Peter the coryphaeus (ὁ κορυφαῖος) and Andrew the “first-called” (ὁ πρωτόκλητος)
Peter’s confession is an episode we find in all
the gospels, not only in the synoptics, but even in John, although in a
different way. But Matthew’s account of the event is distinguished from the others.
Mark, Luke and John confine themselves to report Peter’s confession: “You are
the Christ.” Matthew, instead, tells us how Jesus reacted to this profession of
faith: he conferred on Peter a primacy over the other apostles and the whole
Church. If we do not find this narrative in the other gospels, it does not mean
that Matthew invented it; all the evangelists confirm, some way or other, the
change of Simon’s name into Cephas or Peter and his pre-eminence among the
disciples. Today’s liturgy seems to emphasize the conferment of the primacy on
Peter rather than his profession of faith. So, we will dwell on this aspect,
even because it can be useful to fix some points.
First. Jesus intended to found the Church. In
the past, there were some theologians who maintained that the only purpose of
Jesus was to announce the kingdom of God; then his disciples founded the
Church. That is not true. Jesus knew that his physical presence in the world
was temporary; so, he wanted his disciples to continue his mission after his
death, resurrection and ascension into heaven. He made of his disciples a
community, which should replace the people of Israel. This new people of God is
the Church. She does not coincide with the kingdom of God; but, as the Second
Vatican Council says, she is on earth the seed and beginning of that kingdom.
Second. The Church is not a purely spiritual
community; it is also an organized society with human structures. At the head
of the Church there are the apostles, and at the head of the apostles Jesus put
Peter. We believe that the role entrusted by Jesus to Peter and the other
apostles did not become extinct with them, but was passed on to their
successors—the Pope and the Bishops. It could not be differently; otherwise,
how could the Church survive and continue the mission Jesus entrusted to her?
Today’s liturgy invites us to reflect
especially upon Peter’s role in the Church. I think we could condense it into
just few points: coryphaeus, master of the palace, and key bearer.
Peter is, first of all, the coryphaeus.
Our eastern brothers love to style Peter this way. What does it mean? In the
ancient Greek theater, the coryphaeus was the leader of the chorus; he spoke
for all the rest, whenever the chorus took part in the action. So, Peter is the
leader of the choir of the apostles; he is a kind of spokesman of them: in the
gospel, we often see him speak on behalf of the other apostles. Like in this
case: he professes the faith in Jesus not only for himself, but for all the
disciples. And that is what the Pope has to keep doing in the Church: he has to
continue to confess the faith of the Church: “You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God.”
Secondly, Peter is the master of the palace.
We have heard this expression in the first reading, referred to Shebna, who was
then replaced by Eliakim. The master or mayor of the palace, sometimes called
also “majordomo” was the senior servant who managed a large house. In the
ancient civilizations, the majordomo of a king had a political function; he was
practically a kind of prime minister. Well, Peter is the majordomo of the
Church. This means that Jesus left him in charge of the Church; but Peter is
not the head of the Church; the only head of the Church is Christ; Peter is
just a servant, the first of the servants. As we used to say once, servus
servorum Dei.
Finally, Peter is the key bearer of the
Church: “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.” Which means: Peter
has the power to open and shut the gates of the kingdom of heaven, that is to
say, he has the authority to allow or to prevent the access to it. This power,
along with the power of binding and loosing, is a huge power for the benefit of
the Church, but a power exercised by one who is just the servant of the
servants of God.
Q