August 23, 2020 - Twelveth Sunday After Pentecost - Being Known and Set Free

Today's Gospel may suggest why Jesus picked Peter to be the rock on which he builds the church with the exchange between Jesus and Peter. Jesus said  “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."

Jesus declares Peter the rock on which he will build his church and gives Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, not because of how holy, great, loyal, faithful or wise Peter is but rather God's revelation that came to Peter alone at that moment.

Jesus, the man, might have picked John, his beloved disciple. Instead Jesus trusts God the Father's choice based on the revelation Peter receives. This flies in the face of world as we normally experience it. And that is the point. This takes place in the district of Caesarea Philippi, a city associated with Rome where Herod built a temple to Rome and Augustus in commemoration of the fact that Augustus assigned the town to his royal domains. This would be an unlikely place for Jesus to chose to reveal to his disciples that he was the Messiah. We have heard this so many times it is hard for us to remember how unusual all this is.

Perhaps Jesus did not initially pick Peter but he may have understood the Father's choice of building the church on a man like Peter, who was in need of forgiveness. A man who would be able to understand how important forgiveness was in the life of the church would show God's care and concern. The church would be built, and whatever was bound on earth would be bound in heaven and whatever would be loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven, Peter, of all the disciples, would be the one to do this binding and loosing with humility and an understanding of the importance of God's grace.

Pastor Janell preached that many of us see ourselves in Peter and that is certainly true for me. She affirmed that it is in our brokenness that Jesus can reach us. And she hoped we could receive the grace and freedom of being known as beautifully and wonderfully made creations of God. What we do matters, how we engage in the world matters. 

Jesus knew Peter. Jesus knows us. We don't need to be afraid and we don't need to hide. God knows our deepest selves and loves us even when we might judge ourselves and think we are getting things wrong.