Whenever
I’ve heard this Gospel passage in the past, I’ve focused my attention on Simon’s
proclamation: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” and its stark
contrast to those others who haven’t quite figured Jesus out – still thinking
that perhaps the Son of Man is John the Baptist or Elijah or Jeremiah. And, of course, that is pretty important and
we shouldn’t lose sight of it. But this
week, as I was reflecting on the passage with a small group around the fire pit
on Tuesday evening, I saw the second half of the passage in a new way. I began to consider what it meant for Peter
to make that proclamation? In other words, how was Peter changed or asked to
change by virtue of this new understanding of his relationship with Jesus?
The
first time in Matthew’s gospel, when we hear that Jesus is the Son of God,
comes at his baptism which takes place before his public ministry or preaching,
healing, and proclaiming the good news has begun. Jesus goes to John at the River Jordan to be
baptized but John tries to stop Jesus by saying, “I need to be baptized by you,
and do you come to me?” Jesus acknowledges that John is right but says, “Let it
be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”
And then, as Jesus comes out of the water, a voice from heaven says “This is my Son, the
Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”[1]
This is the first time the gospel writer lets us know that this Jesus is,
indeed, the Son of God. Presumably there
are others at the River that day who heard the voice from heaven but, if that
is true, they remain silent - except John the Baptist, who sometime later,
while in prison, sends word by his disciples to Jesus to ask “Are you the one
who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” In other words, “are you the
Messiah?”[2]
And Jesus answers in words reminiscent of the prophet Isaiah: “Go and tell John
what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers
are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news
brought to them.”[3] In other words, “Yes, I am the one the world
has been waiting for.”
And
then, in today’s passage, Simon, dares to say the words for himself. Jesus asks
the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” and Simon answers, “You are the
Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And
with this proclamation, Jesus declares, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah!
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And
I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the
gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”[4] What a confirmation! Can you even imagine Simon in this
moment?! Not only is he told he has
spoken rightly but he receives the “keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Now, we have folks at St. Mark’s that aren’t
even sure they want keys to the building because of the responsibility it
incurs. So, can you even imagine this
kind of responsibility – the keys of the kingdom of heaven? And what’s more, Simon receives a blessing
from the Son of God - a blessing marked in the same way that blessings in the Hebrew
Scriptures – our Old Testament - are marked – by the changing of his name:
Abram becomes Abraham, Sarai becomes Sarah, Jacob becomes Israel, Simon becomes
Peter.
The
name Peter is Greek for “rock” or “stone.” And calling someone a rock has deep
roots in scripture. The prophet Isaiah,
for example, refers to Abraham and Sarah as the first rocks dug from the quarry
of righteousness.[5] Later in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus refers to
himself as “the cornerstone” and in 1 Peter, those who would follow Jesus are
referred to as “living stones.”[6] And so, in today’s passage, Simon becomes
Peter and is told that he is the rock on which God’s church will be built. And this came about because Peter proclaimed
Jesus as the Son of God. Keys of the kingdom of heaven, a new name, and much
new responsibility. Because in this
exchange a new relationship is forged between Jesus the Messiah and Simon
Peter; it is a covenant relationship – a relationship of deep trust and love
and a relationship in which much is given by Jesus but from which much also is
expected of Peter for whatever he binds on earth will be bound in heaven, and
whatever he looses on earth will be loosed in heaven. In other words, Peter, through his proclamation
of Jesus as the Son of God, is given much responsibility.
You
and I also proclaim Jesus as the Son of God. Every week as we stand together to
reaffirm our faith using the words of The Nicene Creed, we proclaim our belief “in
one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God.”[7]
And when we do, we are put in mind of
the first time those words were proclaimed either by our own lips or by the
lips of parents or godparents at our baptism when we are asked, “Do you believe
in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?” and we proclaim, “I believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord.”[8] In our baptism, we join with Peter, “the Rock”
and receive our place as “living stones” of God’s Church in the world. And like Peter, we too are given great responsibility.
Peter is given the keys of the kingdom of heaven and so too are we. Just as Jesus says “Go and tell John [the
Baptist] what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk,
the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have
good news brought to them,” so too, in our baptism, we promise that we will
accept the responsibility of joining with God in this ongoing work:
· by clearing away our
own blindness caused by evil and sin,
· by tirelessly working
to heal a world made weary by violence and injustice,
· by opening our deaf
ears to the cries of our neighbors,
· by sharing examples of gratitude
and grace in our lives as everyday witnesses to the power of the resurrection, and
· by proclaiming the Good
News of God in Christ by word and example in all that we do.
And in
our baptism, like Peter, we too are blessed as we receive our new name: “Christ’s
own for ever” and member of “the household of God.”[9]
[1]
Matthew 3:13-17.
[2]
Matthew 11:2-3.
[3]
Matthew 11:4-5; cf., Isaiah 29:18-19, 35:5-6, 42:18, 61:1.
[4]
Matthew 16:15-18.
[5]
Isaiah 51:1-2.
[6] Matthew
21:42, 1 Peter 2:4-5.
[7] “The
Nicene Creed,” The Book of Common Prayer,
1979, p. 358.
[8] “The
Baptismal Covenant,” The Book of Common
Prayer, 1979, p. 304.
[9] “The
Baptism,” The Book of Common Prayer, 1979,
p. 308.
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