|
Matthew 16: 13–20
|
|
Lord, may we hear your voice in the words spoken in your Name. Amen.
|
There weren’t any blue books and the disciples were not chewing
nervously on the ends of their number two pencils, but all the same it
was final examination time at Caesarea Philippi. Until that time Jesus
had kept his disciples in the rural backwaters of Galilee – which
in those days was something like Israel’s Bible Belt. As long as
they ministered there, they were preaching to the choir, because by and
large, their audience was receptive to what Jesus had to tell them. But
now Jesus was setting his face like a flint toward Jerusalem. And he,
at least, realized that their welcome in that city would not be a warm one.
|
|
So now, just before they set out, he was trying to find out how much of
their mission his disciples really understood. Were they ready for all
that awaited them in Jerusalem – and beyond? Their very
lives might depend on it. His first question to them was an easy one,
a long, slow pitch right across the plate. “Who do men say that
I am?” he asked. And eagerly they answered him, rehearsing
every word they had heard on the street. “Some say you’re
John the Baptist, returned from the dead,” they said. “But
others say Elijah or one of the other prophets of Israel, because they
know you’re a prophet, sent by God.”
|
|
Then they sat back, anticipating the teacher’s praise. Instead,
he asked them another question . . . and
this one was much harder. “But who do you say that
I am?” he asked. If there had been a yellow pencil to chew on,
they would have been chewing on theirs right now. How do you answer a
question like that? How do you say, in just a few words, everything
Jesus means to you? How do you sum up your relationship to him?
You and I, with the benefit of a couple of creeds and thousands of years
of theology, might be able to stammer out a couple of phrases. But the
disciples were stumped – until Peter suddenly blurted
out – “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”
|
|
And instantly Jesus’ face was wreathed in
smiles – “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah!”
he exclaimed. “There is only one person who could have revealed
that answer to you – and that’s my Father in heaven.
Now I know you’ve been praying! Now I know you’ve
been listening! And because you have, I tell you this: You
shall be known as Simon no longer. You shall be called Peter. And on
this rock I will build my Church.”
|
|
Only now the other disciples were really confused. “Peter?
Jesus was going to build his new Church on a foundation like
Peter? Peter wasn’t a rock – a blockhead, maybe,
but not a rock. Peter was impulsive. Peter was arrogant. Peter thinks
he can walk on water, just like you, Jesus. Peter gets his mouth going
long before his mind is in gear. Peter wasn’t a foundation for
anything. Why would Jesus pick somebody like Peter?”
|
|
But you know, Peter does not mean “rock,” exactly. It
means “little rock” – as in “pebble.”
Jesus praises Peter because with all his limitations, Peter is learning
to turn to God for help. And because he has begun to listen, he has
begun to hear from God. He has entered into relationship, into
partnership with God. God speaks and Peter listens. And it’s on
that basis that Jesus can rejoice, knowing that his Church will
one day be in capable hands.
|
|
We’re on holy ground here, and we have to tread lightly. Just
as Moses was on holy ground when he approached that burning bush in
the desert – only to hear a voice speak to him from the flames.
Moses knew his limitations. “Me, go speak to Pharaoh in your
Name, Lord? Pharaoh would never listen to me, Lord. I’m just
a little guy. A little guy who doesn’t speak very well.”
|
|
Well, Peter was well on his way to becoming like Moses – a great
spokesman for God. Not because he was eloquent or learned – but
because he was learning to listen to God, because he was learning to
partner with God.
|
|
That partnership with God is what our faith is all about, you know.
The prophets promised us Emmanuel, or “God with us”. And
that’s what Jesus was. He was God — with us. But after
he was crucified and rose again from the dead, He sent the Holy Spirit
to dwell – not just with us, but in us. So in
everything we do, in everything we ask his help for, we are partnering
with God.
|
|
That’s why Jesus could exclaim, “Blessed are you,
Simon son of Jonah. Blessed are you. Not because you are great
in your own strength – far from it. But because you’ve
begun to partner with God, to listen to him, the very life of God
can now flow through you.”
|
|
And, of course, he doesn’t say that to Peter alone. He says it
to all of us, to all who try to talk to him, all who try to listen,
all who try to do what we think we hear him say. To all of us he says,
|
|
Blessed are you. For on
you . . . and through
you . . . and with
you . . . I will build my Church.
|
|
Amen
|
