Homily originally preached August 23, 2020
by Monsignor Deering
The Church of Jesus Christ is guided by the Pope!
The Church of Jesus Christ is guided by the Pope!
If you were to ask someone on the street,
“Who’s the head of the Catholic Church on Earth?” ...
they’d probably say, “the Pope”, which is the right answer!
And there’s a good chance that quite a few people would say Pope Francis ...
correctly telling you the Pope’s name!
Now if you asked those same people on the street,
“Who’s the head of the Baptist Church on earth?”
or “Who’s the head of the Presbyterian Church on earth?”
or, “Who’s the head of the Assembly of God Church on earth?”
What would they say?
Well, I don’t think they’d respond with any title or any person’s name ...
because actually ... there is no one leader of those Churches, just as ...
there’s no one worldwide leader for any of the 100’s Protestant denominations.
Those churches proudly claim that they operate ... autonomously,
which means that each individual church operates separately on its own rules ...
and doesn’t answer to any central authority ...
which means that the message that you hear and the flow of the Sunday service ...
can be very different from one individual church to the next.
For example:
the Tuscaloosa First Baptist Church, the Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church,
the Beulah Missionary Baptist Church, the Primitive Baptist Church ...
and some 13 other area Baptist churches operate independently ...
they don’t answer to any central authority for uniformity or direction ...
and many don’t even talk to one another!
That’s very different from Catholic Churches ... that are united under once central authority that motivates the Priests and Bishops ... to talk to each other regularly.
Fr. Tom, Fr. Wyman and I have a breakfast meeting every month to discuss how we will serve you with School Masses, Confessions, Holy Days and Activities.
We meet with another 4 Priests in our area for lunch once a quarter.
All 60 of our Parish Priests get together for a 4-day retreat once a year.
All 300 of our US Bishops meet together in the Spring & again in the Fall.
All 3,000 Bishops from around the world meet with the Pope every 5 years!
We’re not autonomous (operating separately)... we’re united (operating together)!
Since the beginning of the Church at Pentecost, in the year 33 AD ...
the Church has always been governed by one man at the top … the Pope …
and it has continued to operate this way for the past 2,000 years.
But along the way, groups of Christians, have broken away from the Catholic Church and run pretty much autonomously, without a single person at the head.
Allowing individual churches to operate autonomously ...
hardly seems like the way to run a worldwide organization.
It’s definitely not the way we run worldwide businesses:
companies like Samsung or McDonalds ... Microsoft or Coca-Cola!
Those companies have business locations all around the world.
and their desire is to have uniformity of product and service all around the world! Now, if you want uniformity ... in your phones and in your fries ...
if you want uniformity ... in your software and in your soft drinks,
then you don’t let the various locations operate separately ... rather, you
control those things through a united team of leaders with one person at the top.
Every worldwide company has a President at the top
with the responsibility of insuring that their company’s product
is delivered the same all around the world.
A Coke in Tokyo should taste the same as a Coke in Tuscaloosa.
A Big Mac in Nicaragua should taste the same as a Big Mac in Northport.
And the Gospel message proclaimed in Birmingham, England ...
should be the same as the one proclaimed in Birmingham, Alabama.
That was Jesus’ goal … that all people, all over the world, ...
would receive the same truth ... about the One True God.
Jesus wanted a uniform message about God to be spread all around the world.
And so it makes every bit of sense,
that Jesus would have acted to insure the uniformity of His message
by establishing a team of Leaders ... and placing one person in charge!
Jesus did indeed establish a team of Leaders … His Twelve Apostles,
and He did indeed place one person at the top … namely Peter.
This is precisely what happened in our Gospel today!
So, for the times when you’re asked to explain or defend the primacy of the Pope, you need to remember our Gospel passage today, Matthew 16:16.
It’s here that Jesus establishes His Church and puts Peter in charge of everything!
Jesus says, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church” Whose Church?
Jesus’ Church! Not Peter’s Church ... or anyone else’s church. Jesus’ Church!
And then Jesus says something ... very important. He says,
“I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.”
What did Jesus mean by this?
Well, notice how similar Jesus’ statement sounds to ...
the way that God spoke to Eliakim in our First reading from the Prophet Isaiah.
Speaking to the unsatisfactory Leader, Shebna, God said,
“On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim … and give over to him your authority. … I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim’s shoulder.”
Notice the link between the Old Testament and New Testament transfer of power!
The link is the key … you could say, the key is the key!
See, in the process of bestowing the office of Prime Minister; a key was placed on a person’s shoulder … signifying that they now had full power and authority...
that the authority as Master of the Palace ... had been transferred to him.
God says in this passage, “I will give over to him your authority.”
That’s a transfer of power!
And we see that process show up to this very day ...
whereby the handing on of keys indicates the transfer of power and authority.
For example, how do we recognize a citizen for some great deed they have done?
The Mayor ceremonially gives them the Key to the City for a whole day!
When Bishop Baker chose me to be the Vicar General for the Diocese 12 yrs ago,
he gave me the keys to the Diocesan Offices ... and in doing so,
he gave me the authority to act in his capacity ... in his absence.
I have access to Bishop’s office and files and I can act with his authority ...
if he is ever sick or injured or out of the Office.
That’s what the word “Vicar” means; it means … one who stands in the place of.
As Vicar General ... I stand in the place of the Bishop ... when he is away.
Now, if the Vicar General stands in the place of the Bishop and acts with his authority, then the Vicar of Christ stands in the place of Christ and acts with His authority!
This is why we refer to the Pope as ... “the Vicar of Christ” on earth!
Jesus knew that He was going to leave this world and return to His Father in Heaven ... and that’s why He set up someone to act with His power on Earth.
Today He says to Peter, “I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Indicating that He would eventually transfer His power and authority to Peter ...
which He did at the Sea of Galilee right before He ascended to the Father in Heaven.
When the Leader, Shebna, went away, his power was bestowed upon Eliakim …
giving him authority over ... the whole House of Judah.
When the Leader, Jesus, went away, His power was bestowed upon Peter …
giving him authority over ... the whole Church!
Eliakim became the Prime Minister of the Jews of Jerusalem.
Peter became the Prime Minister of the Christians of the whole world!
In referring to the role of Eliakim, God says, “He shall be a father to (the people).
It’s from this passage that we get the title Pope? Pope means papa!
The Pope is more than our Prime Minister ...
he is our papa … our spiritual father. We call Him the Holy Father!
It’s perfectly clear that Jesus gave Peter full authority over the Church ...
saying to him, “Whatever you bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
These words mirror the full authority that God had given to Eliakim ...
saying, “When he opens, no one shall shut. When he shuts, no one shall open.”
Who’s in charge? The one with the keys!
Peter was given the keys ... to what? … to the Kingdom of Heaven!
Since Jesus is no longer here in the flesh to lead us to the Kingdom of Heaven ....
So, He arranged that someone would stand in His place here on earth ...
as the visible head of His Church and be empowered to act with His authority.
Peter did just that … for 34 years!
And when Pope Peter died,
the power and authority of Jesus was transferred to Pope Linus.
And when Pope Linus died
the power and authority of Jesus was transferred to Pope to Cletus …
And that transfer of power has been going on for 2000 years ... so that today ...
in the year 2020 ... the power and authority of Jesus resides with Pope Francis.
Francis is the 265th successor of St. Peter!
And he has the Keys … the same keys given to Peter!
He is the one designated by God ... to shepherd all of us, the Catholic faithful,
safely into the Kingdom of God.
What an enormous job that is with 1.2 Billion Catholics worldwide!
The Pope occupies the Chair of St. Peter ... meaning that the Church today ...
is built on the same foundation that Jesus established for His church ...
from the very beginning ... one that is rock solid.
In the Gospel, Jesus declared, “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build
my Church and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”
How wonderful to have the assurance from God Himself ...
that our Church, which is His Church, will never be subdued.
You see, the Catholic Church is not just another human organization like Coke or Microsoft or McDonalds. It is a divinely founded organization and as the Bride of Jesus Christ; it is being constantly guided and guarded by the Holy Spirit.
Many people down through the ages have tried to overthrow the Catholic Church. But it has never happened. Persecutions and heresies and schisms and scandals have all occurred, but the Catholic Church has persisted for some 2000 years ...
and remains the longest living human organization in the World and w/o an army!
Of the 40,000 different Protestant and non-denominational Christian Churches that exist today, none of them existed 500 years ago. Most didn’t exist 50 years ago.
There is only one Church that has been in existence all the way back to Peter ...
That’s the Holy Roman Catholic Church. Through an unbroken chain of 266 Popes, the Catholic Church has persisted and grown so that today it is the largest church in America with some 64 Million members, that’s 25% of the country.
I’m sure you’re aware of the rise in so called “non-denominational” churches ...
there are 1000’s of them! ...
But the truth is:
the Catholic Church is really ... the only “non-denominational church”
Because the Catholic Church is not a denomination ...it’s the full original church!
It’s the only one written of in the Bible!
All the rest of the Christian churches took bits and pieces of the Catholic faith ... and fashioned it into their own style ... thereby becoming a denomination.
All 40,000 Christian denominations ... were all started by men.
While only The Catholic Church ... was started by the God-Man, Jesus Christ,
right there in the Bible ... Matthew 16:16! in the year 33 AD in Jerusalem!
And throughout its 2000-year history, the Catholic Church remains ...
the one true Church ... with the Bishops as its Leaders ...
and the Pope as its visible head … just as Jesus designed it.
Jesus came to establish a worldwide household of believers ...
which is how His Church came to be called Catholic ...
where Catholic means Worldwide ... Universal ... One!
And indeed it is!
Do you realize that today in every Catholic Church all over the world Catholics are:
- hearing the same Scripture readings ...
- praying the same prayers ... and
- receiving the same Eucharist ... that we are ... here today?
How do you accomplish that? Not with autonomy! But rather with structure and organization that comes from having one man at the top who guides the promulgation of uniform teachings through a worldwide team of Leaders.
2000 years ago, Jesus established His Church with one man at the top … the Pope.
Today, the Catholic Church remains a worldwide house of believers
with uniformity in ... its Dogma and Doctrine and Disciplines …
with uniformity in ... what it proclaims, and preaches and practices!
So, give thanks that we’re getting the fullness of the faith Jesus wanted us to have.
Today ... in Matthew 16:16 ... Jesus asks the question: “Who do you say that I am?”
Peter, the first Pope answers, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”
Well, if someone were to ask you, “What Church do you belong to?”
I hope you’d be able to answer: I go to a non-denominational church Holy Spirit –Tuscaloosa, it’s... the one and only Church that Jesus established in Scripture.
- it’s a worldwide Church with the Pope as the Vicar of Christ on earth ...
standing in the place of Christ with the authority ... to bind and to loose .
- holding the keys ... to the Kingdom of Heaven ...
- and occupying the Chair of Peter ... that is set on a rock foundation ...
against which the gates of hell will never prevail. And invite them to come visit
the one and only church that Jesus started ... the Holy Catholic Church!
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