Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle

Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter

As sacred as Lent is, and the preparation for Easter, the Church sheds its purple on a few feast days, to celebrate some of our beloved saints – especially Saints Patrick, Joseph and Peter.

The Chair of Saint Peter is, of course, the papacy. Celebrating a chair might seem odd to the literal-minded, imagination-impaired American until we remember that, even here in the United States, universities maintain endowed “chairs” for its distinguished professors. Meetings are usually chaired by the chairperson who says, “The Chair will entertain a motion to….”

Yesterday we remembered Jesus’ adamantine obedience. He cannot be moved by intense hunger, avarice or vanity to turn his back on God. It’s impossible. Satan cannot imagine the joyous, eager willingness of Jesus to serve God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.

The feast of the Chair of Peter reminds us of the obedience we owe to our church. This is not simply the Pope who is, after all, far removed from our daily life.  

(That reminds me of a funny incident: during the last conclave after Pope John Paul II died, I stopped by a hospital in Minnesota to visit someone. A woman at the information desk was surprised to see me. She thought I would be very busy with something about the papal election. I assured her they had my cell phone number if they needed any help from me.)

Here in the United States the so-called spiritual has a kind of hegemony that allows little room for the Church or “institutional religion.” You hear remarks like, “I’m sure God doesn’t care which church you go to, so long as you go.” or “What difference does it make if I stand, kneel or sit during the Mass? God knows I am there.”

But the Church is important. it exists in it own right and it matters because God has created us as social creatures. We belong to one another, learn from and imitate one another. We must obey one another. Without authority the individual descends into insanity. God in his mercy has given right authority over me to the Pope and his appointees. 

I will confess as a young man I felt ambivalent about authority and I will always struggle to attain the virtue of obedience. But I was shocked into gratitude for the authority of the Church after November 18, 1978. Wikipedia says of that day:

James Warren "Jim" Jones was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 death of more than 900 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana along with the deaths of nine other people at a nearby airstrip and in Georgetown, Guyana….

The greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of September 11, 2001, the tragedy at Guyana also ranks among the largest mass suicides in history. One of those who died at the nearby airstrip was Leo Ryan, who became the only Congressman murdered in the line of duty in the history of the United States.

When the headlines first came out of Guyana, I thought, “What are those strange people doing in their jungle villages?”  But they weren’t strange people; they were Americans, worshiping the same God and saluting the same flag and fiercely devoted to the same “freedom” that I was taught to love.

Human beings are sheep. We have an instinct for flocking to find sustenance, pleasure and security. Refusing to follow good authorities, we find wicked ones. Any one of us might suppose, “I am above the rest. I can think for myself, reason for myself, decide for myself and protect myself.” That vanity will blind me to my reliance on others. I will not notice the conscientious people who provide my tap water, safe food and clean air. I will ignore the guardians of streets and bridges and buildings and the entire infrastructure that enables my “free” way of life.

Worse, I will develop a religion for myself, prey to all the really stupid ideas around me. Most of these ideas are not as outrageous as “The People’s Temple” but they can do harm. They are usually promoted by well-intentioned but misguided people.

The Chair of Peter provides as much spiritual assurance as we will ever find in this world. Wicked priests and bishops can be disciplined; well-instructed, responsible Catholics can blow the whistle on bad leaders. It is certainly not a perfect system, as recent events have demonstrated. It is human and by definition, imperfect. But it enjoys the guidance of the Holy Spirit who shepherds us throughout the centuries.

We thank God for the flocking instinct that brings us before the Chair of Saint Peter and we pray daily for our shepherds: the pope, bishops and priests.