And so I say to you, you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church. (Matthew 16:18a)

In every cathedral of the worldwide church, there is to be found a special chair where the bishop or archbishop of the Diocese sits when he is celebrating the liturgy. The chair is a symbol of the teaching authority of the bishop. In Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome behind the main altar at the very back of the Basilica in a very elevated position is an ancient wooden chair encased in bronze. It is traditionally understood to be the chair of Saint Peter. He was recognized as having a special teaching authority among the faithful from the very beginning of the church. The feast of the Chair of Saint Peter commemorates the teaching authority of the Bishop of Rome, the Vicar of Christ.

In Matthew’s gospel Jesus is the great teacher. He is the authoritative interpreter of God’s will for our lives because he teaches as Emmanuel, God-with-us. In today’s gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus is portrayed as passing on his teaching authority to Peter. The image of “keys” suggests authority and responsibility. The reference to binding and loosing specifies the nature of this authority and responsibility. The experts in the Jewish Law bound and loosed the Law – by their teaching they showed what was binding in the Law and what could be taken more loosely. 

In Matthew’s gospel, it is Jesus who performs this teaching role. He declares authoritatively when the Law is binding and when it could be interpreted more loosely than was customary at the time. When Jesus passes on his teaching authority to Peter, it is not the Jewish Law that Peter is to bind or lose but Jesus’ own teaching. Peter is being given the role of interpreting the teaching of Jesus for the church that will be formed beyond the death and resurrection of Jesus, declaring what is binding there and what can be taken more loosely. 

As Roman Catholics we believe that the teaching role that Jesus entrusted to Peter now resides with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. We look to him to give the lead in interpreting the teaching of Jesus for the church and beyond. At a time when authority, at so many levels and in so many institutions, has been weakened, today’s feast invites us to renew our confidence in the teaching authority of the Pope, whom we believe to be guided by the Spirit of the risen Lord.

Blessings, 

Deacon Jack

St. Clare of Assisi

Houston, TX