“Whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”
This understanding emphasizes the interconnectedness between Christ’s mission, God, and the messengers within the one body of Christ, sent to share the divine message. It encourages seeing every encounter as an opportunity to reflect God’s love, to highlight the importance of spiritual openness. It calls for active participation in spreading Christ’s message through acts of kindness and justice. The text reminds readers of the dual role of being both recipients and bearers of God’s grace, encouraging transformative faith and service.
“Upon this rock, I will build my Church” (Matthew 16:18). As I reflected on today’s Gospel, John 13:16-20, the profound and divine act by which Christ founded His Church struck me, as He foretold that it would be done upon Peter. When I examined the first part of the pericope and its conclusion, I could not help but relate this to a new creation. Christ’s actions and Words are rooted in power, love, sacrifice, and a promise that transcends time. I thought about the beauty of this sacred foundation, grasping its meaning and significance for us as members of this eternal body of believers.
The Divine and Universal Declaration
“I will build my Church.” These words were spoken to Simon Peter, following his confession of faith that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. In this moment, Christ declared Peter the foundational stone, the first among equals, upon whom the Church would be built. But the foundation is not merely human; it is divine. Christ Himself is the cornerstone, uniting all believers in His grace and truth in a Church whose foundation is set firmly on rock.
Peter’s unique role as the “rock” signifies not only leadership and servitude, but also a foundational aspect that implies longevity, understood by the people of the time to be a characteristic of a building’s foundation when it is set upon rock, which will not fall. Peter was entrusted with the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, symbolizing authority and responsibility. Yet, Peter’s humanity reminds us that leadership in Christ’s Church is not about perfection but about faith and reliance on God. Through Peter’s journey—his strengths and struggles—we see a reflection of our walk with God, reminding us that the Church is built not on human merit but on divine grace and justified in that merit.
The Sacrificial Foundation
It is important to remember that the Church was not founded on triumphant declarations alone but through the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross. His death and resurrection are the cornerstone of the Church. A new creation is about to emerge with the inauguration of His priests at the Last Supper and the washing of their feet. A new creation born of water, the earthly component, here at the washing of the feet, and the Spirit component to come. We read in Joshua 3:12-17 the foreshadowing of the priesthood’s role in bringing God’s people into the promised land.
The Lord commands Joshua to have twelve priests carry the Ark of the Covenant and show his people the way. When the priests’ feet touch the waters, they part, and as the priests remain in the middle of the river, the whole of God’s chosen people are allowed to pass into the Promised Land. In John’s Gospel (13:8-20), Christ washes the twelve’s feet. Not that they need to be cleansed or purified (verse 10), but rather to grant them something they do not understand (verse 7), Christ’s inheritance (verse 8).
He is bringing the water of creation to them. As the Levite priests’ feet touched the Jordan waters, they opened up the pathway to the Promised Land via the Ark of the Old Covenant; so too, here Christ is initiating the new order of priests who will bring forth the new Covenant, the Blessed Sacrament of His body and Blood, the food of eternal life. Just as in a mirror, Christ is the reverse image of the Old Covenant, bringing in the new. Christ’s obedience is the reverse image of Adam’s disobedience: here, Christ brings the water to the feet of the priests to open the pathway for the new Covenant to lead His people to the promised land of eternal life with His inheritance, a mirror to what God brought forth through Joshua on the path to His people’s salvation.
All things must be born of water and the Spirit if they are to have eternal life, as Christ explained to Nicodemus, so too must His eternal Church be born of water and the Spirit. The water of creation has been brought to the newly formed clay of the chosen ones that will become the Church created upon the twelve, with Peter as its head. The Church, through its Bishops and priests, is called to conform itself to Christ intimately, in whose image it is created, who came not to be served but to serve (Mt 20:28), and, compelled by charity to the end (John 13:1), to give its life for the salvation of the whole human race.[i]
Christ’s Church, the bearer of the new Covenant, is born into eternal life when God’s breath touches its very soul, the foundation of the chosen ones, as we read in John 20:21-23—the breath of the Holy Spirit fell upon the whole of the Church. A new creation made in the likeness of Christ, created into eternal life through water and the Spirit, and the gates of hell will never prevail against it. Not as individuals separate from the whole, but as a new Creation of unity, His Church, one body in Christ.
I believe that the absence of Thomas was divine, that the new creation is for all, both then and now, who are chosen and accept the call into the priesthood, becoming new creations through the water and Spirit that Christ gives to the eleven present, who then pass to all generations to come in the Apostolic succession, which is the Catholic Church. However, the hardness of hearts remains with us, and the Church will have many weeds amongst the wheat, just as Judas Iscariot was also amongst the twelve in the new creation, we too, and all generations to come, will have our Judases.
The priestly order instituted by the Word Made Flesh, Christ Speaks, and the will of the Father is fulfilled. A foreshadowing is seen in Numbers 11:24-25 of those who are chosen.
Christ established the new Covenant through His blood, inviting humanity into an unbreakable and eternal relationship with God through His Church. Every brick of the Church is laid through the love and sacrifice of our Savior, whose transformative and creative Words have given us the Church we have, for that salvation to be manifested in us through the Mass.
The Gifts of the Spirit
Christ did not leave His Church unprepared. Once the Church as a new creation was complete, the Advocate, the bearer of wisdom, was sent. After His ascension, He sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, not as the creative force seen in Genesis or at the breathing of the Holy Spirit upon the eleven in the upper room, but rather as the prophetic and holy knowledge of the Father, empowering His disciples to carry out the mission of spreading the Gospel, mirroring the Spirit that was placed upon the elders of Numbers 11:24-25. The Spirit breathed life into the Church, uniting its members in love, purpose, and divine guidance. The gifts of the Spirit—wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord—continue to sustain and guide the Church in its mission.
The bearer of understanding, not personal interpretation (1 Peter 1:20), but the unified consent and decree of the Catholic Church, Christ creates. The Magisterium, the newly created life of the Church, made whole and complete, is the arbiter of righteousness and the Will of God, not as individuals but as a whole made up of individuals. The chosen of God declaring the Will of God through Christ and the creation that He gave us, His Church, built upon Peter, made anew in the ten, and made complete by the welcoming of Thomas and later Matthias. All of this foreshadows the Church as we know it today, empowered by the authority given to it upon its creation in John 20:21-22.
The Mission of the Church
Christ’s Church was founded with a clear mission: to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This Great Commission is both a privilege and a responsibility for every believer. The Church exists to proclaim the Gospel, nurture faith, and serve as a beacon of hope and love in a world that often feels dark and divided.
A Universal and Eternal Body
Walls or borders do not confine the Church; it is universal, encompassing believers across time, culture, and geography. It is the living body of Christ, a spiritual home for all who seek truth and salvation. Through the sacraments, the Word, and the community of faith, the Church continues to fulfill its mission, reflecting the light of Christ to the world.
As members of Christ’s Church, we are called to be active participants in this divine mission, living out our faith with courage and compassion, serving one another, and being witnesses to Christ’s love. It means embracing the teachings of the Church, seeking personal holiness, and contributing to the growth of this sacred community. Above all, it means trusting in the promise that the gates of Hades will not overcome the Church, for it is a new creation founded through and in Christ Himself.
Conclusion
The creation of Christ’s Church is not a monument but a living, breathing testament to God’s love and redemption. It is a community created in faith, sustained by grace, and destined for eternal glory. As members of this divine institution, let us honor its foundation by living lives that reflect the teachings and love of Christ, knowing that through Him, we are united as one body, one Spirit, and one eternal Church.
Amen.
[i] An excerpt from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 6 January 2016, Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. Robert Card. Sarah, Prefect