A Turning Point

Text: Matthew 16:13-28

In Matthew, we have been following Jesus's teaching of his disciples: a common theme in all of the gospels. There is a definite arc during the middle chapters in which we see Jesus laying the groundwork for how we are supposed to live in community. How we treat each other.

In chapters 14 and 15 we have episodes of matters of faith and action. We have TWO feeding stories: the feeding of the five thousand and then a later feeding of four thousand. Jesus then uses these events to demonstrate how to listen to the authorities. There are also lessons of faith. One has Peter walking on the water (he has "little" faith) and the other has a woman who debates with Jesus about healing her daughter (she has "great" faith).

All of this brings us to chapter 16, which we covered a couple of weeks ago in the gospels. Peter reveals the nature of Jesus as "the Messiah, son of the Living God", for which Jesus rewards him with a new name and responsibility. Then Peter, newly entitled, chastises Jesus for suggesting that He was to go to Jerusalem to die.

This sequence, which may seem pretty theologically dense, is actually a turning point for us in the gospel and in the way we can approach our relationship to Jesus.

Peter (previously Simon) gets a new identity that doesn't elevate him or making him better or get him more power: he was already sort of the de facto leader of the disciples. Instead, Peter becomes the foundation of the church, the soul. He becomes the guy responsible for helping the church see who Jesus is. This is a much bigger and more profound responsibility.

It is also the moment that the church even enters the story. Up until this point, it was just a bunch of dudes (and the many men and women and children) that were following Jesus. They listened to stories and learned to act like him. From this point on, Jesus is also beginning to frame the church, the means of getting the message out and sustain it. For the first time, Jesus isn't looking like a random vagrant, living off of the gratitude of strangers, but a marketer and designer.

These paired gospels (Matthew 16:13-20 and 21-28) also highlight how easy it is to lose sight of what God asks of us and what we want to be doing instead. If we were in Peter's shoes, told that we are to be the soul of the church, told that we have done well, we would have felt justified in doing exactly as Peter does: he only intends to sustain this movement that will lead to the church over the next century. Who doesn't try to protect what s/he finds most important?

But this isn't what Jesus told him to do. It wasn't how Jesus identified Peter--how Jesus reveals Peter's identity--just as Peter revealed Jesus's. It wasn't what God wants of Peter. He is not a protector, but a nurterur, a feeder. Peter is to be the gardener, chef, and planner for God's banquet of sustaining food. This is Peter's identity.

There are many things that I would have us examine in this sequence. It shows us how easy it is to be fooled by our own understandings of things. How easy it is to ignore God's call to us in favor of the easy route. It shows us many things. But Jesus's identity and the church's identity are the two most important elements of these stories.

So who is Jesus to you? What is he? Can you even describe him?
And what about the church? What is it about? Who are we? What do we do?

These aren't intended to be easy questions, but if you find them too easy, then I would challenge you to probe a little deeper. Pretend that the person asking the question knows nothing about this stuff. Or better yet, pretend that s/he wants to know what's in your heart--who Jesus is beyond all of the churchey language.

Or if you find the questions too hard, step back and think about what it means to go to church or to even put your faith into words. What is stopping you?