Twelfth Sunday after Trinity
“on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
Overview
“On this rock I will build my church”. But which rock, exactly, is Jesus talking about in Matthew 16:13-20? We assume that he means Peter because he has just given the right answer (and because his name means stone). But, in next week’s gospel, that same Peter will be called a stumbling block; still a rock but this time one that is in the way rather than a sure and strong foundation.
The particular rock on which Jesus and his disciples are standing is that of Caesarea Philippi. A place where God’s people had been tested before. A place where they had been asked to put their allegiance to the Roman Empire above their allegiance to God. A place where, those who chose God, faced defeat and death. A place where they were tested.
This conversation takes place just before Jesus predicts his own defeat and death. He knows that his disciples are about to find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Will they bend to the political, cultural and religious pressures or will they stand firm?
In Isaiah 51:1-6, the people are also asked to remember who they are: “look to the rock from which you were hewn, to the quarry from which you were dug.” Political powers will shift and change but God will not. They are a people formed by a God whose loving kindness endures. Even if they forget who they really are, God will not.
And what of us? Do we bend and shift with the changing world around us? When we find ourselves between a rock and hard place do we alter our priorities and values to fit the circumstances? And what does it look like to live as if we truly believe that, whilst “earth will wear out like a garment…, God’s salvation will be forever and God’s deliverance will never be ended.”
FIRST READING
Isaiah 56:1-6
Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord.
Look to the rock from which you were hewn
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah, who bore you,
for he was but one when I called him,
but I blessed him and made him many.
For the Lord will comfort Zion;
he will comfort all her waste places
and will make her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.
Listen to me, my people,
and give heed to me, my nation,
for a teaching will go out from me
and my justice for a light to the peoples.
I will bring near my deliverance swiftly;
my salvation has gone out,
and my arms will rule the peoples;
the coastlands wait for me,
and for my arm they hope.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens
and look at the earth beneath,
for the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and those who live on it will die like gnats,
but my salvation will be forever,
and my deliverance will never be ended.
GOSPEL
Matthew 16:13-20
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist but others Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
