Chair of Peter 2010

Today is the Feast of the Chair of Peter, which celebrates the great Saint who cast everything aside in favor of following Jesus. The First Reading of today’s Mass is a letter from Saint Peter, providing advice to his fellow clergy. His words are not extensive, but quite concise;

"I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed. Tend the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory"

His words break down quite simply:

Tend to your flock, not out of duty but rather out of an eager love.
Do not do it for profit.
Do not rub that role in people's faces, but rather lead by example.

It is quite a task St. Peter holds us to. To lead by example is no small order, and one that is so easy to miss the mark on. To think that the way I live my life will be the model that others will follow is a tall order.

Peter was a simple man. He was a fisherman, who made his living by the work of his hands. Jesus called Peter (previously called Simon) to lead His flock, and be the first leader of the Church. In my Seminary days, today was my favorite Feast in the Church. It held Peter up as the first Pope, and that tradition was handed down from age to age. However, as the Second Reading from today's Office by Pope Saint Leo the Great clearly says, "The authority vested in this power passed also to the other apostles, and the institution established by this decree has been continued in all the leaders of the Church."

In other words, the Church is bigger then the one that is based in Rome. Jesus tells Peter that his name means, "rock", and it is on this rock that he will build his Church. Here we are in 2010, and that Church now has many incarnations. The continuation of the laying on of hands from the first Apostles, to us today, assures that indeed that Church will continue to flourish in all its many manifestations.

In the First Reading I spoke of earlier, Peter advises his fellow clergy to lead by example. Perhaps the best example we as clergy, be it Roman or otherwise is to live the mission Peter began. To continue to cast aside everything else to lead the flock back to the "Chief Shepherd." At the end of the day, when we stand before Him in heaven, he will not care what Jurisdiction we were a part of, or which expression of the Church we followed; rather, He will care about how we lived our lives, and those of us who are clergy, He will care how we impacted the lives of those we encountered on a daily basis.

If we as clergy are called to lead by example, then the lesson that people learned from that example, and how they implemented it in their own lives, will also fall upon us. Today's Feast is about the responsibility that we carry, as a part of His clergy, to show people the eternal Love of God.

Sometimes I think perhaps I am not doing my job as Clergy properly, as it is my flock that so often teaches me by their example. I am supposed to be the spiritual leader, and yet just by listening to the stories my parishioners tell, and watching them live their daily lives, I am inspired. By virtue of our Baptism we all share in a way, in the priesthood of Jesus Christ. He was Priest, Prophet, and King, and if we are baptized into Him, then logically we have a share in those three roles. In my opinion, it is the laity who so often demonstrates to the clergy how to live the role of Priesthood.

We all grow together on this road of life. All its bumps and detours make for a pretty messy journey. Thank God however none of us are in it alone. We have one another, regardless of our rank in the Church, to be an example to each other. Jesus praised Peter so highly in today's Gospel because of his deep faith. Jesus asks his followers, "Who do people say that I am." He receives a myriad of responses, and then presses further, "who do you say that I am." It is Peter who steps up first, and answers without hesitation, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus says that Peter is blessed because it was not a human that told him this; it was God Himself who made this revelation to him. Peter was blessed because he understood the call of the Lord.


If we as clergy are to lead by example, and Peter is the example that we are to look to, then naturally the example we are called to live is that statement Peter makes in the Gospel. We need to live that sentence, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. The implications that go along with that are extensive, because to believe that and to live it, requires that we die to self, and live for one another. Perhaps we as clergy should pay more attention to the example that our parishioners demonstrate for us, as it is often that they demonstrate the loving role of the Priesthood far better then we do.

Let us always be an example to one another of life in the Kingdom. The one thing I have learned this week is that we never know when this life will end, and we may not have the chance to do tomorrow what we could have done today. Therefore starting now, let's be examples to one another, and whatever our role in the function of life is, let's live it to it's fullest...as examples to one another.