Confession of St Peter: January 28, 2024
The Rev. Nat Johnson
Acts 4: 8-13
1 Peter 5:1-4
Matthew 16:13-19
Psalm 23
“Who do people say that I am?” Jesus asked his disciples. In the arc of Matthew’s story, “the people” have a variety of answers to this question:
The magi recognize Jesus as a child who will be king of Israel;
John the Baptist testifies to Jesus’ power and ability to baptize with the Holy Spirit;
the crowds recognize authority in Jesus on account of his healings and teachings;
the disciples question what kind of man Jesus is that even storms and seas obey his command;
the religious leaders associate Jesus with the ruler of demons;
in his guilt for executing the prophet, Herod thinks Jesus is John the Baptist come back to life.
When Jesus asks this question, he is asking what people have come to believe on account of their encounters with him, and through him, with the Living God. If Jesus posed this question to us today, what might we say? Some say, like his disciples, that Jesus was a prophet. Others say he was a great moral teacher, a spiritual sage, a revolutionary. Still others say he was a lunatic, a criminal, a fraud.
At this point in Matthew’s story, Jesus’ ministry is in full swing. He has healed the sick, restored the forgotten, liberated the possessed, fed over 5,000 in one instance and over 4,000 in another. He has proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God, challenged unjust teachings and practices among the religious and political elite. He has taught with authority and when he himself was challenged about his exclusionary practices, he affirmed the Canaanite woman’s faith and granted her request. In everything Jesus did, he embodied the reign of God and demonstrated God’s just compassion. He challenged religious, political, and social norms, and liberated the people from the oppressive rule that governed their lives.
“Who do people say that I am?” Jesus asked. In response, the disciples claim that “the people” see Jesus standing in the prophetic traditions of John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah – each one called to speak truth to power, to name the injustices inflicted upon the disenfranchised, to name the social sins of the community. In each of the prophets named, the people’s hopes and expectations are also named. While the people may not have the “correct” answer, they saw in Jesus the fulfillment of their hope.
“But who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked the disciples. In a moment of divine inspiration, Peter blurted out, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” His answer affirms the angelic witness who named Jesus and said he would save people from their sins and who would fulfill prophecy, and would be Emmanuel, God with us. And Peter’s confession aligns also with the voice from heaven who, at Jesus’ baptism, claimed him as beloved Son and filled him with the divine Spirit. Jesus praises Peter, not because Peter had somehow figured everything out, but because Peter was open to the revelation of God. No human logic or reasoning would lead to such a confession – as the responses from the people demonstrated.
To be sure, Peter’s response did not necessarily indicate he knew the full implications of what he confessed. Immediately following our passage this morning, Jesus began to explain to his disciples what it means to be the Messiah. He tells them that this path will lead him to suffering, to rejection, to state sponsored torture and execution. Peter could not reconcile this with his understanding of “Messiah.” The Holy One of God surely could not suffer such a devastating defeat! The description of what Jesus said he would face was at odds with Peter’s understanding of who Jesus was and his expectation of what Jesus’ identity meant for him and for the rest of his followers. Though Peter didn’t fully comprehend, his confession was still “correct.”
“But who do you say that Jesus is?” This is a question as much for us as it was for the disciples in our story. It is, perhaps, the question we must answer if we are to call ourselves followers of Christ and on that answer hangs our faith. Is Jesus a moral role model? Is he a wise teacher, a revolutionary prophet, an effective healer? What testimony do you have to offer? What is your experience of the Living God through Jesus’ witness and presence? i
Peter’s story suggests that this exercise is not exclusively about the words we use. Our capacity to answer Jesus is not necessarily dependent upon precise language or intellectual ability. And while it’s not absent these things, Peter demonstrates that there is something more to our testimony, an origin beyond the human mind and heart. Just as the angels bore witness to Jesus’ identity in their announcement to Joseph, just as the magi’s testimony was dependent on their reading the portents in the sky, just as Jesus’ identity was confirmed at his baptism by the voice who claimed him the beloved Son… our capacity to name Jesus rightly is dependent upon the testimony of God’s Spirit who bears witness to us.
Are we capable, this morning, of receiving God’s revelation in Jesus the Christ? Are we open to hearing and believing that Jesus is who he says he is, that the way he followed and beckons us to follow is one of suffering? Are we able to let go of our preconceived ideas and expectations so that we might understand more clearly who it is we follow, who it is that offers us salvation, who it is that gives us abundant life?
Answering this question requires more than just words and intellectual assent. In his letter to the Romans, Paul exhorts his readers to offer their bodies as living sacrifices and that this would be their act of spiritual worship. Peter suggests something similar in his first letter when he exhorts his readers to see themselves as “living stones” being built into a spiritual house, that they might be a holy priesthood. Our witness to the Living God requires more than just words; it requires a life lived in such a way that Jesus’ identity is seen in us. Our lives are meant to be declarations of the One we follow, proclaiming the excellence of the One who has called us. Throughout his letter, Peter suggests that we do this by living in mutuality across differences, through collective responses to injustices, and in the tender and humble fellowship we offer to one another. ii
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Today, we commemorate Peter and his confession. And we also prepare to say “farewell” to our beloved Deacon. The assigned readings for today are appropriate for such occasions and stand as a reminder of the ministry we all share. Though Polly has been set apart for a purpose, the ministry she was entrusted with is founded in and flows from her baptismal identity and ministry. And this ministry belongs to all of us. In our tradition, it is lived out in the vows we make to continue in the apostles’ teachings and the prayers, in worshiping with one another. It is lived out as we resist the forces of evil and stand as an alternative community in the world where our lives proclaim the good news of Christ as we serve him in all people and strive for justice and peace. Polly’s leaving is not an end to her ministry because we will carry it on in this place. As the patron of our house, Peter’s exhortation is given to each of us to tend God’s flock and to be examples in the faith for one another.
Today, let each of us here receive Peter’s charge to serve one another and the world with eagerness and willingness, in humility and love, “so that in unity and peace we may proclaim the one truth and follow the one Lord, who is our Savior, Jesus Christ.” Amen.
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i Feasting on the Word, Theological Perspective
ii Working Preacher (Shively Smith)