Sermon: Having conviction in one’s convictions

One of the New Testament passages which has been interpreted in may different ways is Matthew 16:13-20, where Jesus asked his disciples who they thought the Son of Man is. All of them tried to answer but it is Peter who gave the right answer: “You are Christ the Son of the living God.” Peter had it right though Jesus added that it was his Father in heaven who had revealed it to him. Since then, Simon the son of Jonah became Peter, the rock on which Jesus would build his church, which the power of evil cannot surmount. It is interesting to note the many interpretations throughout history that have been given to this passage. Some understand the passage to stress that Peter was the model of the disciples, others that Peter is the type of every true and spiritual Christian on whom the church is built, others felt that the rock meant the faith of Peter on which the Church is built and since Peter represents all believers and the church is thus built on the faith of believing Christians. It is not easy to catch the proper meaning of these words. But what is clear is that Jesus was referring to the faith of Peter as the solid foundation of the church. As members of the same church, the same question is relevant to us. Who do we say Jesus is in our life? Our answer today must be personal and showing the influence that Jesus has in our life and how he has changed our life, because that is what faith is all about. As it happened to the disciples, we too might be asked sometimes by our friends, directly or indirectly, whether we are serious with our faith. Others would like to know whether we are really certain of the things we believe. More often than not, we answer in the affirmative. But on giving it second thought, we find that such questions are hard to answer. For the growth of Christ’s Church, every Christian must understand his or her role. We must examine our certitude. And this can be looked at from two standpoints: Looking at the cause of our faith, we have that certitude which arises from the Essential Truth. On the other hand, when we look at the certitude which arises from the extent to which our human intellect grasps a truth, then we feel that we do not have such perfect certitude as we have of demonstrable truths or facts. We get a strong feeling that we are reasoning beyond the realm of our intellect’s comprehension. That is why every Christian should meditate on the foundation of his or her faith. In his writings, St. Thomas helps us to understand the point above. He defines the act of Divine supernatural faith as “the act of the intellect assenting to a Divine truth owing to the movement of the will, which is itself moved by the grace of God.” St. Thomas explains further that as the light of faith is a gift supernaturally bestowed upon the understanding, so also this Divine grace moving the will is, as its name implies, an equally supernatural and an absolutely gratuitous gift. Neither of these gifts is due to previous study nor due to human efforts, but is mainly through prayer: “Ask and you shall receive.” St. Thomas in his explanation above does not mean that faith remains in the realm of the abstract only. On the contrary, we do observe the habit of faith in people and we can say that they have faith or that they lead a life of faith. The light of faith affords an instinctive appreciation of truths which are declared to be revealed to us by God. It is true that the habit of faith may be stronger in one person than in another, perhaps because of one’s greater certitude and firmness in the faith which one has more than others, or because of one’s greater promptitude in assenting, or because of one’s greater devotion to the truths of faith, or greater confidence in one’s God. In all this however, the doctrine of the Catholic Church remains clear: the church of Christ can be built only on the faith which is real and guided by reason and not fear. In order for faith to be real, it must be accompanied by the good works of charity; and according to St. James, faith without works is dead. As believing Christians therefore, the question of Jesus to Peter and the answer given to him, reminds us that we must continue in the foot prints of Peter and believe firmly in Christ so that we may have the courage of carrying on the Church’s mission of salvation. Contact: casimir1958@yahoo.com