21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A (2026)

When I teach about the sacraments, such as Baptism or the Eucharist, seeking to help us understand what they are, I believe it’s important to ask: What is God’s purpose for this sacrament? Why is he giving it to me? How does he intend it to bear effect in me?

These questions came to mind as I prayed over the Gospel we hear today, specifically where Jesus says, “Upon this rock I will build my church”. I remember hearing a lecture by biblical scholar Dr. Tim Gray in which he zeroed-in on those words where Jesus says that he will build. It means that Jesus is a builder: “Upon this rock I will build my church”.^[1] We think of Jesus as a carpenter, one who could perform helpful tasks, but this is something else. To be a builder infers intentionality, planning and action.

When we think about figures in biblical history who are builders, perhaps the person most stands out is Solomon, who built the first Temple, and built it on a rock. What I mean is that 2 Chronicles tells us that he built it in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah (2 Chr 3:1).

The Temple served as the center for Judaism for about 1000 years total. It was their spiritual and liturgical center, the embodiment of God’s presence with them, and remained as such in and throughout Jesus’ lifetime.

Jesus says that he is going to build a new temple—specifically, a church. But unlike the Temple that stood on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, he will not build it in a specific location nor on an actual rock. Instead, it will be built on a person: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah…I say to you, you are Peter—petros, which in Greek, means “rock”—and upon this rock I will build my church…” Jesus intends to build a new Temple to both represent and build his kingdom on earth. The Old Covenant had a Temple. The New Covenant will also have a temple, but of a very different sort.

In his lecture, Dr. Gray references a renaissance painting by the artist Pietro Perugino, a painting commonly referred to as Delivery of the Keys, which is displayed on an interior wall of the Sistine Chapel. Perhaps the most significant purpose of the Sistine Chapel is that it serves as the place where the papal conclave convenes in order to elect a successor to Peter. Various artists were commissioned to decorate the chapel’s walls, and later, Michaelangelo was commissioned to paint the only surface that remained unpainted: the ceiling.

Perugino’s painting was completed in 1482, so its details look much more like renaissance Italy than they do first-century Israel. In the foreground of the image, at the center, one sees Peter, kneeling before Jesus, receiving the keys.

Then, above and toward the background of the image is an 8-sided structure with a golden dome. What’s that? Perugino had seen sketches of the structure that stood where the Temple had once been. It’s an Islamic mosque, which is called the Dome of the Rock and it still stands on the Temple mount: an 8-sided structure with a gold dome.

Aside from this curiosity, considering that what we hear in today’s Gospel occurred far north in Caesarea Philippi, why would Perugino place the handing over of the keys at the Temple in Jerusalem? He intentionally placed Jesus, builder of the new temple, directly in front of the old Temple—the old giving way to the new. Every time the papal conclave gathers to elect the next successor to Peter, Perugino’s fresco reminds the cardinals that Jesus intends to build something to serve his mission.

So, while we Catholics tend to appreciate this reading because it gives credence to Peter’s primacy among the apostles, we do well to also recognize what Jesus is doing: he’s building. This intentional act of Jesus the builder should never cease to remind us that the Church is not an arbitrary element in God’s plan of salvation. Those same questions I ask about sacraments apply equally to the Church. What was (and is) Jesus’ purpose in building this Church?

But even more, bear in mind that you are a living part of the Church, and its purposes are to be carried out in and through you. The builder, in his plan, has brought you into this mission, in this time and place. He has done so because you have a part in carrying out the purpose. Please don’t shrug off that notion. There’s a reason you are part of the Church, here and now. You are more than just a parishioner or just one more Christian among millions of others. Like Peter, you have been entrusted with part of the builder’s project, strengthening his Church. Who Jesus is to you, is answered in your response to his call and command.

^[1] (formed.org) Lectio: Peter: Episode 5: Peter and the Keys