Homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinal Time, August 27, 2023
The first message we glean from today’s 1st reading and gospel passage is about solidity. It is conveyed by the image of a peg holding things together: “I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot.” Isaiah 22:23 And also by the new name given to Simon by Jesus: Rock, Kephas in the original Aramaic, petra in Greek and Latin, is rendered by its masculine form Petrus and the English form Peter. The concept of solidity becomes inescapable if we keep in mind that Jesus walked a long distance with his twelve disciples to reach Caesarea Philippi where the surroundings are