Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 121
23 AUG 2020 A.D.


Reading I

Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace:
“I will thrust you from your office
and pull you down from your station.
On that day I will summon my servant
Eliakim, son of Hilkiah;
I will clothe him with your robe,
and gird him with your sash,
and give over to him your authority.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and to the house of Judah.
I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim’s shoulder;
when he opens, no one shall shut
when he shuts, no one shall open.
I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot,
to be a place of honor for his family.”


Responsorial Psalm

R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.

I will give thanks to your name,
because of your kindness and your truth:
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.

The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
Your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.



Reading II

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge 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?
Or who has given the Lord anything
that he may be repaid?
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen.


Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Then he strictly ordered his disciples
to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Overview of the Gospel:

• Since last Sunday’s gospel (Matthew 16:21-27), the readings have skipped over Matthew,
chapter 17, which included an account of Jesus’ Transfiguration (verses 1-8) and a second
prediction of his Passion (verses 22-23).

• In the present chapter, Jesus is questioned by his disciples about the nature of the kingdom of
heaven (verse 1). After warnings against seeking after rank or importance rather than humility
(verses 1-5) and being a source of scandal to those who are the object of God’s loving
concern (verses 6-14), Jesus sets forth a process for dealing with conflict and disagreements
within the Church.

• The Greek word (elegxon) translated as “tell him his fault” in the New American Bible
(verse 15) has the meaning “to rebuke in order to expose sin and bring correction.” Thus, it is
to be a fraternal correction, for the good of the person. It is also private to avoid scandal and to
protect the good name of the innocent. Failing that, two witnesses are brought in (per Deuteronomy 19:15-16) with the hope the
influence of good friends or respected persons may have an effect. As a last resort (verse 17)
judicial correction (i.e. excommunication) may be made by reference to the Church authorities.
As in verse 15, this is not a means of punishment, but of fraternal correction.

• Jesus makes it plain (here and in Matthew 16:18) that he has given the leaders of his Church
authority to make decisions in these matters that are ratified by God (verse 18).
(courtesy: Vince Contreras--Sunday Scripture Reading For Catholics)

Readings: Ezekiel 33:7-9  (Ps 95:1-2,6-9)  Romans 13:8-10  Matthew 18:15-20


"Lord, in my zeal for the love of truth, let me not forget the truth about love." ~ St. Thomas Aquinas

Thank you.

Our pleasure, Brother, sbude57!

By the way--the imagery in this week's "Good News" is that of a lock and key. THAT piqued my innate curiosity. What did locks and keys look like back in Jesus' time?

Early Biblical locks and keys:

Locks, keys, and locksmiths first appeared in Egypt and Babylon 4000-6000 years ago. Although many doors were certainly “locked” with a beam across the inside of the door to keep it closed, the earliest lock artifact found was in ancient Assyria in the ruins near its capital, Nineveh. This lock and key was a very simple device that was inserted through a hole in a door and lifted the internal bar or beam. Throughout ancient Egypt, we have record of wooden devices that came into being with pins (the beginnings of the pin tumbler design) that prevented a door to move. Large wooden keys were fabricated to operate these locks, which could be inserted into the lock, move the pins, and open the door.







So it seems a valued "treasure" must be locked up with only access to certain people who possess the "key."

Thank BeNotAfraid as always. I recently heard Steve Ray speak on the importance of the Key Keeper of the kingdom and how important it was in ancient times. It was on Matt Fradd's show "Pints with Aquinas ". They didn't section it out but I found many on his talk he around the country.

God Bless you, BeNotAfraid!