Yesterday St. Mark’s version of the conversation between Jesus and Peter at Caesarea Philippi ended with the Lord telling the apostle, “Get behind me, Satan. You are not thinking as God thinks.” In St. Matthew’s telling the highlight of the scene is Jesus saying to Peter, You are the Rock “and upon this rock I will build my Church.” So which is it? Is Peter a satan or a rock? Of course, he was both. Which is it for us as those who share the faith of Peter? Do we think in merely human terms or are we the reliable place that prevails against the gates of hell? Of course, we are both. That is why being church is a constant call to conversion.
