1 Sunday, August 21, 2005 Glory of God Lutheran, Wheat Ridge, CO Pastor Dena Williams The Holy Gospel

according to the community of St. Matthew in the 16th Chapter Glory to you, O Lord Notes: Jesus is busy! His ministry of healing and miracles and compassion reaches the ears of the leaders of the temple at Jerusalem. Those leaders are suspicious and they recently came to him a couple of times asking questions about the tradition and how he views the law of God. Jesus is moving around the country side from place to place, spreading his message. In todays Gospel he moved once again. He gathers his friends around him. He has a question for them . . . and for us. Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "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.

2 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, O Christ Peter, who? Peter, who? One might ask. There were no confirmation hearings, no general election, no vote of the senate, no review of his positions or his career to date. We dont even know if he inhaled! Peter, who? Matthew only mentions Peter three times in his story until now. The first time is when Jesus walks by the Sea of Galilee, he sees two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea for they are fishermen. And Jesus says to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." Immediately they leave their nets and follow him. Are you sure Jesus? Is this really someone you want to follow you? Fishing is a good and honorable profession, but we dont even know if Peter is very successful at it. What about his family? There might be skeletons in his closet. What about those years at Hebrew School as a kid? Wonder if he made good grades? Did he behave?

3 Or did he do some carrying on with Andrew and the other boys out behind the synagogue? Peter, who? Matthew mentions Peter again, a few chapters later. Jesus summons his twelve disciples and gives them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; theres James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sends out with the following instructions: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Is there a clue here? Matthew puts Peter first in the list. That might be a good sign of his character. Seems hes at the top of his class. But then the list also contains the name of Judas Iscariot. One could say that Peter doesnt always keep good company. Then theres that business about Jesus sending his followers, not to all people, but only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Peter stays with him anyway, even though it appears Jesus isnt really interested in saving the whole world,

4 but only the Israelites. Why doesnt Peter leave the group when he hears Jesus make such a narrow statement? It isnt until several episodes later that Jesus seems to change his mind, then when he does change his mind, he seems to lose it completely, not only taking in the Samaritans, but the Canaanites too, including even the women! The next time Matthew mentions Peter in his story, he actually gets a line. Jesus is being questioned by the leaders of the temple about the laws surrounding food what is it lawful to eat, what is it not lawful to eat. The leaders go away and Jesus calls the crowd to him and says to them, "Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles." Then the disciples say to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?" Jesus answers, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit." It seems to me that Jesus explains things pretty well. Its not what you eat, but what you say that matters. The Pharisees dont understand the law and when they teach it to each other, its like the blind leading the blind. Sounds straight forward enough.

Its here that Matthew finally gives Peter a line in the story. But Peter says to Jesus, "Explain this parable to us." Then Jesus answers Peter, "Are you also still without understanding? So Peters first line in Matthews story seems to be the proverbial dumb question. He doesnt get it. He doesnt understand Jesus explanation, so Jesus explains further: Do you not see, Peter, that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart (and then the mouth) come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile." Maybe Peter has a few more things to learn as well. The next time Matthew mentions Peter, the followers are out in a boat, far from land, blown offshore by strong winds. Early the next morning Jesus comes walking toward them on the sea. But when the followers see him walking on the sea, they are terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cry out in fear. But immediately Jesus speaks to them and says,

6 "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter answers him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." One wonders if Peter is feeling the need to prove himself after the incident with the dumb question. Jesus says, "Come." So Peter gets out of the boat, and starts walking on the water, and comes toward Jesus. But when he notices the strong wind, he becomes frightened, and beginning to sink, he cries out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus immediately reaches out his hand and catches him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" Peters resume to date is rather unimpressive: simple fisherman, on the same list as the betrayer, asks dumb questions, gets scared when walking on water. Hmm . . . surely not ready for the confirmation hearing. Matthew doesnt mention Peter again until todays Gospel. Jesus comes into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asks his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they say, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." Jesus says to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answers,

7 "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus says to him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. Way to go Peter! You got it right! But, Jesus this is only one question. Have you lost your mind again? Peter gets one question right and youre ready to promote him? Seems so . . . Jesus says, 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. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." So was that one question the whole confirmation hearing? Will Peter get off that easy? Seems so . . . Seems that when Peter declares Jesus to be the Son of God, the Messiah, that is enough for Jesus. He not only tells Peter hes blessed but announces that Peter will be the foundation of the church and the keeper of the keys of heaven! Wow! One question! No phone a friend, no ask the audience, no Final Jeopardy? Just one question!

8 Must be an important question and an important answer. May be the only important question and the only important answer. Who do you say that I am? You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Nothing more, only this simple fishermans simple faith. Only one question. Only one answer. Peter gets an A+, he graduates summa cum laude, he gets the dream job right out of college. One question. One answer. Well, what comes next? When does Matthew mention Peter again? What does our new young upstart judge come up with? A way to save the court? Well, not exactly. The next time Matthew mentions Peter Jesus is beginning to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." But Jesus turns and says to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

9 From rock of the church to stumbling block in one fell swoop! Poor Peter, demoted from the corner office, taken off the big case, gives back his key to the executive washroom. What happened? Did he get too cocky? Did his confidence get in the way? Well, the good news is he seems to recover. Matthew writes several more stories that include Peter, the rock. It isnt too long after this unfortunate incident that Jesus takes Peter with him up on the mountain top to hear God speak, to see the Son of God transformed in light. Another story has Jesus sending Peter for a swim, and finding a fish with a coin in its mouth. What are the chances of that happening? Soon after Peter asks Jesus a splendid question about forgiveness, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" His question allows Jesus the opportunity to give a splendid answer, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. Well, Peter, seems you recovered nicely. Perhaps Jesus made a good choice after all, when he chose you to be the foundation of the church, the keeper of the keys of heaven. Matthew tells only two more stories about Peter. The first:

10 Jesus describes to his followers how he will suffer and die and be raised again. He tells his followers that they will all desert him in his time of trouble. Peter says to him, "Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you." Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." Peter said to him, "Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you. And Matthews final mention of Peter: Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest. Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end. Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. when a servant-girl came to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it before all of them, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about." When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." Again Peter denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man." After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you." Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, "I do not know the man!" At that moment the cock crowed. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said:

11 "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. Oh Peter! How could you! You who named Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. You who witnessed the transformation, the miracles. You upon whom Jesus will build his church. You the keeper of the keys of the kingdom. How could you! Seems Peter, the rock upon which the church is built is merely a sinner saved by grace, just like us. Seems Peter, who holds the keys to the kingdom is merely a sinner saved by grace, just like us. Seems God is able to recognize Peters gifts, call him to ministry, use him for the sake of the Gospel in spite of his sins, his flaws, his shortcomings. It might be that God can use each of us as well, in spite of our sins, our flaws, our shortcomings, in spite of the fact that we, too, are all sinners saved by grace. Peter, who? Angela, who? Jim, Jeff, Gene, Jerry, George, Jan, Joanne, Jenny, who? You! Who? You! Amen