This commentary contrasts the proud steward Shebna with the faithful Eliakim, listens for Peter’s confession, and lingers in Paul’s doxology, to show how the liturgy of the Mass exposes the two types of people in the world and gives us the answer to the question Christ still asks.
First Reading (Isaiah 22:19-23): The arrogant Shebna is removed from office and replaced by the humble Eliakim, who is given the key of the House of David: “What he opens, no one will shut; what he shuts, no one will open.”
Second Reading (Romans 11:33-36): Paul breaks into doxology: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!”
Gospel (Matthew 16:13-20): “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Peter answers, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” and receives the keys of the kingdom — Eliakim’s prophecy fulfilled in Christ’s Church.
Liturgical Connection: The Mass is a divinely ordered cheat sheet to the most important question we will ever face. Every day, from the rising of the sun until its setting, it reveals who the Son of Man is and offers Him to us under the appearance of bread and wine.
Key Message: There are two types of people in this world, the humble and those who are about to be humbled. The liturgy is food for the first and a point of conviction for the second. Be in the world what you have received through the liturgy.
