Peter's confession can therefore be considered a kind of manifestation of the highest reverence and trust that the Apostles showed to Jesus. Meanwhile, to their utter surprise and even inner opposition, the Lord Jesus stated, announcing his dramatic fate in Jerusalem: "The Son of Man must suffer much: he will be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes; he shall be slain" (Luke 9:22). Could it be that in the event described by St. Luke, the Ecclesiastic sequence of events is to come to the fore, in which after the "time of giving birth" must inevitably come the "time of dying", and after the "time of planting", that is, the time of sowing the seed of the Kingdom of God, there must inexorably come the "time of uprooting" this good and this hope that have sprouted in human hearts?
Fortunately, this is not the case. For there is one fundamental difference between the time of Christ and His Kingdom and the time of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes' time is closed time. It is a time of constant returns of what has already been and what has already happened. Hence, a wheel is its symbol. The famous words of the Book of Ecclesiastes sound almost like an oracle: "What was will be again, what has been done, will be done again, and there is nothing new under the sun! Take anything which people acclaim as being new: it existed in the centuries preceding us.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10).
On the other hand, the time revealed and realized by Christ, the time of salvation, is an open time, looking to the future. Its symbol is an arrow. In fact, it is in these terms that it is necessary to interpret the words that Jesus addressed to Nicodemus during his nocturnal conversation at the beginning of his public ministry: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (Jn 3.16) Similarly, Christ's words referring to His Parousia must be understood when the history of the world comes to an end, and thus the end of earthly time, and eternity begins: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, then He will take seat on His throne of glory. And all nations will be assembled before Him.” (Mt 25:31-32).
This is the – open - time of Christ. This is also the time of the Church, so poignantly expressed in this particular dialogue, which was handed down to us in the last verses of the Book that concludes the New Testament – in the Apocalypse of St. John. For Christ says to his Bride, that is, to the Church: "Indeed, I will come soon," and the Bride responds to Him, crying: "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev 22:20). This open time of the Church is constantly realized in every Eucharist celebrated on all the altars of the world. Its expression is the acclamation of the People of God just after the Transubstantiation: "We proclaim Your death, o Lord Jesus Christ, and profess Your resurrection unit You come again”
Lateran, September 23, 2022
