Faith

THE ‘KEY’ MOMENT: ‘The delivery of the keys to St. Peter’ by Pietro Perugino

Officially he is a painter, but concealed under his artistic guise is a character, a charisma and a creative burst of imagination. Pietro Perugino (1452 – 1523) is regarded as one of the greatest champions of the renewal of Italian art.

Born Pietro Vannucci, his nickname characterizes him as from Perugia, the chief city of Umbria. His fervour imbued the High Renaissance with the spirit of classical expressions.  In recognition Pope Sixtus IV called him to decorate the Sistine Chapel. So esteemed was his skill that even the end wall (which today houses the ‘Last Judgement’ by Michelangelo) was painted by him. Among his various masterpieces, one of the best known works is undoubtedly, ‘The delivery of the keys to St. Peter.’

The subject matter of the narrative is taken from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 16, verse 13 to 20. The painting captures the moment when Christ gives the keys of the kingdom of heaven to St. Peter who accepts it in humble adoration. The scene is not set in isolation. The apostles and the contemporary onlookers are neatly divided into two groups. They stand in contrapposto on either side of the protagonist.

While John on the right is recognized by his youthful features, Judas on the left is featured with his famous purse. Interestingly, as was the trend, Perugino depicts himself among the onlookers. He stands fifth from the right, his gaze regarding the viewer.

Pietro Perugino in the painting
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Critiquing Titles- Saturday, 20th week in ordinary time- Matthew 23: 1- 12

This was certainly a tumultuous Tuesday in Holy week. Chapter 23 is the hinge to the sixth and final discourse found in the Gospel of Matthew also known as  the Eschatological discourse( pertaining to the end time), found in chapters 24- 26. But for now we are in this ‘hinge chapter’; the setting is temple of Jerusalem and the audience are the crowds and His disciples.  

The Gospel of Matthew now presents a sustained condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees, not for what they teach but for how they conduct themselves.  The first part of the condemnation spanning twelve verses is a condemnation of a duplicitous leadership which lacks humility and craves for titular recognition.

A quick glance through chapter 23 will certainly make you think that Jesus had some serious anger issues with the Pharisees and scribes. It is only when we read the text in its context that we understand the mind of Matthew in presenting this chapter as a collection of the teachings of Jesus against the Pharisees.

Jesus did come to destroy the law or the prophets, He came to fulfil it but more He came to liberate the people from the tyrannical interpretations of the law that the Pharisee had imposed on them. Matthew, writing to a predominantly Jewish congregation does not principally intend to defame the Pharisees, although it may seem like it. When Pharisaic teaching took root, it wanted to unite the people and bring them back into the fold; unfortunately while their intention was the best their execution and imposition of it was the worst.

By the time of Jesus, the Pharisees were more about position and pronouncements and it is these that Jesus condemns. In His opening words, Jesus acknowledges their right to teach but with no obligation   on the part of the Jews to imitate their behaviour. The teaching was true, for it came from God; their actions were fake for it pandered to men.

While unnecessarily burdening the people with ‘religious interpretation ‘of the law, the Pharisees also appropriated for themselves titles of honour. It is these titles of honour by which they wished to be greeted; at banquets, synagogues and market places

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Tumultuous Tuesday – Friday, 20th week in ordinary time- Matthew 22: 34-40

On Wednesday we were in chapter twenty of our lectionary; on Friday we find ourselves in chapter twenty two. In this period, Jesus has foretold His death for the third time, healed two blind men, entered Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) cleansed the temple and headed to Bethany. On the way back He curses a fig tree and then gets into an argument with the chief priests and elders to whom He addresses three parable of judgment. Whew! It seems like the gentle flowing brook turned into a gushing river; all with the turn of one page!

This brings us to chapter twenty two, where the temple becomes an intellectual battleground between Jesus and various religious groups. Jesus finds Himself engaged by the religious establishments in a political, theological and spiritual debate; all with the hope that He would make an error and so give cause to be arrested.

The opening attack comes from the Pharisees, whose queries were asked with the sole intention to trap Him (22: 15). They begin with a political question; should one pay taxes or not? Jesus’ answer leaves them ‘amazed’, compelling them to leave Him; save face and go away. However they were followed by the Sadducees (verse 23) who fundamentally rejected the resurrection or the belief in angels. Yet they pose a bizarre and most hypothetical theological question on the resurrection.

When they too are left silenced (verse 34) the Pharisees return; now having licked their wounds. They enter the ring; round two has begun! This time however the attack formation is abandoned in favour of what must have seemed as a more subtle single combat. Their spokesperson was a lawyer. The date chosen was the Tuesday in Holy Week. His question and Jesus’ answer forms the heart of today’s gospel.

We must be careful not understand the lawyer as we understand modern day legal eagles of our justice system. The lawyer mentioned in the Gospel was a scribe who was learned in the Torah. The question he poses encapsulates the Pharisaic obsession; to grasp in a nutshell the summary of the law of Israel or an elucidation of its core. For the Pharisees and scribes, the minute and scrupulous practice of the law had become far more important than its intention. The law was merely a body with no soul.

In citing a double commandment, Jesus puts the ‘heart’ back in to the law. Loving God was beyond a doubt the most important aspect, but it did not make sense if it was not accompanied by the law of love for God’s people. 

The love of God is not some mushy emotional feeling, but implies covenantal fidelity. Our love for God is a covenant and not a contract. This implies that our love must go beyond the demands of contractual agreements, for it demands a love with all ‘one’s heart, mind and soul’.  The covenantal love of God is not some ‘you scratch my back and I will scratch yours’! Covenantal love demands more, even when not asked or mandated.

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Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew (1634) by the Spanish artist Jusepe de Ribera

The cynical Apostle -Feast of St Bartholomew, Apostle – John 1: 45-51

Jesus begins His ministry with borrowed disciples; they were not His, for they were first the disciples of John the Baptist. It is John the Baptist who hails Jesus as the Lamb of God, prompting the two initially unnamed disciples to follow Jesus. They must have been stalking Jesus long enough for Him to turn and ask them what they wanted. What were they looking for?

That’s the first take away from this Gospel. Simply following Jesus makes little sense if we haven’t figured out what we want. What are we looking for?  Jesus was most certainly looking for disciples, not followers. The answer we give to His question makes all the difference.  

The answer of the two unnamed disciples was not some plea to be lodged for the night; they wanted a permanent home with Jesus. “Where do you live” was not a matter of asking for His address (which incidentally He had none). They wanted to be with Him, always. They wanted to be disciples, not followers. Which brings us to the second point; discipleship is not some ‘one night fleeting romance’, it calls for tough love.

The third take away from the Gospel of today is interesting. We often assume that a call, whatever state of life that call may be to, is followed by a process of discernment. Let’s not close ourselves to what happens in this Gospel today. Much before the call, we find the disciples in a process of discernment, which includes a discussion between Jesus and the two unnamed disciples. Here there is a ‘discernment process’, after which Jesus calls the disciples, “come and see”. The discernment may also precede the call.

Discipleship is also a matter of conviction. The two unnamed disciples who accepted the invitation of Jesus, have willing submitted themselves to His ‘seminary’. They came, they saw (verse 39) and they were conquered. Scripture tells us that they “remained with Him that day.” It must have been one interesting day, for they say a complete yes, in less than twenty four hours. They have fallen for Jesus, hook, line and sinker. This makes Jesus’ sales pitch of action before words, a hard act to follow. Often, the best salesmen of the world believe the opposite to be true.

The Gospel now tells us the identity of one of the unnamed disciples; he is Andrew. Andrew has not only been drawn into the fold; he now professes it with certainty and introduces his brother to discipleship; “We have found the Messiah”.  Realistically speaking, in finding the Messiah, Andrew actually found himself!  Jesus now has His third disciple, Simon and calls him Cephas, the rock.

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Image taken from the Codex Aureus Epternacensis- an illuminated Gospel Book, created approximate between 1030–1050

When God made up the rules- Wednesday, 20th week in ordinary time- Matthew 20: 1- 16

The parable of the labourers in the vineyard is unique to the Gospel of Matthew, found in no other Gospel.  Matthew, who follows the narrative of the Gospel of St Mark, breaks the flow of St Mark to insert this parable. What then did Matthew want to communicate which the other Gospels did not seem to be too interested in?

We have to constantly place the Gospel of Matthew in its historical and social context. Written in approximately 80 to 90 AD, the Gospel is principally addressed to the Jewish Christian community who lived in some proximity to Jerusalem.  However the Jewish Christians were not the only ones attracted to the message of Jesus.

Paul, by this time, had already criss-crossed the Roman world. He had evangelized in Antioch, Macedonia, Achaia, Asia Minor and finally in Rome. It is rather possible that by the time Matthew had written the Gospel, Paul was already martyred under Emperor Nero. From the Acts of the Apostles, we can safely surmise that the message of Christ found appeal in both Jewish Christians and even more among the Gentile Christians. Here in lies the problem

Central to the council of Jerusalem, which took place in about 49-51 AD (Gal 2:1-10; Acts 15), was the contentious issue of the Gentile converts as a result of Paul’s missionary activity.   Some sections of the Jewish Christians felt that these converts needed to be catechised in the Jewish traditions of circumcision, ethics and dietary habits. The council however, swung in Paul’s favour, albeit with a couple of riders. The Church now began to open its doors to the Gentiles.

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