Brief synopsis of the readings: In the first reading from Isaiah, God addresses Shebna, master of the palace. God dismissed him in favor of Eliakim. God then tells Shebna all that Eliakim will be given, including this: “I place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; should he open, no one shall close, should he close, no one shall open.” In Matthew’s Gospel we find Jesus speaking with his disciples. Jesus asks them: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They throw out several answers: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Jesus then asked who they say Jesus is. Peter then said that he was “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Delighted, Jesus praised Peter and said his answer didn’t come from him but from “my Father in heaven.” He then told Peter that he will be the rock on which Jesus will build his church. He will be given the keys to the kingdom; whatever he binds on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever he looses on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Many years ago I spent a few summers as a counselor for 7 and 8 year old boys at a day camp. While they were fun to work with, there were times when they could be a handful. One day one of my fellow counselors reached the end of her rope with one of the campers and screamed at the top of her lungs: WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? And while I fully understood her frustration I couldn’t help but think she was asking a philosophical question that was probably beyond the understanding of an 8 year old boy.

The question of who we think we are, or who we think Jesus is, cuts to the quick of what it means to be human and a disciple of Jesus. It’s the starting point of how we see ourselves and the world around us. And it’s interesting that Jesus’ first question isn’t “Who do you think I am” but “Who do people think the Son on Man is?” The title “Son of Man” is one normally used in terms of the end of the world and salvation and the disciples may have thought he was asking about the Messiah. In that context their answers make some sense. They may have thought this would end the discussion.

But, as often happens, Jesus had bigger plans for them. He then asks them who they think he is, and I suspect we may have been putting the emphasis on the wrong word. Instead of “Who do you think I am,” maybe it’s more of “Who do you think I am?”

The fact that Peter responded first should probably not surprise anyone. For all his shortcomings he was an enthusiastic disciple. I sometime refer to him as having more gas pedal than steering wheel. But here he hit the nail on the head in recognizing that Jesus is the Son of the living God and he received what he wanted most: Jesus’ approval. He also got something else: a job promotion.

I think it’s worth asking what the other disciples were thinking. It sounds like this was kind of a setup. The Arthurian legend describes a sword (Excalibur) in a stone; the person who can withdraw the sword from the stone will be crowned king (who, of course, ended up being Arthur). So did Jesus’ praise come from Peter being smart enough to give the right answer, or was Peter given the right answer from God?

Well, Jesus appears to tip his hand by saying that Peter’s answer didn’t come from himself but from God. That is, God gave him the right answer as a way of telling Jesus who to pick. Many of us look on this type of thing with suspicion, wondering if we can see God’s work through the light of random events but I think this deserves special consideration.

Because, let’s be frank, Peter wasn’t simply the “head disciple,” he was given much greater responsibilities. Peter was far from perfect and we can’t look at him without recalling that on the night of the Last Supper he denied Jesus three times. But God sees things we don’t see and makes choices we wouldn’t make. In my career in hospice I had countless conversations with people who felt inadequate before God and I would remind them that “Peter denied Jesus three times and now he has the keys to the place.”

And we recognize Peter as our first Pope. Reading how Peter bumbled through much of Jesus’ ministry vs. seeing him as the clear leader in the Acts of the Apostles, it’s hard to imagine he’s the same person. In the years since his death we’ve attempted to find who God wishes to succeed him without having the ability find an answer to a question. It’s gone through many changes and in my lifetime we’ve seen 5 Popes chosen. I certainly don’t want to handicap how well we’ve done but I am impressed that after all these years we see the selection of a new Pope in the hopes that this is who God has chosen.

But I also think these readings have something to tell us about how we choose leaders today. Honestly, choosing a leader is hard, and it’s always a bit of a gamble. It doesn’t matter if we’re choosing the head of our homeowner’s association or the President we can’t predict the future. President Herbert Hoover was supposed to be a rock star and Pope John XXIII was supposed to be a placeholder for a few years and not do much.

We can’t begin to look at someone through God’s eyes but we can look beyond how someone looks or sells himself. Perhaps we should pay less attention to this person’s greatest win or worst loss but instead look at “ordinary time.” Is this person kind, generous, insightful and thoughtful? Is this person willing to listen for the will of God even from the least of us? Can this person put aside ego and serve for the good of all?

Perhaps we’ll never be able to fully answer my fellow counselor’s question “Who do you think you are?” but we can get closer if we try.