Homily for 25 Nov 2016

25 Nov 2016

When Jesus asked Peter if Peter was going to leave him like all the rest, Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of everlasting life.”  And at that moment (if not before) Peter’s name began to be written in the Book of Life.  We hear about this book from St. John. 

As he is shown the visions in heaven, John reports that “another scroll was opened, the book of life.  The dead were judged according to their deeds, by what was written in the scrolls.”  The dead were judged according to their deeds, where the most important “deed” is to hang onto what is eternal. 

What did Jesus say in the Gospel: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”  In other words, Peter was right when he said: “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of everlasting life.”  The teachings of the Lord, the truths he speaks, his words of forgiveness, his words that cause the world to be created—the Word of God lasts forever.  What more perfect “deed” can there be for us than to internalize that everlasting Word?

That’s the “deed” that puts our name into the Book of Life: saying as Peter did, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of everlasting life.  You alone.  Teach me, shepherd me, love me; you alone are God.”