An intriguing symbol

In front of the presbytery in Ba there is a huge rock. Like a statue it has been placed on a solid platform. My understanding was that it was brought down from the village of Navala, the largest of the 13 or so villages that are located within the boundaries of the parish and which have Catholic families. This was done during the time of the building of the new church under the new name of Christ the King parish. It symbolises unity and stability within a parish of many scattered communities. It is an intriguing symbol. It comes to mind in the light of today’s two readings. The first is from the book of Numbers 20:1-13 which tells the story of the time when the people took up the journey into the desert. Before long the people began to complain because there was no figs, no vines, no pomegranates and even no water. Moses was instructed by God to gather the people in front of a rock and to strike the rock with a branch and out flowed the waters of Meribah. The gospel reading from Matthew 16:13-23, tells of the occasion when Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” When Simon answered “you are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus gave him the new name of Peter which means rock. He went on further to say that Peter would be the rock upon which he would build his church. In the light of Peter’s later failure to stand by Jesus as he faced possible execution, it was a very shaky foundation. In these readings rocks symbolised life and trust in the most unlikely of circumstances, in a place of death, the desert, and in the naming of one who would arouse deep concern so soon after his profession of faith by urging Jesus to avoid the path of suffering and death. It is a strange symbol. Yet it brings us close to the earth, the rough and jagged nature of our environment and our humanity. Let us touch the rough and rocky edges of our own lives and trust that we are among those unlikely characters in whom God entrusts the future of his church.

 

Tom Rouse