THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Prayer of the Day: O God, with all your faithful followers of every age, we praise you, the rock of our life. Be our strong foundation and form us into the body of your Son, that we may gladly minister to all the world, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
From as far back as the first time I was told this story in Sunday School as a youngster, I have been made aware that we Lutherans hold that when Jesus said to Saint Peter, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,” he meant Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah, not Peter himself. Thus, the Roman Catholic Church’s claims concerning apostolic succession and Papal authority are fundamentally misguided. I have always been suspicious, however, of arguments based on what Jesus “meant” to deflate arguments based on what Jesus actually “said.” It seems clear to me that the identification of the Greek name “Petros” with the Greek word “petra” meaning rock leaves little doubt that Jesus is conferring some measure recognition and status on Peter. I hasten to add, though that there is a long way to go from there to positing a divine mandate for apostolic succession as practiced by Roman Catholics and other church bodies, including now my own ELCA.
What, then, are we to make of Jesus’ declaration about Peter? Perhaps we should turn to our lesson from the prophet Isaiah. Speaking to a disheartened band of returning exiles who discover that life in their ancestral homeland is turning out to be difficult and fraught with danger, the prophet urges his hearers to:
“Look to the rock from which you were hewn
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah, who bore you,
for he was but one when I called him,
but I blessed him and made him many.” Isaiah 51:1-2.
The prophet also refers to Abraham and Sarah as rock. But he does not lift them up as heroes or great leaders. The emphasis is not on the virtues of these two ancient ancestors, but on what God was able to do with them. They were but a single family living as aliens and sojourners among hostile peoples. Yet God raised up from them not only Israel, but several other nations. That, too, is the thrust of the gospel message. Jesus says of Peter, on this rock I will build my church. Thus, it is neither Peter’s status among the twelve nor his confession (which we know was somewhat misguided) that matters most. What matters is Jesus’ promise to build up his church.
What importance does this have for us? First, we know a few things about Peter. He is a frequent spokesperson for the disciples, but often less than perceptive. He does not understand Jesus’ parables and his questions often betray profound misconceptions about the reign of God Jesus proclaims. We know that, after vowing to go to prison and even death with Jesus, he denies knowing him when the opportunity to fulfil that vow arrives. Just as Abraham and Sarah were unlikely prospects for nation building, so Peter does not strike us as a very reliable cornerstone of Jesus’ church. But their vulnerabilities and shortcomings do not limit God’s determination to work God’s redemptive purpose in their lives.
Second, “the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” Bear in mind that this declaration is made before Peter’s denial of Jesus. Peter, we know, is bound to fail. The church regularly fails to live into its calling as a witness to Jesus and the reign of God he proclaims. Nonetheless, the church, with all its faults, is God’s building project. In so many ways, in our private and corporate lives, we deny the Lord we proclaim. Yet Jesus does not ever deny his church. Once again, the stones are only the building material. Jesus is the builder on which the structure depends. What Jesus begins, Jesus finishes.
Third, there is an awesome responsibility placed upon Peter. He is given the keys of the kingdom, the power to bind and the power to loose. There has been no shortage of scholarly debate over exactly what that means. I will not attempt to summarize it here. But at a bare minimum, it means that the words spoken and the acts done by Peter and through the church are powerful and have eternal consequences. The charge to exercise prophetic ministry is not a privilege. It is solemn charge to speak God’s words of judgment and grace. Properly spoken, these words bring light into the darkest places, hope where there is despair and open up new paths where life seems to have hit a dead end. Get it wrong and bloody crusades are launched, heretics and supposed witches are burned at the stake and Tomahawk missiles slaughter innocent school girls. Great responsibility and, I would add, accountability is placed upon Saint Peter and the church that will be built upon his ministry. The church will always be in need of criticism, repentance and reform if it is to remain faithful.
Finally, the gospel reminds us that Jesus sees in those he calls far more than they are able to see in themselves. Where the rest of the world saw only an unlearned fisherman, Jesus saw Saint Peter the Apostle. Where the rest of the world saw only a corrupt tax collector, Jesus saw Matthew the Apostle. As an ecclesiastical insider, I don’t need anyone to tell me how corrupt church institutions can be, how ambitious for power, how mean and petty we clergy can be and how self centered and unwelcoming congregations can be. But every so often, just often enough to keep me believing in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, something extraordinary happens. A church assembly votes and takes concrete steps to welcome individuals and groups formerly excluded by both church and society in spite of the institutional consequences, such as loss of membership and financial support. A pastor takes a principled stand for justice that puts their call, their livelihood and their standing with ecclesiastical authority in jeopardy. A congregation puts its endowment into a promising but risky ministry to its community. In short, every so often we discover that we are more than we think we are. We have gifts for ministry we never dreamed we possessed. We find ourselves doing what we never imagined possible. When that happens, it’s beautiful.
Here is a poem about calling and commission from an anonymous source.
Father to Daughter
Let no one tell you, girl,
that the mountain is too high,
the evil too deeply entrenched,
the valley too steep
or that it’s too far to the sky.
Let no one say, my child,
that your dreams are too big,
that you are too small,
that what your heart tells you is right
can never be and so ignore its call.
Let no man convince you to be practical
or chide you for lacking common sense.
For it just may be that God’s been waiting
endless ages for someone
blind to conventional wisdom,
someone brave enough to be compassionate
instead of simply strong,
someone who would rather die
for a good cause than live for none at all.
So ignore all words of caution
and shut out all well meaning advice.
Silence the timid voice of warning
and listen instead with your whole heart to the call.
Source: Anonymous
Peter's Outer Cape Portico 
Peter was not perfect; I think that’s the point.
He would have laughed at the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome. He learned a lot about himself when he denied our Lord.
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