Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
OLR, NOLA
Christ
asks us, “Who do [you] say that the Son of Man is?” Great
question. The better question for us now though is, “Who does the
Son of Man say that I am?” We have all confessed Christ Jesus as
the Son of Man, the long-promised Messiah of the Prophets. But what
have we – each one of us – what have we done with this profession
of faith? Hearing your profession of faith and looking into the deep
places of your life in holiness, Our Lord could answer any number of
ways, saying, “You are an heir to the Kingdom.” Or “You are a
lukewarm hanger-on.” Or “You never knew me.” Or “I don't know
you.” Each of these answers has it own terrifying consequences. But
we will be asked the question. From the throne of judgment on the
Last Day, the Just Judge will call us forward and look into our
faces. What will he see? Rebellion? Obedience? Pride? Humility?
Wrath? Temperance? Will he see more of you than he sees of himself?
Will he see your faith, hope, and love? Or will he see distrust,
despair, and selfishness? On the Last Day, on your last day, who will
the Lord say you are?
Simon
Peter is established as the First Apostle. He's given the keys to
heaven, made the steward of Christ, his vicar on earth. He's granted
this authority by Christ b/c God has revealed to him that Jesus is
the Messiah. Peter the Rock and the rock of his confession form the
foundation of the Church and has remained the foundation of the
Church for 2,020yrs. This same rock forms the foundation for your
membership in this Church. You have professed that Jesus is the
Christ, the Messiah. You have made this profession dozens and dozens
of time, and you will make it again tonight. On the Last Day, your last
day and mine, we will be asked again to profess the Lordship of
Christ. Not by our words in that moment but by showing the Lord the
lives we've lived until the last. What will he see? What will he
hear? Will he see Philip Powell living his gifted life as
Philip Powell? Or will he see me living his life, the Christ-life –
imperfect but longing for holiness, striving for perfection? Will he
see me loving, hoping, trusting, and forgiving; or, will he see me
rebelling; running after acclaim; and seeking vengeance? Will he see
the face of an unrepentant sinner; or the bright, shining face of his
own reflection? If I will that Christ see his face reflected in my
mine on the Last Day, I will build my life now on the rock of his
Church – “[Lord,] you are the Christ, the Son of the living
God.”
This
confession of Jesus' Lordship is the first, necessary step in growing
your life in holiness. We need his life in ours if we are to reflect
his face on the Last Day. We can build virtuous lives on prudence,
temperance, fortitude, and justice. We can improve everyday through
good works for the poor, the marginalized, the outcast, and those who
hate us. We can even become something like a secular saint by
fighting for justice and peace in this world. What we can't do on
these shaky foundations is become Christ with Christ. Without his
divine life pulsing through ours our words and deeds may be virtuous.
. .but they cannot be salvific. Without faith, hope, and love, all
the other virtues are just good habits for living like a decent human
being in the world. And maybe that's enough for you. It's been enough
for many. But your goal, our goal is eternal life with Christ. Not
just a moral life here on earth. With Simon Peter, the Rock of
Christ's Church on earth, we join the saints' parade to holiness by
declaring, believing, and putting into daily practice, “[Lord,] you
are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
The
Psalmist gives us one way to go from there. Pray: “Lord,
your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.” This
isn't a plea to God. He will not and cannot forsake us. Love is His
nature. What this is is a hard reminder to us not to forsake Him. We
are the work of His hands. We are creations of His truth, beauty, and
goodness. As such, we are granted the possibility of being His
vicars, His stewards while we live. When we declare, believe, and
enact Christ's Lordship in our lives, we, with Simon Peter, become
his “stand in,” his understudy – a disciple. We become
imperfect Christs for the salvation of the world. And everyday, every
minute of everyday becomes a chance to learn, to grow, to be
perfected in him. Everyday, every minute of everyday is a chance
to polish his reflection on us so that the world sees him in us,
through us. The more we reflect his face – even imperfectly – the
brighter and clearer and more detailed his face in us becomes. On
that Last Day then, we can stand before the judgment seat and show
him his face in ours. And the Lord will look into the deeper places
of who you are and say, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God!” Welcome to His wedding feast!
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