AUG. 21, 2005 PASTOR SCOTT FULLER
IS 51:1-6; PS 138; ROMANS 12:1-8; MATT 16:13-20
Blessed be the Rock
Prepare our hearts, Lord, to receive your Word. Silence in us any voice but your own that in hearing we believe and in believing we obey your will revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dear friends in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our Gospel for today brings us down to the bedrock of Jesus’ experience in life. At this point in his ministry, the Lord is well-received by the rabble… and an enemy of the establishment. When he asks, Who do people say that the Son of Man is? the disciples’ answers show just how much hope the common folk have in him.
While some say John the Baptist, the greatest “modern” prophet, others say Elijah, the greatest prophet ever; either way, Jesus stands in pretty good company…But that’s not what he’s looking for. Instead, he turns to his followers and says, But who do you say that I am? Simon hardly seems to hesitate when he confesses, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.
Jesus does something strange in reply. He changes Simon’s name to Peter or Petros, which sounds a lot like petra, the Greek word for rock. Then the Lord brings the two together in a pun when he says You are Petros and on this petra I will build my church…
Now, that’s clever…but what does it mean? It’s kind of hard to tell if Jesus is just playing word games or if there’s something else going on here.
What are some good things that we know about this Simon or Petros?
Pos: passionate, spoke his mind, a leader (along with James and John)
So we could say that Peter is as solid as a rock…which could be both good and bad. During Vacation Bible School we looked at the story about the day that Peter sank like a rock. Early one dark, stormy morning the disciples were on a boat and were scared. When they saw Jesus walking toward them on the water they were even more frightened because he looked like a ghost. But soon the Lord spoke to them and calmed their fears.
Then Peter got the great idea: wouldn’t it be cool if I could do that too? He called out to Jesus, “Hey, Lord, let me join you!” “Suit yourself,” said the Master and quick as a wink, Peter was out of the boat wading through the water. But then he started thinking about what he was doing out there among the wind and the waves, got scared, and suddenly our Petros began to sink like a petra…
Yet there’s one experience of sin for which Peter is universally famous. It happened on the night in which Jesus was betrayed by Judas…does anyone remember the story? While Jesus was being interrogated, three times Peter was accused of being his disciple…and three times he denied it, just as Jesus predicted. Says the Gospel writer Luke, While Peter was still speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord…and he went out and wept bitterly (Luke 22:60-62).
This is one of the most painful pictures of how sin divides us. It’s been that way since Adam and Eve. The story of their rebellion against God’s command forever defines for everyone the ways that sin divides.
What’s the first thing this first-couple does after they eat the fruit and their eyes are opened? They sew fig leaves to cover their nakedness. Sin divided them… internally: they are suddenly embarrassed, disappointed, less-than-content with how God had created them.
Their very next act is to run and hide from God. Sin divides them from the Creator who made them in love to love and be loved.
What happens when God confronts them? They pass the buck. Sin divides them from each other. And what’s the result of God’s punishment? They find pain in labor. Sin divides them from creation.
SIN divides us…and there is only one thing that can unite us.
Ten years ago a woman was training for the Olympics by riding her bike on a dirt road in western Oregon. A man driving a logging truck came up behind her and intentionally ran her off the road. She had multiple injuries and spent months in recovery. The man was arrested and, though he claimed he was innocent, a jury found him guilty and sent him to jail.
After his sentencing, he asked if he might speak to his victim. The judge relayed this unusual request to the woman and she agreed. When the man finally met her, he broke down, confessed what he’d done, and asked for the woman’s forgiveness. He still had to go to jail, but only with that woman’s gift of forgiveness could he begin to heal. Sin divides…forgiveness unites.
One day Peter asks Jesus, If someone sins against me, how often should I forgive – seven times? (He was being generous). Jesus says to him, not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times (Matthew 18:21-22).
Forgiveness is of absolute importance to Jesus. He worked it into the very prayer that we call by his name (forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us) and into the meal we call his Supper (take, eat and drink, this is my body and blood, given and shed for the forgiveness of sins).
In short, Jesus wants us to be healthy, life-giving, forgiven and forgiving servants so that all people will come to know God as love. That, I believe, is the petra or rock upon which Jesus built the Church and thanks to old Petros or Peter, we see how well it works. Sin divides…forgiveness unites. Thanks be to God. Amen.