21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (8/23/2026)

Fr. David often reminds us that the Sunday readings are connected, and today that connection is especially powerful. Isaiah tells us about the “key of the House of David” being given to Eliakim, while in today’s Gospel, Jesus—the Son of David—gives the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to Peter, appointing him to proclaim the faith with authority. And what does Peter proclaim? The kerygma, the Greek word for “proclamation”: the heart of the Good News. The kerygma isn’t primarily about what we do for God—loving our neighbor or evangelizing others—but about what God has done for us. Jesus, the Son of God, suffered, died, and rose from the dead so that we could be forgiven, freed from sin, and have eternal life. That is the Good News. As St. John reminds us, “not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son.” So before we talk about how we should live as Christians, let’s remember what Christianity is really about: Jesus died and rose so we could have eternal life. That is the Gospel Peter proclaimed, the faith handed down to us, and the Good News we are called to learn, live, and share.