A bishop once visited a parish and decided to help hear confessions. A five-year-old boy joined the line. When his turn came, he entered, sat beside the bishop, swung his legs, and stared at him. The bishop smiled and said, “My little friend, this is the confessional.” “I know,” the boy replied. The bishop tried again: “Here, at the confessional, we tell the sins we have committed.” The boy’s face brightened and he said to the bishop, “Okay. You say yours first, then I will say mine.”
In today’s Gospel passage, Peter gets it right. Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They give him the latest religious opinion poll: 30% John the Baptist, 30% Elijah, 25% Jeremiah, and 15% one of the prophets. Then Jesus makes the question personal: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answers: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Perfect answer!
But before Peter can congratulate himself, Jesus tells him where the answer came from: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” In other words: Peter got it right; but grace got there first.
That is the thread running through today’s readings. In Isaiah, Eliakim receives “the key of the House of David.” He does not manufacture the key; it is placed upon his shoulder. In the Gospel, Jesus gives Peter “the keys to the kingdom of heaven.” Peter does not seize them; he receives them. The authority and responsibility are real; but both are gifts. And Saint Paul reaches the same conclusion in the second reading: overwhelmed by God’s wisdom, he can only exclaim, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!”
Sometimes failure makes us humble, but success can make us forgetful. We overcome a temptation and begin looking down on the person still struggling. We become faithful in marriage, fruitful in ministry, disciplined in prayer, and slowly begin treating grace as personal achievement. Peter is the warning. Today Jesus calls him “blessed” and gives him the keys. In the very next passage, Peter begins speaking as though he knows better than Jesus how the Messiah should accomplish his mission. And Jesus tells the same Peter: “Get behind me, Satan!”What changed? Peter moved from revelation to self-reliance. He went from receiving the Truth to trying to manage the Truth. That can happen to any of us.
Before my priestly ordination, a former classmate asked whether I had thought through the life I was choosing. “You mean you will live like this for the rest of your life?” he asked. A couple of years later, he brought me his wedding invitation. I smiled and asked, “Have you thought this through? You mean you are going to stay with the same woman for the rest of your life?” It was my return match! But beneath the humor is something serious: priesthood is impossible without grace. Marriage is impossible without grace. Faithful single life is impossible without grace. Christianity itself is impossible without grace. None of us can say, “Why can’t you get it right like me?” Whatever we are getting right today already shows that God has been merciful to us. Saint Paul asks elsewhere, “What do you possess that you have not received?” That question could save us from so much pride.
And today’s Gospel helps us understand something beautiful that we do at every Sunday Mass. After the readings and the homily, we stand and profess the Creed. Why there? Because after Christ has spoken to us in the Scriptures, the Church places us spiritually at Caesarea Philippi where Jesus asks us the same question: “Who do you say that I am?” And together we answer: “I believe in one God… I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ…” Notice that we do not invent our answer. We receive the faith and profess it. It is the faith of the Church; the faith handed to us by the Apostles; and we are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus the Lord.
The Creed is not a weekly religious opinion poll. We do not stand and say, “Here is what Jesus means to me.” We stand with Peter, the Apostles, the martyrs, the saints, and the whole Church and confess the faith we have received. That is why the Creed should never be mumbled as though it were a liturgical speed bump between the homily and the collection. The Creed is our answer to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” It is the entire congregation saying, “Lord, after hearing your Word, this is who we believe you are.”
But Peter reminds us of something else: even the ability to say “I believe” is grace. So if your faith is strong today, be grateful, not arrogant. If your marriage is strong, be grateful, not judgmental. If your ministry is fruitful, be grateful, not self-important. If you have overcome a sin that once controlled you, do not mock the person still fighting it. Reach back and help them. The Christian life is not about becoming self-confident; it is about becoming God-confident.
Peter got the answer right because he remained open to the Father. His trouble began when he thought the answer belonged to him. So today, when we stand and say the Creed, let every “I believe” also mean: “Lord, keep me dependent on you.” Never become proud because you are standing firm. Remember: You are not the Rock; you are standing on the Rock.
Homily for 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 2026
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