Sermons for the Month
Peter the Pebble or Mountain?
DATE: August 21st, 2005
SERVICE: 14th Sunday After Pentecost
TEXT: Matthew 16:13-20 and Romans 12:1-8“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
"You are Peter," Jesus said, "and on this rock I will build my church." If you were to imagine a rock as you hear those familiar words of Jesus, what would it look like? Think about that for a moment … would it be like this (show a photo of Bell Rock in Sedona, AZ.) or like this (show a pebble)?
Perhaps it's too simplistic to boil this controversial text down to such a question as whether or not Peter the Rock is more like this (show photo) or like this (show pebble).
After all, this is the passage of scripture on which the doctrine of papal infallibility is based. The Catholic Church has always understood these words of Jesus as establishing Peter as the first Pope, number one in an unbroken succession of Popes, who in this text are given the power to bind and loose.
That means Peter and those who follow him have the God-given ability to declare certain actions forbidden or permitted, that is to make tough decisions about doctrine and conduct, with God's blessing.
Then along came the reformers in the 14th century - particularly this guy named Martin Luther - who took issue with that interpretation of the passage and said that the rock is not Peter himself, but the faith he exhibits in his confession. In other words, the rock on which the church is built is the faith of believers.
Peter is seen as a principal leader, but he does not have special authority. Instead, it's the church as a whole that makes those challenging decisions about doctrine and conduct.
So, century after century this debate about "the rock" has raged, and in the midst of it all I imagine the Holy Spirit saying, "Excuse me people … if I could just get your attention for a moment…excuse me, but you are missing the point!"
I'll go back to my original question. Is Peter the Rock more like this (photo) or like this (pebble)? I believe the answer to that question is found in verse 17 and the second half of verse 18. But, we have to back up to the beginning and put this into context if it's really going to become clear.
As this account begins Jesus has taken his disciples away from the Galilean crowds. They are about to begin their journey to Jerusalem where Jesus will suffer and die. It seems that Jesus wants to know if, after the years they have spent together, the disciples have gained any understanding of who he is. It's clear that "the people" in the crowds that have flocked to him believe he is a prophet like the prophets of the past. But, Jesus wants to know, how do his closest followers view him? "Who do you say that I am?" he asks.
Peter speaks up, identifying Jesus as the Messiah, the anointed one of God, indeed God's own Son. WOW … Peter must be a rock like this (photo)! Well, that might be true except for the fact that no sooner do the words come out of his mouth than Jesus makes it clear that Peter cannot take credit for them. "…For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven."
Peter's proclamation about Jesus is a God-given gift for that moment only because, if we are to believe what happens next, Peter does not himself grasp what he has said.
In next week's Gospel lesson Peter gets bent out of shape when Jesus makes it clear that he will suffer and die. Obviously, he believes that as Messiah Jesus is a political leader who will restore Israel to its former glory. In other words, he's clueless what it means that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.
So, which is Peter the Rock, this one (photo) or this one (pebble)? It seems to me that he's more like the pebble, especially given the fact that his "record" for "getting it" and being faithful is not all that great after his bold confession. (Let's see … who was it that denied Jesus three times after he was arrested?)
And yet Jesus did say, "You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church." Whether he's referring to the man or to his faith, that's an astounding statement, all things considered. Can Peter really be the rock?
The answer to that question is a resounding "YES" because of a very small, but vital word in verse 18. That word is "I". Jesus says, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church…." So even if Peter is this puny little rock, because of Jesus, he can provide stability for his Lord's church.
And, in fact, after Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, he went through a metamorphosis and grew in stature from this (pebble) to this (photo). Indeed, he and the other first Christians fulfilled the prediction of Jesus; they broke down the gates of hell - that is they defeated the power of evil - with their proclamation of the Risen Lord.
They were, to use the words of Paul in today's reading from Romans, a living sacrifice who did not conform, but rather were transformed.
That's our destiny as well, not only in the world to come, but here and now. I've always delighted in the fact that the word we translate as transform in Romans 12 is the very same one from which we get the English word metamorphosis. That implies that by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit we who were one thing can become something new and different (1), just as a caterpillar becomes a butterfly or Peter the rock grew from being a pebble to being a mountain.
And, thus transformed, we too have a role to play in providing stability to our Lord's church, using the gifts that each one of us has been given.
Author Parker Palmer says that often our strongest gifts are those we are barely aware of possessing. They are a part of our God-given nature. (2)
Sometimes, though, those gifts are hard to identify. They become overwhelmed, hidden, forgotten - Paul calls that being conformed to this world.
Maybe that's what happened to Peter; his nature had become muted in the midst of living a hard life in a land occupied by a foreign power. But, he had a God-given flash of insight one day. "You are the Messiah," he said. Then later, by the power of the Holy Spirit, his gifts were released - he became someone new and different - now a mountain of strength in the church.
Perhaps every once in awhile it's a good idea to pause for a moment and think about our God-given nature. How has God created us? Who are we at the core? (Not how have we adapted to the imperfections of life or to other people's desires and expectations). By the power of the Holy Spirit, that nature can become more visible and powerful.
Think about it … whether Peter was this (pebble) or this (photo) he was still a rock and Jesus was building the church on him. It's just that the more Peter acknowledged the Holy Spirit's presence and power the more he became who God created him to be and the more the church thrived. This could be true in our lives as well.
"You are Peter," Jesus said. He also could say, "You are _________ or _________ or ________ and on you who are being transformed I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it."
AMEN
(1) Sermonwriter, Romans 12:1-8 (August 12), pg. 3, www.sermonwriter.com. (2) Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak, Jossey-Bass, Inc., 2000, pg. 52.