commission we likewise receive that (com)mission at baptism and are further strengthened in that at confirmation and nourished during life’s journey with the Eucharist.
We are the Church. We are the ‘rocks’ that comprise the Church, and upon which the Church is further built.