Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/022220.cfm
1 Peter 5:1-4
Matthew 16:13-19

As we continue our reflections throughout the years, we have moved around, first doing Wednesdays, our usual meeting days, and after cycling through 3 years of readings, changed to 3 years of Tuesdays, and so on.  We are now reflecting on the readings for the upcoming Saturday at our Wednesday gathering of the faithful in the mountain community of Woodland Park, Colorado.

The fact that we’re doing Saturday reading on Wednesday probably didn’t affect getting these specific readings today, the date did.  February 22 is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle in the Catholic Church, not just Saturday of the Sixth Week of Ordinary Time. So we have a set of readings that are part of every February 22.

The gospel reading is a very familiar reading. We are maybe 2 years or so into the public ministry of Jesus. He has performed many miracles, his cousin John the Baptist has been beheaded, and the feeding of the 5000 with bread and fishes has occurred recently. 

Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

Jesus has a follow-up question: “But who do you say that I am?”

As has often been the case, the impetuous Simon Peter is quick to answer “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.”

Often the sermon we hear in church explains that the name Peter and its translations mean “rock”, and that “upon this rock I will build my church” is Jesus giving leadership to Peter for what is to come. Roman Catholics see this as the anointing of the first leader of the church, first of the popes. The last part of the reading even gives great authority to Peter: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

At his point in the story, it’s a little early to take a victory lap.  We are only about 4 verses away in the same chapter of Matthew from Jesus calling Peter out for thinking like a human being, and not as God thinks. And as Jesus later approaches death on the cross, Peter will deny him three times. 

We started our reading today with a reading from 1 Peter. Scholars believe this was written thirty-some years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. I had a “what’s this?” moment when at the beginning, St. Peter starts out “So I exhort the presbyters among you .  .  .”  Is he talking to the Presbyterians? Well, no, a presbyter is a church elder. Move along, nothing to see here.

The older, more experience Peter says to the elders, “Tend the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

There’s a certain gentleness to how the first leader of the church is leading the church. Be as a shepherd, overseeing willingly, be an example, don’t shamefully profit. As Jesus told Peter he would receive the keys to heaven, Peter told the elders that they would receive the unfading crown of glory.

The psalm for today is Psalm 23 (The Lord is My Shepherd).  It was over 1000 years old during the life of Peter, a mainstay passed down through Jewish scripture. It is a loving God, tending his followers and protecting them, just as a shepherd would his sheep. It is probably the underpinnings of Peter’s letter to the presbyters.

I could have stopped here in my reflection, but that wasn’t to be. These readings, taken together, are very “Peter centric,” and were selected to celebrate the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle.

“Feast of the Chair” – what’s that all about?

It turns out, the feast is not about one chair, but three chairs!

The first chair in the celebration is a wooden throne was a gift from Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Bald to Pope John VIII in 875. At the time, it was thought to be THE chair that St. Peter sat upon while presiding over the infant church. It was referred to as a “relic” of the beginning of the Catholic Church. In religion, a relic usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangible memorial.

The relic itself is described as an oaken chair damaged by cuts and worms. The Chair has metal rings attached to each side, allowing use as a ceremonial mobile throne, carried on the shoulders. The back and front of the chair are trimmed with carved ivory. This description comes from 1867, when the relic was photographed and displayed for veneration.

That chair is now encased in a sculpted gilt bronze casing (a reliquary) designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and executed between 1647 and 1653. It is in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. The reliquary, like many of the medieval period, takes the form of the relic it protects, i.e. the form of a chair. Symbolically, the chair Bernini designed had no earthly counterpart in actual contemporary furnishings. It is formed entirely of scrolling members, enclosing a coved panel where the upholstery pattern is rendered as a low relief of Christ instructing Peter to tend to His sheep.

The stylized cathedra (carried chair) is lofted on splayed scrolling bars that appear to be effortlessly supported by four over-lifesize bronze Doctors of the Church: Western doctors Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine of Hippo on the outsides, wearing miters, and Eastern doctors Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Athanasius on the insides, both bare-headed. “Doctors” are a special class of saints recognized for the strength and power of their teachings. This title indicates that the writings and preachings of such a person are useful to Christians "in any age of the Church." Such men and women are also particularly known for the depth of understanding and the orthodoxy of their theological teachings.

The spectacular chair reliquary is almost 50 feet tall and weighs over 80 tons.  In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI described the chair as "a symbol of the special mission of Peter and his Successors to tend Christ’s flock, keeping it united in faith and in charity."

I mentioned a third chair. It is the chair of the Pope, the position as the head of the church, not a place to sit. It is the position held by Pope Francis today, a continuation of the leadership of the Catholic Church as first lead by St. Peter.

When we are celebrating the February 22 Feast of the Chair of St Peter the Apostle, we are remembering him through the venerated relic of the original chair, the magnificent reliquary that now holds it, and long succession of popes (chairs of the church) with the eternal words passed on to them to “tend their flocks.”