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St. Charles Episcopal Church - Saint Charles, IL
The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 16 RCL Year A
Sunday,August 21, 2011
Exodus 1:8-2:10 – Psalm 124 – Romans 12:1-8 – Matthew 16:13-20
Rev. William R. Nesbit, Jr.
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” In the silence that followed, the world turned.
“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus looked on Simon with love and pity, and again the world turned.
“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it..”
Did either of them know at the time. I wonder, the awe-filled and awful forces they would set in motion with that brief exchange. Forces that would literally change the face of an entire planet. Jesus calls himself the Son of Man, but impulsive Peter, perhaps remembering the walking on water incident from just two weeks ago replies, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” It would not be all that long before Peter would be shouting, “I do not know the man!” But still Jesus continues, “You are Peter, the Rock.” Perhaps this was the first time that Jesus had given him his title. Certainly it is the first time in the Gospel.
I read in one article about this passage that this is the first time that either the Greek word Ðýôñïò(Petros) or the Arameic word Cephas were ever used as a name. It has become so common in our culture to call someone of steady character “the Rock” that I find this difficult to believe. Even more so when I reflect on the steady character of Simon, Son of Jonah.
Perhaps Jesus was being ironic and what he really meant was, “Upon you, representative as you are of human frailty, I shall build the community of disciples that is to be called the Church. Whatever trials the church may experience in times to come, the power of hell shall not prevail against it. To the Church that you must lead I give the keys of the Kingdom of heaven.
Here on earth the Church shall declare what is required of people (bound) and what is left to personal judgement (loosed). And what you declare on earth shall be ratified in heaven.” Either way, it really doesn’t matter. When you really look at all that has been given to us it is amazing!
What an awesome responsibility. We have been given the responsibility of representing Christ to the world today. So to ask the people around us who they think Christ is, would be one way to get a read on how well we are doing. For us Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, at least that is what we say to ourselves. But how do we act to others?
You see, the real test of our faith and how well we are living up to God’s expectations is not what we do here in church, but what we do out there in the world. God’s expectations for us sound like some pretty high standards, but always remember that God loves us first and foremost, regardless of his expectations.
Some of you may or may not know that I am a big fan of J. R. R. Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings. There is a scene where the protagonist of the story, Frodo, comes to a decision that will change his life, and indeed all of Middle Earth. This scene always reminds me of the story we heard in our Gospel this morning because it is a point upon which the whole rest of the story hinges.
Frodo has carried the great Ring of Power from the village where he lives, through great peril, to Rivendell, an enclave of the Elves ruled by Elrond, there to turn it over to the wise. Frodo is a hobbit, one of the little people, a race known for gardeners, when known at all by the outside world. As Frodo sits at a council of the wise, he watches and listens to the debate about what to do with the Ring. The Ring must be sent into the land of the enemy to be destroyed and the wise don’t trust each other, or themselves enough to take even temporary control of the dangerous ring in order to accomplish this difficult task. The debate is a little different in the book, being much less heated than it is in the movie, but the result is still the same. They cannot move forward.
No one answered. The noon-bell rang. Still no one spoke. Frodo glanced at all the faces, but they were not turned to him. All the Council sat with downcast eyes, as if in deep thought. A great dread fell on him, as if he was awaiting the pronouncement of some doom that he had long foreseen and vainly hoped might after all never be spoken. An overwhelming longing to rest and remain at peace by Bilbo’s side in Rivendell filled all his heart. At last with an effort he spoke, and wondered to hear his own words, as if some other will was using his small voice.'I will take the Ring,' he said, 'though I do not know the way.' Elrond raised his eyes and looked at him, and Frodo felt his heart pierced by the sudden keenness of the glance. ‘If I understand aright all that I have heard,’ he said, ‘I think that this task is appointed for you, Frodo; and that if you do not find a way, no one will. This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the great.
[The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter 2, p. 284]
In Frodo’s simple statement, “I will take the ring, though I do not know the way,” a way is found that will eventually bring down the towers, and confound the counsels, of the great. In Simon, son of Jonah’s simple confession, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” a church is founded that has shaped the world for thousands of years. Like Frodo’s path, the path that lies ahead for Simon Peter will be difficult, and will at times put him in conflict with those around him. As Simon Peter is the progenitor of all of us in the church, so we too find ourselves walking on that same path.
We may not always know how to be Christ in the world, but God loves us anyway, and in that love a way is found. The first and most important step to being the church, is loving God and knowing that you are loved in return, indeed, loved even before you learn to love God.
It is so easy to forget this deep truth, when you live in a land where the law is king; where rules are taught even before language. Where the first formal instruction we give to our young is the concept of no and yes. I believe that is why Jesus tells his disciples to keep their newfound awareness of his status as Messiah, the Son of the living God, a secret. Not because it wasn't worthy of being shared, but because the world did not yet know that he was to be an altogether different kind of Messiah. The power he was coming to share, was the power of love given freely with no expectation of anything in return.
We must remember that the power he has given to us in the church, the special power to bind and to loose, is altogether different than what the world would see as power, for it is power tied to love and given freely. It is not the power to condemn those different than yourself, though it is all too often misused in this manner. It is not the power to confirm our own good behavior, though it is often misused in this manner as well. It is the power to love first, and then speak the truth, if necessary, in the midst of that love.
It is an awesome power. The power to stop the devil in his tracks. Indeed it can stop all the powers of hell. It is a power we don’t use nearly enough...and we should. Just once this week, take up that awesome power given to you by a God that loves you wildly. Condemn the fear, or anger, or guilt within you and cast its weight upon God. Forgive the fear, or anger, or guilt in someone else. Love somebody who doesn’t deserve it, expecting nothing, and I mean nothing, in return. Do it, not because I told you to, or because God wants you to, though both are good excuses, but because it is the right thing to do; it is the way one lives in the kingdom of God.
If you don’t know the way, remember to take Jesus with you. Remember, He is the way. Amen.