Pentecost 10

Pentecost 10 “You are the Christ. You are Peter. (Matthew 16:13-20)

“Who do people say that I am?” Jesus asked his apostles.

This was a very important question with serious implications. Jesus clearly was a unique and powerful individual. If he were a prophet he could speak the word of God and write scripture. If he were the Messiah, he could fulfill the prophecies about the Messiah. For many if not most people in Israel that had a significant political, economic and military impact on society.

Peter had the right answer. You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Unfortunately in the verses that follow this passage we read that Peter also had the wrong understanding.

Peter had the right answer because God the Father had revealed it to him. As we see in this passage, the revelation of God does not over ride the personality or the will of the person who receives the revelation. There is no guarantee that the person who receives the revelation will accept the new reality the revelation brings.
This was certainly true for Peter. He got the point that Jesus was the Messiah. Then, by his own will he chose to define the Messiah within the politics of his time.

We see this as Jesus begins to explain just what the Messiah must do. He must go to Jerusalem. He must be betrayed. He must be tortured, tried, convicted and executed.
This was not what people expected of the Messiah. It was contrary to what Peter and the other disciples wanted from Jesus. So Peter says, God forbid that this should ever happen to you.

Peter missed his moment. Revelation did not override Peter’s sin nature or guarantee Peter would have the infallible understanding of divine truth. Peter chose to rely on his cultural bias rather that the Bible to understand the revelation he received. It was the first time Peter had faltered. It would not be the last.

Peter never was the rock upon which Jesus would build the Church. No human being can hold such a burden. The rock is Christ himself. Only he has the ability to sustain the church, the body of Christ, you and I and all believers everywhere.

When Jesus says to Peter, you are Peter, the Greek text is very precise in its choice of words. A more literal translation of the verse reads: You are Peter (a stone) and on this the rock (Christ himself) I will build my church.

In the metaphorical language of the Old and New Testament the “rock” is always a symbol of God. It never represents a political or religious leader, a prophet, priest or king.

The church is the body of Christ and the Bride of Christ. Christ did not create the church through Peter. Christ sent the Holy Spirit to give birth to the Church on the day of Pentecost.

Peter was certainly a respected leader in the early church. He did not have a unique leadership role. James, the step brother of Jesus, held that role as the first bishop of Jerusalem.

None of the other apostles believed Peter was the rock on whom Jesus was building His church. We read in Scripture how Peter was wrong on two very important issues: should the church preach the gospel to the Gentiles? And, do the Gentiles need to become Jews before they can become Christians?

The question led to the first serious dispute within the Church. The apostles did not turn to Peter and say: you are the infallible vicar of Christ on earth. You decide. The apostles turned to James who convened a council. The council studied scripture, prayed, heard testimony from Paul about the amazing response among the Gentiles to the message of Christ.

The council decided. James issued the decision. Peter accepted the decision. This in fact was the pattern for the church for the first thousand years of its history. No one bishop claimed universal leadership and lordship over the entire church. When the bishop of Rome later made such a claim, the universal church split into two branches in the Great Schism of the year 1054 and finally fractured into thousands of denominations during the 16th century Reformation religious wars.

The purpose of this passage of scripture was never to address the issue of who is in charge. The purpose is to reveal that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God; and, that his own disciples could not accept the meaning and purpose of the Messiah. All people tend to redefine Jesus according to our own needs, desires, and cultural bias.

That is why the solid rock foundation for the Church can only be Jesus himself. The rest of us are fallible, confused, and growing in grace. Only Jesus is the infallible representative of God the Father to a lost and rebellious humanity.
Jesus and Jesus alone is the intermediary between God and humanity.

We dishonor Peter if we attempt to make him hold the impossible burden of being the solid rock foundation for the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ. No human being can hold that role.

When Jesus speaks the words: I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, he speaks to all of the apostles not just to Peter. How do we know this? The apostle John clarifies this for us when he records Jesus repeating these same words to the apostles after his resurrection. John is very clear that Jesus speaks to all of the apostles and not just to Peter.
What are the keys? They refer to the sacrament of reconciliation. The apostles conferred this authority to the bishops and the bishops conferred it to the priests. It is the authority of the clergy to pronounce the abolution and forgiveness of sins in Jesus name and by Jesus’ steadfast holy and eternal love.

Peter wasn’t quite there yet that day. He had the words. He missed the meaning. That is the human condition. We are all a work in process. We are all on a spiritual pilgrimage. None of us will ever be perfect or infallible in this world. That is why Jesus told his apostles that leaders need to be servants who cultivate humility.
The constant prayer of all believers is the prayer Jesus prayed: Heavenly Father, not my will but your will be done.

The keys to the Kingdom are the unmerited favor of God combined with the unconditional love of God in Jesus Christ. The solid rock foundation of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic church is and can only be the incarnate co-eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ.

It is as we say to Jesus you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God that Jesus says to us: and you are you. You are the beloved of the co-eternal beloved. And, in that love, the gates of hell will not prevail against you.