The 14th Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 16A), Aug. 21, 2005
BCP: Isaiah 51:1-6; Psalm 138; Rom. 11:33-36; Matt. 16:13-20
RCL: Exodus 1:8—2:10 or Isaiah 51:1-6; Psalm 138; Rom. 12:1-8; Matt. 16:13-20
When Jesus asked the disciples who others were supposing that he was, they had plenty of answers. When he pressed them to reveal what each of them personally thought, 11 of them fell silent. Did they have no idea? If they did have an idea — and surely they must have — why did they hesitate?
Peter, whose impetuosity flung him into trouble more than once in the New Testament, found himself praised this time for jumping in. He was praised not only for offering an answer, but for being right. Further, the praise that is given is a little unusual. Jesus did not say, “You are right!” He said, “You are blessed!” Without a doubt, Jesus is looking for a personal answer, or he would not have asked the question the way he did. The correct answer is not merely getting the facts right — it is making the leap of discernment about who Jesus really is, and most assuredly saying so in front of an audience.
Today, the assertion that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” sounds familiar to us. We say it regularly and frequently in the Nicene Creed, not to mention plenty of other times each week. Peter, however, is the first person to utter those words. Startling, even frightening, in their implications, it is not at all difficult to sympathize with the 11 who said nothing.
The repercussions of Peter’s assertion are cosmic. Everything is different. The best that everyone had been saying about Jesus is that he was one of the prophets of the Old Covenant. Their like had not been seen for four or five centuries. If he had indeed been a prophet and no more, his ministry would still have been incredibly portentous for his generation. The crowds in their thousands were continually debating who he was, and never came to an answer that satisfied all of them. The public proclamation that he was the Christ came only after the resurrection, when Peter preached the sermon on the day of Pentecost: “The whole House of Israel can be certain that the Lord and Christ whom God has made is this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36). Up to this time, whatever speculation there was remained unsatisfied. “He gave the disciples strict orders not to say to anyone that he was the Christ” (Matt. 16:20). Therefore the uncertainly and speculation before Peter’s post-resurrection proclamation could not be laid to rest, and prepared many thousands for the same personal conviction that made them a “blessed” people.
Look It Up
The lesson from Isaiah asks the faithful to “consider the rock from which you were hewn.” What connection, if any, does this command have to do with the renaming of Simon?
Think About It
His name was Simon, but after his profession he was known as Peter. We know of his many failures and shortcomings, but what are the implications of his being ever known as “the Rock”?
Next Sunday
The 15th Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 17A), Aug. 28, 2005
BCP: Jer. 15:15-21; Psalm 26 or 26:1-8: Rom. 12:1-8; Matt. 16:21-27
RCL: Exodus 3:1-15 or Jer. 15:15-21; Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c or 26:1-8; Rom. 12:9-21; Matt. 16:21-28
