In our Gospel account from Matthew today, the disciples have first answered the focus group question posed by Jesus: "Who do people say that I am?" The answers are aplenty. John the Baptist come back from the dead, an easy mistake but one that Herod feared could be true. Elijah, whose return would usher in the reign of God. Let's vote for that promising option. Jeremiah, whose prophetic witness Jesus seemed to mirror so well. But it is Peter who answers the next question from Jesus. "Who do you say that I am?" Today the Church celebrates this confession of faith -- Peter's forthright naming of Jesus as both Messiah and Son of the Living God -- and his ennobling by Jesus for what would become the foundation, the rock, of the episcopal leadership authority in the Church.
Pilgrimages to the Holy Land don't usually venture into the territory of Caesarea Philippi, twenty miles north of the Sea of Galilee, where Peter's spirit-prompted confession was heard. But a stopover at the Church of the Primacy of Peter built to mark the 'end of the story,' the last encounter with Peter and the Risen Lord at the seashore in Galilee -- the miraculous catch of fish, the breakfast at the beach, the forgiveness of Peter for his betrayal, the reinstatement of his leadership and command to 'feed my sheep' -- is included in most itineraries.
In between the two confessions -- "You are the Christ" and "Jesus, I love you"-- is the pilgrimage site of the Church of Peter in Gallicantu. Gallicantu, 'cock crow' -- the site where Peter, belying his confession, would go on to betray and deny Jesus three times, all the while his Lord and Savior whom he had claimed with such certainty was kept nearby as prisoner in what is named the Sacred Pit. (Praying Psalm 88 here was the one of the most poignant and powerful experiences of my own visit to the Holy Land.)
Peter's legacy Gallicantu Church serves as a stark reminder to me on this Feast Day -- a reminder about a warning I read in a recent essay by David French. There is a difference, he wrote, between boldly declaring our beliefs and courageously demonstrating them. Our challenge is to 'mind the gap,' narrowing that distance, showing in real time how our belief in the Messiah and Son of the Living God is being translated into the virtues of love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, peacemaking, and self-control.
Perhaps a Lenten exercise might be to choose one of the Eucharistic Acclamations we profess when we participate in the Mass and use that as our prayer guide for the day.
* "We proclaim your death, O Lord, and profess your resurrection, until you come again," or
* "When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again," or
* "Save us, Savior of the World, for by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free."
Whichever we choose, let the words of our lips match the inclinations of our work and witness. Narrow the gap.