(In lieu of a homily for Palm Sunday, the following reader’s guide was read before the Passion.)
Peter and Judas are prominent in all the Passion stories, but it is only in Matthew, which we read today, that they, or rather their fates, are clearly contrasted. Both know they are sinners but take vastly different paths,
Peter was the spokesman for the Apostles and although he often put his foot in his mouth, he was rewarded for his exuberance. His declaration of faith in Jesus as the Messiah is reported in Matthew, Mark, and Luke but only in Matthew is he renamed the rock, and only here is he given the keys to the kingdom. (Mat. 16:13-19) He is unquestionably the most honored of the apostles. Yet as in Mark and Luke when he argues with Jesus over Jesus’ prophecy of his impending execution, he is called Satan, a stumbling block. (Mat. 16:23) The harshest words ever spoken by Jesus.
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