Proper 16 :: Isaiah 51: 1–6; Psalm 124; Romans 12: 1–8;
Matthew 16: 13–20
This is the homily
by Fr. Gene Tucker that was given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on Sunday,
August 27, 2017.
“WHAT
DID PETER KNOW, AND WHAT DO WE KNOW (AND HOW DO WE KNOW IT)?”
(Homily text: Matthew 16: 13–20)
At
the outset, let me say that this morning’s Gospel text is one of my favorites.
It is a text we hear on the Feast of the Confession of St. Peter, the Apostle,
which falls on January 18th each year. And it is a blessing for us
to hear it this morning.
Peter
says, in response to the Lord’s question about His identity, “You are the
Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Somehow, I wish we could hear the tone of
voice that Peter used in making this statement, for I suspect he may have said
it with a lot of energy. If so, that would be characteristic if the picture the
Gospels paint of Peter’s personality.)
By
way of introduction, we should acknowledge that this text is one which figures
prominently in some of the debates among Christians about the foundation of our
Christian faith. More specifically, we should acknowledge the differences in
interpretation regarding Jesus’ comment, made in response to Peter’s acknowledgement
of Jesus’ true identity, between the Roman Catholic Church and other
Christians. Specifically, the problem in interpretation lies in the meaning of
the nickname Jesus gave to Simon: Peter. The name (or nickname, in this case) Peter
comes to us from the Greek, where it means “rock”. Jesus follows up the
application of the nickname to Simon by referring to the “rock” upon which the
Church will be founded. So the question involves the meaning of “rock”, with
the Roman Catholic Church maintaining that Peter is the foundation of the
Church. Other Christians have a different perspective, understanding Jesus’
comment applies to the foundation of the Church as being the confession of
Jesus’ identity. This debate has had a long life, and it is one which will not
be settled anytime soon. I leave it to your own reflection to understand more
fully just what Jesus had in mind.
Now,
let’s turn our attention to the specifics of Peter’s response.
We
must begin by taking a closer look at the title “Messiah”. The word comes to us
from the Hebrew, where it means “anointed” (or “anointed one”). The title
“Christ” means the same thing, but Christ comes to us from the Greek. If we
look more closely at the Greek, we can see echoes of the basic word in English,
which we find such an echo in the word “charismatic”, which means - in its more
basic sense - one who is especially gifted in some way. In this sense of the
word, we sometimes talk about a person’s “charisms”, meaning “gifts”. The word “charismatic”
has also taken on the sense of someone who has a magnetic personality, or who
is especially talented in drawing others to themselves.
But while
we are looking at the title “Messiah”, we ought to attempt to understand some
of what Peter might have had in mind in acknowledging Jesus’ as being God’s
“anointed one”. To gain a somewhat fuller understanding, we could look to some
of the perspectives among God’s chosen people 2,000 years ago, for their
expectations might have informed Peter’s understandings of the title. Messianic
expectations ran high in some parts of Judaism in Peter’s day. Some applied the
statement made by the Old Testament prophet Malachi that, before the “great and
awesome day of the Lord”, the prophet Elijah would be sent, to the coming of
God’s Anointed One. (See Malachi 4:5.) So some Jews looked for Elijah’s return,
which would herald the coming of the Messiah. It’s probably accurate to also
say that the coming of the Messiah was seen in political and military terms.
Specifically, some Jews hoped that the Messiah would throw off the yoke of the
oppressive Roman occupation of their homeland, re-establishing the great days
of King David’s rule of a thousand years before.
But
Peter makes a statement, not only about the Messiah, but about Jesus as being
the “Son of the living God”. Where would Peter have gotten that idea? Perhaps
the answer lies in Jesus’ many statements about God being His Father. Of
course, it’s important for us to remember that many Jews who heard Jesus’
statements about His relationship to God took offense at these comments, for
God – in those days – was seen to be remote and removed from His people. God
was – in those times – someone whose name was so holy it could not be mentioned
or pronounced at all. God was the divine being with whom there was no personal
relationship. God was related to, in those days, through the observance of the
holy Law which had been given to Moses.
Now
we, who look at this text from the perspective of 2,000 years, have a problem,
for we look at Peter’s comment from the vantage point of the reflection of the
Church which has been gained in the process of a prolonged struggle to understand
just what it is that God has done in sending Jesus Christ. For the Church
struggled – for much of the first five hundred years of its existence – to
understand Jesus Christ’s nature. Eventually, the Church came to understand
that Jesus Christ is fully human, yet fully divine, or, as the Nicene Creed[1] states
this truth, Jesus Christ is “true God from true God”, the one who is of “one
substance with the Father”, the one who was “begotten of the Holy Spirit and
born of the Virgin Mary”, the one who was “made man”. The Council of Chalcedon,
which took place in the year 451 AD, affirmed this truth in its statement about
the dual natures (divine and human) of Jesus Christ. Chalcedon’s affirmation
establishes the understanding that Jesus Christ’s dual nature is one in which
the human and the divine natures are not confused, but which cannot be
separated. This statement can be found in your Prayer Books (the 1979 edition)
at page 864.
Before
we leave our consideration of this morning’s Gospel text, we ought to take note
of the calculated way that Jesus asks His disciples about His identity. Notice
that Jesus’ initial question is quite broad and is quite generic. He says, “Who
do people (men in the original) say
that the Son of Man is?” (I am adding
italics to the question so that the progression can be seen more clearly.)
Next, the Lord asks, “Who do you[2]
say that I am?” Notice the
progression from “people” to “you” and from “Son of Man” to “I”. Jesus begins
the questioning quite broadly, but then narrows the focus to the very specific
and the very personal.
In
this narrowing of focus, we come to the central concern of life. For each one
of us must reckon with the question, “Who do you[3]
say I am?” Our response can draw
on the tremendous reserves of the Church’s own reflection on this question,
offering us theological insights into God’s action in raising Jesus Christ from
the dead on Easter Sunday morning. For, as an astute Lutheran theologian has
stated, “God is whoever raised Jesus from the dead”, the reality of the
resurrection lies at the very heart of the truth of the Good News (Gospel) of
God, made known in the life, teachings, healings and raising of Jesus Christ.
But
it’s critical for us to remember that being able to arrive at knowing who Jesus
Christ is comes as a direct result of God’s revelation of Himself. That, in
essence, is the gist of Jesus’ comment about “flesh and blood” not being the
source of Peter’s ability to answer the Lord’s question. No, the Lord affirms,
it is the Father’s revelation that makes such knowledge possible.
No
doubt Peter came to a fuller understanding of just who Jesus Christ is after
the resurrection, for in the resurrection the Father is revealing His power.
We, too, can come to a fuller and deeper understanding as we reflect on all
that Jesus has done, is doing, and will do, through the power of God.
The
Church’s central purpose – one which surpasses all others in importance – is to
assist each individual person to answer the question, “Who do you say that I
am?” That is the main reason we are here this morning. For to answer this
question is to find one’s truest self in God, made known in Jesus Christ.
May
the Holy Spirit enable our understanding and our transformation into the
likeness of God, seen in Christ Jesus.
AMEN.
