Rocks and Creeds

Sermon: Exodus 1:8-2:10 and Mt. 16:13-20
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 8-21-11

Three clergy—a Lutheran, a Catholic and an Episcopalian—ended up at the pearly gates one day. It was St. Peter’s day off, so Jesus himself was administering the entrance exam. “The question is simple,” he said. “Who do you say that I am? The Lutheran stepped forward and began, “The Bible says…” but Jesus interrupted and said, “I know what the Bible says: Who do you say that I am?” The Lutheran said, “I don’t know” and fell through a trap door to that other place. The Catholic stepped forward and began, “The Pope says…” but Jesus interrupted him and said, “I don’t care what the Pope says; who do you say that I am?” “I’m not sure,” said the Catholic, and promptly fell through the trap door to that other place. Jesus turned to the Episcopalian and asked, “Who do you say that I am?” The Episcopalian replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” Then just as Jesus smiled and gestured for the Pearly Gates to be opened, the Episcopalian continued, “but on the other hand…”

There are two great readings today and I can’t preach on both of them. Much as I would like to preach about baby Moses and the midwives, I’m going with the Gospel reading from Matthew. Jesus is quizzing the Apostles much as He is in my introductory story today. He wants to know what they really believe and Peter volunteers what is probably the most profound profession of faith found in any of the Gospels. He proclaims Jesus to be 1) the Christ, the Messiah. Christ is not Jesus’ surname although it kind of sounds that way when we always say it along with Jesus. It means the anointed one of God, the promised Messiah. And 2) he proclaims Jesus to be the Son of God, not just any son or daughter of God, but the Son of the Living God, which is probably the closest to a profession of his divinity to be found in the gospels.

We are used to this terminology. In fact, we take it for granted after a lifetime of hearing and saying it; Jesus is the Messiah, long promised. And He is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, equal to the Father. He is God. We say all that in the Nicene Creed right after the sermon every Sunday. Because Peter said it and really meant it and as we learned later, really tried to follow it’s implications, Jesus changed his name to Rock and built his church on him. He is using the analogy of a building built on the firm foundation of a rock to give us a glimpse into what He really means by Church. Too bad that the word church came to refer to the building, the example, rather than the reality that the example points toward. Much as we love our beautiful, historic building it is not what Jesus built on Peter. Paul gave us another analogy to try to understand what the church is. He said it is the Body of Christ. So it is living and not an inert structure. We are it’s members. The church is people. It is Jesus, the head and we the members. He built it first on the apostles, who are people, with Peter as head of the Apostles. We become members through Baptism. But that’s only the beginning. To be living members of Christ’s Body, the church, we have to live that faith we profess in the Creed. It is not enough to say the words the Sundays we are here, not close to being enough. Not enough to parrot a quote from the Bible or to repeat a pronouncement of the Pope or of Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury for that matter. Simon Peter did not parrot a bible quote. And no Creeds would be formalized for a couple of hundred years. There was yet no pope, although Roman Catholics claim Peter was the first pope, a dubious claim.

What Peter said came from his mind and his heart and his soul. It was not a mere intellectual statement. If we would be true members of the church, we would do the same. Our faith would not be an intellectual statement alone. Our faith would be accompanied with hope and with love. They all go together, mind, heart and soul, faith, hope and love. What really matters is following the teachings of Jesus. Without that the creed is empty. What are his teachings? Ten old testament commandments and two new testament commandments. They are: Put God first. Worship and thank Him. Devote a day a week to rest, recreation and prayer. Speak the truth, especially when swearing with God’s name. Do not take human life and that extends to unborn babies, convicted criminals and war. Do not steal from others, but strive for a fair and equal share of the earth’s bounty for all. Be satisfied with what we have and do not covet what others have. Use the beautiful gift of sexuality within the loving confines of marriage. (Let me add a comment of my own because it is not yet official church teaching, but which I firmly believe is in keeping with the teachings of Jesus. The loving confines of marriage includes same sex unions.) Honor our parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren.

What is our profession of faith following the example of Peter? You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. You are the object of our faith, hope and love as we strive to the best of our ability to follow your teachings in relation to our fellow men and women.