I.Theme – Finding identify, confronting power of leaders and molding the growing church.
"Keys to the Kingdom" – Hermoleon
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – Isaiah 51:1-6
Psalm – Psalm 138 Page 793, BCP
Epistle –Romans 12:1-8
Gospel – Matthew 16:13-20
This week is about identity, power and authority of leaders, people and within the growing church. In fact there is little action – we step back, examine ourselves, ask questions and interpret where this is leading us.
This section marks a turning point in both Roman’s and Matthew’s Gospel.
In three prior chapters, Paul has figured out how God will bring all peoples into the grace of Jesus Christ, even the Israelites who, by rejecting Jesus, seem to have given up their status as the Chosen People. Now Paul focuses on what life as one body with diverse gifts looks like as he blends both Jew and Gentile. And with one body comes worship. We must adopt a new mind set, in order to recognize God’s will for us.
Paul insists that we should offer our bodies and minds to God, open to actively being used and changed – thus our whole lives become “spiritual worship.” There is a wonderful promise that in doing so, we may discern the will of God.
He identifies core activities in his Kingdom though in his time the actual churches were far more dispersed. Note that the gifts listed here are focused not on the “institution” of the church, but on the core activities of the Christian community with each other and on mission in the world—proclaiming God’s living word, serving others, teaching, coaching, giving, leading, and offering mercy . The body only functions when everyone’s gifts are being exercised. The image of the church as the body strongly challenges giving excessive authority in the church to particular individuals or positions, as the body only functions when everyone’s gifts are being exercised.
In the Gospel, up till now Jesus has been teaching the crowds the mystery of the Kingdom in the face of growing hostility from the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus now withdraws with the disciples to begin forming them into his ‘church’.
The gospel text poses a challenge to the authority that comes from Roman might, or divine rule by their gods. And it is happening in their backyard – in Caesarea Philippi . So who is Jesus to challenge the foundation of society ? “Who do others think I am and who do you think I am?”
Jesus’ identity is composed in the context of God’s interaction with Israel as well as the power of Jesus’ own time. When Peter declares Jesus to be the Messiah or the anointed one of God, images of political independence are certainly in the air.
In his words to Simon Peter, Jesus gives authority to him and the other disciples – to a bunch of fishermen, tax collectors, rebels and others, who misunderstand him 9 times out of 10, and do not fit anyone’s conventional notion of leaders.
In doing so, however, the Gospel writers are not just interested in correctly defining who Jesus is but also in shaping a community molded in light of his actions and teachings. And so these questions of identity are not just a matter of definition but of formation, not just doctrine but discipleship.
There are two key symbols present here. "The rock" is the symbolic anchor for the church and is could be Christ or Peter’s insight of Christ. Christ gives Peter "the keys", the ability to unlock the mysteries of the Kingdom; they may also be a symbol of authority over the Church Originally, when one came to seek the king’s help or counsel, the servant’s job was to open the door to the king’s house and assist him in reaching the king. Christ’s servants, the ministry, have a similar responsibility to assist those God is calling in coming to their King, Jesus Christ.
Isaiah is not about the identity of leaders or churches but the people themselves.
In the Isaiah passage it is not the leader whose identity is under scrutiny, but the people themselves, as the prophet asks them to look to their own heritage. Although this passage points to several moments in Israel’s story, the most overt reference is to Abraham and Sarah.
In the Psalm identity comes in the context of praise, the psalmist continuing the words of thanks, this time to the “name ” of god, because of God’s “steadfast love and faithfulness. “Name” was an important concept in the ancient Near East. Names reflected the natures and characters of the person who bore them and were conceptually equal to the essence of ones being. The Psalmist is providing identity to God, one how provides “love and faithfulness;” who “increased my strength within me” , “cares for the lowly”, keeps him safe and confronts the psalmist’s enemies.
II. Summary
Old Testament – Isaiah 51:1-6
This passage contains strong words of encouragement for people who have been through terrible times in being forced from Jerusalem to Babylonia. Perhaps their situation is still awful and words of hope are not easy to believe. Like the land of “thorns and thistles” outside the garden (Genesis 3:18), Judah is described here as a wilderness.
The prophet reinforces the encouraging message of redemption for a people who need a new song to sing, a song of hope and deliverance.
1. Second Isaiah looks back to the stories of the Patriarchs. Look back to your origins, your personal and family history, your spiritual ancestors (such as Abraham and Sarah). Remember who you are and the promises that God has given to you. Think about your baptism and what that means. Remind yourselves of the stories of those who went before you (in the Bible, in your own family, and elsewhere), who acted on promises that, in spite of delays and struggle, were eventually fulfilled. Remember how God never abandoned them, and, likewise, will never abandon you.
We look to the past to find hope for the future. Someone has been there ahead of us. We are not the first to endure such hardships and suffering. They did not lose their faith, God persisted, and salvation came. It will happen again.
The images of Abraham and Sarah become icons that embody this situation of Jerusalem. Like Sarah, Jerusalem is barren and sterile, a result of the devastations of the Babylonian invasions. Sarah, of course soon receives her comforts in her pregnancy and the gift of Isaac, her son.
Though the Judeans were once subjects of a monarchy centered on Jerusalem, through Abraham’s story they are encouraged to view themselves as a family, a clan of people whose existence preceded the Davidic dynasty by many centuries, and even preceded their tenure in the land.
2. God’s salvation will be very specific to our needs and it will come soon.
But Second Isaiah’s poetry repeats over and over, beginning in the first verse (40:1) and again in 49:13, that God will bring comfort. This theme, expressed here as “the Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places” (51:3), will reappear a few verses later in 51:12, and most decisively in 52:9.
Jerusalem willagain be a garden like Eden, where joy and happiness abound, where songs of thanksgiving will again be sung. What has been missing will be restored. What has been lost will be found.
3. Unlike the time of the Temple, now destroyed, the Law and the Word of Yahweh will not be mediated by either Temple or priest, but rather come directly from the mouth of God. Nor will this word be limited to Israel, but rather be poured out upon “the peoples, (and) the coastland which wait”. Old ways are passing away. The heavens (the ancient deities of the son, moon, and stars) will vanish like smoke. Indeed, in a sort of anti-creation, the earth itself will “wear out”. What will remain, however is God’s salvation.
Psalm – Psalm 138 Page 793, BCP
Psalm 138 is a psalm of praise and thanksgiving to God for deliverance from some kind of trouble. Its content suggests that the psalmist’s enemies have done all they can to silence that praise. However, the psalmist remains utterly determined. Perhaps his foes’ opposition has even made him more determined than ever to praise God with “all of his heart,”
In eight brief verses, the singer of Psalm 138 gives thanks to God in the presence of three groups: the gods (verses 1-3); the kings of the earth (verses 4-6); and enemies (verses 7-8).
In verse 1, the psalmist gives thanks to God, singing God’s praise. It’s instructive that the psalmist praises God first of all not for what God has done, but for God’s faithful nature. Its only then he praises God for what has been done and that is not until v7. There he praises God for God’s preservation of him against his enemies
In verse 2 of Psalm 138, the psalm singer continues the words of thanks, this time to the “name ” of god, because of God’s “steadfast love and faithfulness. “Name” was an important concept in the ancient Near East. Names reflected the natures and characters of the person who bore them and were conceptually equal to the essence of ones being.
In verse 3, the psalm singer states what has prompted these words of thanks to God. “When I called, you answered me” suggesting a particular point in time when the psalmist cried out.
In verse 4, the venue of thanks and singing to God shifts from the realm of the gods (verse 1) to the earthly realm of kings, the second part of the Psalm. The reason that kings ought to join the psalm singer in giving thanks and singing to God is three-fold: 1) The kings have heard the words (verse 5b) The glory of the Lord is great (verse 6b); and the Lord is exalted, seeing and knowing the states of the lowly and the haughty alike (verse 7).
It’s also that those kings may have been some of the enemies who threatened the psalmist. Yet the psalmist prays not for their restraint, punishment, or even destruction, but for their conversion. Right in the middle of a psalm that both praises God and pleads for God’s help, the psalmist turns her attention away from herself and onto the kings whose praise God longs and deserves to hear.
The third section of the psalm (vv. 7-8) speaks of another group whom one might expect to have power over the psalmist, the enemies or those who bring trouble.
God stretches out a hand (verse 7); God’s hand delivers (verse 7); and the psalmist asks God not to “forsake” the “work of your hands” (verse 8). In spite of his troubles, God preserves the psalmist, exercising divine power against his foes. (God’s power is his “right hand”, v. 7.)
Even when the psalmist gets around to praising God for what God has done, he starts with God’s name emphasizing God’s glory and that the Lord “be high”. This God whom the psalmist praises from her very core faithfully pays loving attention to “the lowly,” perhaps including the psalmist herself. While people naturally take notice of those who can do something for us, of the high and mighty, God pays attention to both the ordinary and the extraordinary, to the common and the uncommon. In fact, God is so attentive to human affairs that God knows the proud from “afar.” In other words, God knows the evil intent of the proud.
God has even graciously granted the psalmist “boldness” and “stoutheartedness.” So even though her enemies may angrily threaten her, the psalmist can courageously praise God with her whole being
As Working Preacher writes “Psalm 138 celebrates the name, the steadfast love, the faithfulness, and the intimate care of God in the myriad places in which we find ourselves in life — our sanctuaries of safety; our chaotic social, political, and economic world; our daily trials and troubles. The psalm singer reminds the faithful that their God is a God who remembers and cares; that their God is a God worthy of thanks and worship; and that their God is a God above all gods.”
The poet ends this psalm of wholehearted praise to God with a plea for God not to abandon the works of God’s hands.
Epistle – Romans 12:1-8
The three-chapter excursus on Jewish/Christian relationships ended last week in Romans, and this week we begin to focus on what life as one body with diverse gifts looks like. And with one body comes worship.
In three prior chapters, Paul has figured out how God will bring all peoples into the grace of Jesus Christ, even the Israelites who, by rejecting Jesus, seem to have given up their status as the Chosen People. This week we begin to focus on what life as one body with diverse gifts looks like. We are both collectively and individually being redesigned in Christ to be connected to each other and incorporated into Christ starting with baptism, regardless of the backgrounds from which we have come.
The first two verses urge us to offer our bodies and minds to God, open to actively being used and changed – thus our whole lives become “spiritual worship.” There is a wonderful promise that in doing so, we may discern the will of God – a struggle for many of us – which may lead to working against the prevailing culture. We must be obedient to God’s will and present yourselves as a “sacrifice” (as in the sacrifice of animals in the Temple, i.e. completely), but one that lives: this is your worship of God; it involves your very being
We are, Paul says in v. 2, to be “transformed” by adopting a new mind set, in order to recognize God’s will for us, by discerning that which is “good, … acceptable [to him] and perfect” – rather than giving in (conforming) to the way of thinking in the world around us. We are to adopt a new starting point in our thinking.
How? Because, through the authority and grace given to him by God, Paul insists that we should think of ourselves and use the gifts God has given us, as God has “assigned” (v. 3) to us – not as we or the world consider these gifts. All of us are members of the body of Christ, and each has particular gifts. However, we are asked to be honest about ourselves and our faith, which is itself a gift from God. Being honest, of course, can work two ways – in both avoiding over-claiming our talents or righteousness; but also in acknowledging gifts instead of focusing on weaknesses, given that everyone has gifts from God.
Verses 4 – 8 clearly bring that self-examination into a communal context, within the one body of the church community. Note that the gifts listed here are focused not on the “institution” of the church, but on the core activities of the Christian community with each other and on mission in the world—proclaiming God’s living word, serving others, teaching, coaching, giving, leading, and offering mercy . These gifts are an explication of the not only the unity but the diversity of the Body of Christ and part of our sacrifice. Paul cares about the life of the Christian community as a community—for its fellowship, its expression of mutual care, and its witness to God’s mission at work in the world.
Together we are “one body in Christ” (v. 5), and each is dependent on every other. For the benefit of the community, God has given us different gifts. If my gift is “prophecy” (v. 6, inspired preaching), prophesy to the extent that God has given me the ability; if “ministry” (v. 7, administration of material aid or distribution of alms), “teaching” (a distinct role in the early church), “exhortation” (v. 8, urging others to have faith), giving, or leading, do so properly. If my gift is being “compassionate” (v. 8), be so joyfully. Use the gifts God has given me, and restrict myself to these gifts. In the following verses, Paul illustrates various aspects of the general command of love.
A few words about the church Paul was talking about. Christian community was very intimate. The church in Rome was really a collection of several small house churches where many of the participants literally shared the same house, may have worked together through the day, and shared daily meals and prayers morning and night. Community was not a theoretical construct, or something they might experience occasionally as their otherwise disparate schedules might allow. Community was the constant reality of their daily lives with each other. In this context Paul’s language of the church as body made strong intuitive sense, especially within each of the house communities.
Gospel – Matthew 16:13-20
This section marks a turning point in Matthew’s Gospel. Up till now Jesus has been teaching the crowds the mystery of the Kingdom in the face of growing hostility from the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus now withdraws with the disciples to begin forming them into his ‘church’.
To understand this verse we need to go back to the beginning of the chapter 16
Following debates and discussions with the Pharisees and Sadducees – the religious authorities – we find Jesus and his disciples near Caesarea Philippi, a place with links to other power. Caesarea Philippi was the site of a Temple built in honor of Caesar Augustus by Herod. On one corner was a shrine to Caesar Augustus. Not far from there you could view statues dedicated to the Roman heroes of old.
Around 20 B.C. Augustus had given the town and its surrounding region to King Herod. Herod built up the city, including a temple of white marble that honored the cult of the Caesar. After Herod died in 4 B.C., the region passed to King Philip, who further built up the place and renamed it
Jesus has warned his disciples about religious leaders who can foretell the weather but “cannot interpret the signs of the times” (v. 3); they influence others, leading them astray. The only sign of the new era will be his resurrection (“sign of Jonah”, v. 4). Beyond the reach of Herod Antipas’ spies, he is free to talk.
Ancient Middle Eastern people were always concerned about how other people regarded them. This is the question here.
And it is in this place, where the power of the Romans, of the political leadership, of other gods, was manifest, that Jesus discusses with his disciples who he is, and what authority he might have. The setting made all of the difference. There are two questions.
First, Jesus asks a question, posed all in the 3rd person. “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And the answers point to radical prophets who prepare the way for the promised Messiah.
Herod thinks that he is “John the Baptist” (v. 14); “Elijah” was expected to return at the end of time; “Jeremiah” foretold rejection and suffering. Jesus is seen as a prophet, a spokesman for God.
Jesus asks the disciples the same question (v. 15), but this time to the disciples. “Who do you think I am “
It’s another way of saying, “Why are you following me? Why have you left everything you have known?
Nobody wanted to stick his neck out, and the silence was deafening till Peter broke it. Peter answers, and in this immediate response we can begin to see the role that Peter plays, for it is not his abruptness that is witnessed here, but rather his primacy. He is the first to understand, know, and confess.
Peter has a vital insight, which “my Father” (v. 17), not humans (“flesh and blood”), has revealed to him. Jesus is the Messiah says Peter.
It is amazing he got it. Peter a fisherman lived with his wife in Capernaum, where they shared a house with his mother-in-law and his brother Andrew. He and Andrew had their own boat and were in business with a couple of partners named James and John, Zebedee’s sons. The first time Jesus laid eyes on him, he took one good look and said, "So you’re Simon, the son of John" (John 1:42), and then said that from then on he’d call him Cephas, which is Aramaic for Peter, which is Greek for rock. It is also amazing he admitted it since it could get him killed.
Now, Jesus promptly interprets his answer not as evidence of Peter’s great intelligence, insight or faith, but rather as a gift of grace. It leads to a blessing from Jesus, because it shows Simon’s glimpse of God’s revelation. In this particular setting it was a shot across the Roman bow.
We will recall that this narrative of discovery is particularly crucial in Mark’s account (8:27-38). In Mark, this scene is the critical narrative hinge upon which the whole story turns. With Peter’s confession, the story makes a dramatic shift towards the cross. In Matthew’s account, the story remains important though perhaps not as central as Mark’s version. It remains critical because the question of Jesus’ identity drives so much of the story. For instance, questions of identity are precisely why Matthew begins with a complex, fascinating, structured genealogy.
Genealogies are not just simple accounts of past ancestors. They are ways that we construct identity, ways in which we relate to our past. Jesus’ identity is inextricably linked by Matthew’s genealogy with Abraham and David, with exile and deliverance, with kings and extraordinarily faithful women. So also the birth narrative places Jesus in distinguished company. The threats over his young life, his family’s exile into Egypt, and their eventual return resonates with Moses’ own story. In short, for Matthew, identity is not just about who you are but who is around you, who is accompanying you, who has come before you. Thus the questions of identity are around his closest followers.
In indirect ways, he also has another set of company. The location of this event in Caesarea Philippi is no accident. Caesar’s name and the city he built hovers over the scene. Jesus’ identity is composed in the context of God’s interaction with Israel as well as the regnant power of Jesus’ own time. When Peter declares Jesus to be the Messiah or the anointed one of God, images of political independence are certainly in the air.
Jesus switches from “Simon” (v. 17, the formal name) to “Peter” (v. 18, his nickname);
In V18 “on this rock I will build my church”. The rock is the symbolic anchor for the church.
The “rock” (v. 18) may be:
1. Peter’s insight of Jesus as Christ (“Messiah”, v. 16); that God does reveal to church leaders;
2. Peter.
3. the disciples (if Jesus paused after the second clause of v. 18).
4. Jesus
“Hades” was the place of the dead, so the “church” will survive Jesus’ death; Implicit here is the notion that the Messiah has to suffer and die – which would be unfamiliar to the contemporary Jewish understanding of the Messiah.
Jesus gives Peter “the keys” (v. 19), the ability to unlock the mysteries of the Kingdom; they may also be a symbol of authority over the Church. Originally, when one came to seek the king’s help or counsel, the servant’s job was to open the door to the king’s house and assist him in reaching the king. Christ’s servants, the ministry, have a similar responsibility to assist those God is calling in coming to their King, Jesus Christ.Our confession of Jesus as God’s Christ and our proclamation of Him invite people into the church and the kingdom. The doors have to swing wide open
As John Calvin wrote in his commentary, Peter’s “confession is short but it embraces all that is contained in our salvation.” It is all about faithful service.
Authority is being given to Peter and the disciples for teaching and discipline – rejecting the authority of the Pharisees and Scribes, and of the religion and government of Caesarea Philippi. The church is Jesus’ church, and an assembly of people – not an institution or structure.
If Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, as Peter said, then no matter how modest the church may look in any given time or place, no matter how imperfect the church always is, what we have at the core of it all is a power that outstrips the political powers that be in this world
This passage ends with an admonition for silence about Jesus’ messiahship – perhaps because everyone’s expectations of that idea are so far from what Jesus is, as he expands in next week’s reading from v21-28.
III. Articles for this week in WorkingPreacher:
First Reading – Isaiah 51:1-6
Psalm – Psalm 138:1-8
Epistle – Romans 12:1-8
Gospel – Matthew 16:13-20