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THE CHURCH:
REFLECTING THE
LIGHT OF CHRIST
IMAGES AND MISSION OF THE CHURCH
—CCC, NOS. 748-810
PETER IS A ROCK AND A LOVING PASTOR
The account in Chapter 16 of Matthew begins with Jesus and the
Apostles’ arrival at Caesarea Philippi, a city that was twenty-five miles
north of the Sea of Galilee. In this setting, Jesus asks the Apostles who
people thought he was. They replied that some thought Jesus was John
the Baptist, others that he was Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
They wondered if Jesus was one of the great prophets come back from
the dead.
Jesus asked them, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter alone
replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). Jesus
praised Peter’s reply, noting that he had not arrived at such an insight
through his own human abilities. Peter had received a revelation from
God and had spoken from his faith. “Blessed are you, Simon son of
Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly
Father” (v. 17).
Jesus then proceeded to make Peter the
rock
on which he would
build the Church. Beneath the backdrop of a temple built on a rock and
devoted to the idolatrous worship of an emperor, Peter, whose name
means “rock,” is chosen to lead God’s Church. “You are Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my Church” (v. 18). Jesus went further and promised to
give Peter the “keys to the Kingdom of Heaven,” that is, authority to shep-
herd the Church. Jesus also promised that the gates of hell will not prevail
against the Church. These words are a reminder that, while disorder and