Thursday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Yesterday Peter could hardly believe what he saw; today he professes his belief, to which Jesus says, “…flesh and blood has not revealed this to you…” Peter had indeed listened to Jesus, embracing His Word in his heart, such that by believing, he could see Jesus for who He really is.
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
We, too, can sometimes struggle to believe, or perhaps we believe, but it is an intellectual thing. GK Chesterton once wrote, “Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair,” recognizing that faith is less about choosing to believe as true things we do not understand, and more about loving and trusting in the One in whom we profess our belief. For if we know all about Jesus but do not love Him, Heaven is not for us. But Peter’s profession was not merely him declaring the answer to a riddle he had solved; rather, he was speaking the realization of his heart.
Truly, he was professing his love for Jesus, and that is the rock upon which our Church is built.