Scripture Reflection – Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (26-27th August)

The idea of a Leader encompasses a person with inner resourcefulness yet knows where to obtain information, listens attentively to others, clear headed in decision making but also asks for advice, empathetic but self-contained, efficient but not too removed, malleable but strong etc. The list can be endless to the point of impossibility. Then, on the other hand we have Peter! Peter may have had some of the above list, but certainly not all.

What the list above does not have is faithfulness to Jesus and steadfast commitment to Jesus’ message of the Kingdom and its salvific growth as laid out in the proclamation of the Good News.

Jesus obviously saw in Peter a man of faith and fidelity. A man of faults and shortcomings. However, Jesus saw the goodness within Peter which would respond to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit working within him. This was evident in the Gospel when Peter acknowledges Jesus to be the Messiah – the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus said to Peter, “….you are a luck man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.”

Throughout his ministry of proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom Peter was demonstrably a man of fidelity to Jesus and faithful to his message. He is our measure and model of discipleship. We too have failings and inconsistencies. But it from within our goodness that we slowly, silently and seditiously sow the seeds of the Good News in people’s hearts and minds. What will others make of our Christian leadership into today’s society?