Who I Am to you, and the Keys to the open community

(Mt 16:13-23)

At more than halfway through his public life Jesus has not yet given formulas, but he asks a challenging question - one that purports to ask much more than the usual law-structured expressions.

Globally, the crowd may have likened him to such eminent figures as the Baptist [the one who proved to be a stranger to courtesies] or Elijah [for his denunciation of idols] or Jeremiah [the opponent of the buying and selling of blessings].

But He did not come - like the ancient prophets - to improve the situation or mend devotions, nor to purify the Temple, but to replace it!

The images of tradition depict Christ in many ways (for atheists, a philanthropist), the most common of which is still that of an ancient Lord, guarantor of conventional behaviour.

Instead - to give us pause for thought - he takes the disciples to a construction site [in northern Palestine, Caesarea Philippi was under construction], far from the interested nomenclature of the 'holy' City.

The common mentality evaluated the success of life - and the truth of a religion - on the basis of success, domination, enrichment, security in general.

The question that Jesus poses to his disciples reveals a novelty that supersedes the whole system: the Call is addressed to each and every person.

It is a boundary proposal, as is the symbolic geographical location of the capital of the kingdom of Philip, one of the three heir sons of Herod the Great: in Palestine, the furthest point from the centre of conformist religiosity.

The Face of the 'Son of Man' is recognisable only by placing the greatest distance from political and veteran schemes - otherwise we too would not be able to perceive his personal 'light'.

In the congregation of Mt, we were precisely experiencing an increasing participation of pagans, who previously felt excluded and gradually became integrated.

To our mentality, the keys of the house are used to close and lock the door, so as not to let the ill-intentioned in.

In the Semitic one, they were rather an icon of the opening of the door.

In Perugino's famous masterpiece on the north wall of the Sistine Chapel, Jesus gives the head of the Church two keys: the golden one to Paradise and the silver one to Purgatory.

But the meaning of the passage is not the Afterlife - indeed, it is not even institutional. In Hebrew the term 'key' is derived from the verb 'to open'!

The greatest missionary task of community leaders is to keep the Kingdom of Heaven wide open, that is, to ensure a welcoming Church!

Peter must not follow the type of the arrogant monarch, the image of authority; a substitute for the emperor.

Simon must make himself primarily responsible for the acceptance of those outside.

This seems strange for any ancient proposal, where God was supposed to fear making Himself impure in contact with the world.

The Father is the One who dares most.

This is why Jesus severely imposes a total messianic silence (v.20) on the lips and ancient brain of the Apostles.

Peter and the disciples wanted to return to the usual idea of 'the' Messiah [cf. Greek text] expected by all.

An all-too-common plot, incapable of regenerating us.

But who do you say that I am? Peter's Faith

Distancing oneself from what is hoped for

Jesus leads his own away from the territory of power ideology and the sacred centre of the official religious institution - Judea.

The Lord wants his intimates to distance themselves from limitations and appreciation.

The relative success of the Master in Galilee had indeed revived the apostles' hopes of (one-sided) glory.

The territory of Caesarea Philippi, in the extreme north of Palestine, was enchanting; famous for fertility and lush pastures. An area famous for the beauty of its surroundings and the fertility of flocks and herds.

Even the disciples were fascinated by the landscape and the affluent life of the region's inhabitants; not to mention the magnificence of the buildings.

The call of context alludes to the affluence that pagan religion generally proposes; excessive prosperity that enchanted the Twelve.

Christ asks the apostles - in practice - what the people expected of Him. So he wants them to realise the nefarious effects of their own preaching.

'Announcement' that willingly confused material and spiritual blessings.

While the gods show they know how to shower their devotees with goods - and a lavish court life that (indeed) beguiled all - what does Christ offer?

The Master realises that the disciples were still strongly conditioned by the propaganda of the political and religious government [vv.6.11] that ensured well-being [vv.5-12; cf. Mt 15:32-38].

And Jesus still instructs them, so that at least his envoys can overcome the blindness and crisis produced by his Cross (v.21), the commitment required in the perspective of self-giving.He is not merely a continuer of the Baptist's clear-headed attitude, never inclined to compromise with the courts and opulence; nor is he one of the many restorers of the law of Moses, with the zeal of Elijah.

Nor did he want to limit himself to purifying religion of spurious elements, but even to replace the Temple [Mt 21:12-17.18-19.42; 23:2.37-39; 24:30] - the place of encounter between the Father and his children.

On this issue, not only the distance with paganism, but also the contrasts between Jews who had converted to the Lord and those who were observant according to tradition, were particularly vivid at that time.

Indeed, the sacred books of late Judaism spoke of great figures who had left their mark on the history of Israel, and were to reappear to usher in the messianic times.

Even within the persecuted communities of Galilee and Syria, Mt notes a lack of understanding, and all the difficulty of embracing the new proposal - which did not guarantee success and recognition, nor immediate goals.

(From the earliest generations it was realised that the Faith does not easily accord with early human impulses.)

Thus the Master contradicts Peter himself [vv.20.23] whose opinion remained tied to the conformist and popular idea of "the" [vv.16.20: "that"] expected Messiah.

In short, the leader of the apostles - so weak in Faith - can stop showing Christ which way to go "behind" him [v.23] by diverting him!

Simon has to start being a student again; stop plotting recognised and opportunistic ways for everyone, hijacking God in the name of God.

The Lord is the One who dares most.

A special note on the subject of the Name:

While for our culture it is often a label, among Eastern peoples the name is one with the person, designating them in a special way.

As is evident e.g. in the "second" commandment, the power of the Name carries great weight: it is a knowing of the (divine) Subject in the essence and meaning of action; almost a taking possession of its power.

Even in our prayerful, spiritual and mystical tradition, the proper name (e.g. Jesus) has often been considered almost an acoustic icon of the person, inclusive of his virtues; evocative of his presence and power.

In ancient cultures, pronouncing the name meant being able to grasp the seed, the pregnant and global core of the figure of reference.

Not infrequently, in our mentality too, it meant expressing an omen, a mandate, a wish, a blessing, a vocation, a destiny, a task, a call, a mission [nomen (est) omen].

But here we measure the difference between sacral mentality and faith. In religions, the proper name that the master or founder bestows on the disciple is a sort of signpost: he who lacks the acumen or fortune, strength and courage to realise it, would diminish in dignity.

Instead, Christ with his callings calls us to a path, certainly - but one deeply commensurate with the essence.

He stimulates the exodus - not according to models - because he first brings the person back into himself. So that we all come into play in the depths and to the extreme that corresponds.

First step: meeting each other in the round; in the different, even surprising, unexpressed or unknown sides - generally, unimaginable characters according to rules and nomenclature.

Even our eccentric, ambiguous, shadowy or even rejected ways of being in the first person: the best sides of ourselves will be revealed along the Way.

Only in this plural track do we find the way to an adventure full of meaning; not mechanical, nor repetitive - but resembling life: always new and authentic.

Not from facade or calculating externality: there is an Author's signature that precedes, in the building up of ourselves and the world.

Passing among the various building sites in the city of Philip, Jesus instead compared Simon to the inert and piled-up (even confusing) materials he found in front of him.

That condition captured the root of apostolic expectations!

The disciples did not yet give space to the Mystery within themselves, to the idea of a secret salvation, which erupts with its own, innate energy; which surpasses ordinary dreams.

Cephas in fact derives from the Aramaic Kefas: building stone; something hard: practically, a stubborn like many; nothing special, indeed. Jesus gives Simon a negative nickname!

In fact, the Greek word 'petros' [v.18] is not a proper name: it indicates a stone (picked up from the ground) that can be useful for a construction - if of course it allows itself to be shaped. And which not only supports, but is supported; which not only aggregates, but is aggregated.

Attention: the Greek term "petra" [v.18] is not the feminine of "petros": it indicates "rock", and refers to the Person of Christ as the only security (together with Faith in Him).

An appellation that unpredictably changes a whole life. For only the inner Friend draws from our [even bad] baggage the unpredictable that springs forth.

Each one is chiselled by the Lord according to the name Peter, in the sense of a particular piece, an individual and special element.

Placed singularly but in a large mosaic: that of salvation history, where each one is at the same time himself and in a continuous phase of regeneration.

The only feeling of belonging of the many building stones (all living): the conviviality of differences, the communion of disparate fraternal members in the ministerial Church.

None forever, but everywhere (unceasingly) pulsating nuclei of a summary institution all gathered from the ground... Freed free.