The pre-eminence, in fact, the pre-dominance, oh let’s not beat around the bush, the primacy of St. Peter in the Christian Scriptures is glaringly evident. In the first reading from the Acts of Apostles at this coming Sunday’s Mass, St. Luke makes reference to “…Peter and the apostles…” Writing perhaps fifty years after the incident being related, St. Peter alone is cited by name. St. Luke certainly knew of the other disciples. He writes of them in both his Gospel account and his Acts. Yet only St. Peter is named. In the Gospel passage for this Sunday, St. John, himself no slouch in the Apostolic community, recalls a gathering of Jesus’ followers thus: “Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples.” As usual St. Peter is mentioned first; he is always accorded pride of place. And this prime rank is nothing new for St. John or St. Luke or any other apostolic writer. St. Peter is always the privileged party.
Recall that SS. Peter and Andrew, along with SS. James and John, were the first members called to the apostolic band. St. Peter uniquely has his name changed from Simon to Peter. St. Peter along with Ss. James and John is a select witness to the Transfiguration, to the raising of Cyrus’ daughter and to Christ’s personal agonies at Gethsemane. It is St. Peter who is sent to retrieve the coin from the fish’s mouth and St. Peter who asks about seven-fold forgiveness. When Jesus questions all twelve apostles, “Who do men say that I am?” St. Peter speaks up for the other 11 and confesses Jesus to be the Christ, “the Son of the Living God.” This confession of Christ’s Messiahship by St. Peter on behalf of his fellow disciples is a turning point in all four Gospel narratives. After this Jesus more intimately reveals his true nature and his true mission to his close followers. St. Peter’s hapless defense of Jesus with the sword is alone noted and St. Peter’s Passiontide denials are alone recorded — perhaps because more was expected of him. St. Peter, along with St. John, is the first to visit the empty tomb where St. John defers to St. Peter’s seniority allowing him to enter the chamber first.
In this coming Sunday’s Gospel passage, a very intimate dialogue takes place between Jesus and St. Peter. This shoreline breakfast conversation parallels the upper room discussion at the Last Supper. At the Last Supper, St. Peter alone is given the charge to strengthen his brother apostles. Now Jesus singles St. Peter once again for special responsibility and special privilege. Three times Jesus inquires of St. Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” To which St. Peter replies quite insistently, and even with a bit of exasperation: “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” St. Peter’s repeated testimonies of love are met with the triple commission: “Feed my lambs…Tend my sheep…Feed my sheep.” The early morning interchange ends with this personal challenge from Christ to St. Peter: “Follow me.”
Recall first of all that Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as St. Paul for that matter, were all writing thirty, forty, fifty years after the incidents being related. They are also writing to assorted readerships in various places. And most important of all, the diverse church communities to whom they were writing would have been established by a noted apostolic preacher. Yet no other early Church figure ever outshines or outranks St. Peter! St. John, the beloved disciple, defers to St. Peter; St. Paul, the uniquely chosen missionary, acknowledges St. Peter’s lofty status. The role of St. Peter then and the function of the Petrine Office today are firmly and undeniably rooted in Apostolic Tradition as affirmed by Sacred Scripture.
Today the Office of the Roman Pontiff is not the result of mere organizational need or decision making simplicity. The unique doctrinal, moral and sacramental mission carried out today by our Holy Father the Pope is clearly of divine origin. Jesus determined and the Apostolic community appreciated that ultimate Church leadership would be vested in a single man, the Bishop of Rome, who would work in concert with the other Apostolic successors, the bishops of the wider world, eagerly feeding Christ’s lambs and faithfully tending Christ’s sheep.
