21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A (2026)
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 22:19-23
Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8 (8bc)
Romans 11:33-36
Matthew 16:13-20
August 23, 2026
Who do you say that Jesus is?
If someone asks you to tell them who Jesus is, what would you say to them?
The people in today’s gospel reading think Jesus might Elijah. Elijah did not die. He was taken up in a whirlwind (see 2 Kings 2:1-14) and there were prophecies of his return (see Malachi 3:22-24). So, it is not a surprise that they might think that Jesus was Elijah. They also speak of John the Baptist, Jeremiah, or another prophet in return.
Who do you say that Jesus is?
Do you come to Jesus seeking miracles? Do you come to Jesus for comfort? He is kind and speaks only truth. He strengthens us with His Grace, first and foremost in the Words of Scripture and in the Eucharist. It is fitting that we give our Lord thanks will all our hearts. It is fitting to come to the Lord’s house to worship him.
Who did Peter say that Jesus is? Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter nails this one. Jesus is indeed the long-awaited Messiah and the Son of the living God.
How does Peter know this? He has accompanied Jesus in his ministry. He has heard what is in the Old Testament. In human terms (flesh and blood), Peter has come to know Jesus but Peter only comes to answer, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” because our heavenly Father has revealed it to him.
As Paul writes of God, “How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor?” We are insignificant in our knowledge and wisdom compared to God, but He loves us anyway.
Jesus is our Lord. He is our authority. Our Lord shares that authority with Peter when He names him the rock upon which He builds His Church. Jesus gives Peter the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. I often say “our Church” in the sense of our participation in the life of the Church, but ultimately it is God’s Church.
God bestowing his authority upon a person did not begin with Jesus giving Peter the keys. Our first reading tells us how God took the authority He had given Shebna and gives it to Eliakim. Our Lord clothes Eliakim in robe and sash. Robe and sash are used today by clergy today as they exercise their ministry. Robe and sash also can symbolize government authority. The giving of the keys is also a symbol of authority from God.
Do we understand God is the authority? Do we listen to him always?
What does it mean to exercise God-given authority?
Isaiah answers this, “He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah…when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open.” In this sense, Pope Leo XIV serves as Jesus’ Vicar on earth. Do we recognize Pope Leo’s God-given authority?
Do you accept our Lord’s authority over you? Do you accept that the Pope speaks with authority from God?
Do you follow Jesus as “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6) or do you do things your own way?
I end with Paul’s words, “For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
Peace,
Fr. Jeff