God's Last Words

“GOD’s ROCKS”

Matthew 16: 13-20 NRSV

A preacher’s kid, after his father give sermons on “justification,” “sanctification,” and a whole bunch of “other –ations,” was ready when the Sunday School teacher asked if anybody knew what “procrastination” meant. The boy said, “I’m not sure what it means, but I know our church believes in it!”

An atheist was spending a quiet day fishing when suddenly his boat was attacked by the Loch Ness monster. In one easy flip, the beast tossed him and the boat into the air. Then it opened its mouth to swallow both him and the boat.

As the man sailed head over heels, he cried out, “Oh, my God! Help me!”

At once the ferocious attack scene froze in place, and as the atheist hung in midair, a booming voice came down from the clouds, “I thought you didn’t believe in me!”

“Come on God, give me a break!” the man pleaded, “Two minutes ago I didn’t believe in the Loch Ness monster either!”

Today we’re going to talk about faith and its importance to the church. Let’s hear the Gospel lesson from Matthew 16: 13-20:

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. 

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.”  Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

This passage tells us that Peter has a “pebble” sized faith that can be used to build the church, which will require strong (cliff boulder sized) rocks of faith to build on.

Jesus goes on to say that no one will destroy the faith of those who believe.

Too much has been made of Peter as the church head and founder. Peter had an important part in the development of the early church, but the role of the Head of the Church clearly is a function of Christ himself.

We make jokes about Peter sitting outside the Pearly Gates serving as a sort of “Heavenly Bouncer.” But what if he’s more like “the Celestial Greeter” who shares the joy of God’s grace with those, who like he did, recognized Jesus as Messiah.

It could help us understand that the concept of church is meaningless unless we  view it in matter of faith rather than as a human institution measuring human standards, goals, and values, run by humans for humans.

A very religious man was shipwrecked on a small island in the Pacific ocean. After a few years a passing ship noticed smoke and chanced closer and rescued the man. As the rescue boat was leaving they noticed three huts had been built on the island and asked the man why he needed three huts since he was alone.

“Oh,” he said, “I lived in the first hut and went to church in the second hut.” “But what about the third hut,” they asked. “Oh that,” he replied, “That’s where I used to go to church.”

If we look at this passage reminding us of God’s role in the church, it emphasizes this passage as being about faith and trust in Jesus and in God, first individually, then as the manifestation of the universal church.

Jesus knows we’ll have a long way to go and we need to take every situation to learn and every opportunity to grow and nurture our faith, yet the Holy Spirit is present to help us along on the journey.

Peter’s confession serves as an example for us in what the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven are. This confession is not worldly. It has nothing to do with human experience and tradition but everything to do with Godly revelation and grace. It makes each and every one of us answer the question: “Who do you say I am.”

That question can be answered one of two ways: Either Jesus is just a man, a really good man, who sacrificed himself for his beliefs or He was truly the Son of God. There’s no gray area between even though we try to make it so.

This confession requires/declares a personal trust in Jesus. There is only one true confession and that is in Christ alone. This confession is the foundation for and of the church. It creates a great obligation/responsibility to the church which must be understood personally before being shared by/with others.

This question requires us to either become strong like rocks in our faith, or create paper mache imitations that look good but have no substance.

Think about the church we are called to be by Christ: “Ekklesia,” the Greek word for church means “to call out a gathering, an assembly from the world.” We are to be separate from the world. It is Jesus who calls, not man.

God has promised us that He dwells within the very presence of believers when they gather.

God calls us to gather for two purposes: Worship and mission. God is the object of worship, and His mission alone becomes the objective of the church. What this means is that God’s Church, the local assembly, gathers together to worship and pool its resources in order to carry out the mission of God Himself.

Where the church in today’s world has gone wrong is in forgetting that God’s Mission is spiritual and not material. We are called to teach and reach out to others so that they come to know God, not that they may practice immoral sexual activities, abort babies, elect the politically correct person to office, and promote reparations for every minority that considers itself abused.

Peter, in response to Jesus’ pronouncement of his right answer of faith, never claimed any power or authority beyond preaching the gospel or opening the door of the Kingdom of Heaven for unbelievers. He never claimed the power to forgive sins on God’s behalf.

If there is a tradition here for pastors/teachers to learn then this is it: Pastors and teachers of God’s word have the ability to open the door to the Kingdom or not. It is God, through the Holy Spirit, who will lead others in.

I am going to tell you a secret about me – and why I’m still here at this church in Western Maryland, and not somewhere else.

Dr. Mark Hatfield tells of touring Calcutta with Mother Teresa and visiting the so-called "House of Dying," where sick children are cared for in their last days, and the dispensary, where the poor line up by the hundreds to receive medical attention.

As he watched Mother Teresa minister to the people, feeding and nursing those left by others to die, Hatfield was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the suffering she and her co-workers face daily.

"How can you bear the load without being crushed by it?" he asked.

Mother Teresa replied, "My dear Senator, I am not called to be successful, I am called to be faithful."

Too many times church people want their pastors to be successful church growers, public relations experts, CEO’s, and charismatic community leaders. Jesus just wants them to be faithful. He wants them to be the rock-solid pillars of faith in a community often mired in dissension, turmoil, and human free-for-alls.

In a few minutes we’ve going to be celebrating a baptism. Please note that the parents and sponsors are never asked or told to raise the child to be successful in computers, business, sports, fishing, or hunting. We’re talking about creating an environment of faith nurturing so that the child will have the doors of God’s Kingdom opened wide for him.

Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah is meant to show us that, once we realize who Jesus is our lives and faith will change. We will become the rocks of the faithful foundation of God’s Kingdom. Amen.