2026-08-23 Pentecost 13

Scripture Readings

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen!

Do you ever lay awake at night, pondering the intricacies of life?? You know those all important questions like “If a tree falls in the forest, and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?” The obvious answer is “no, it doesn’t.” But the squirrel it lands on sure does! Or what about Jolene, do you ever wonder about her? I mean, if Dolly Parton worried about Jolene stealing her man, what did Jolene bring to the table?! She was probably a rich rancher from Spring Valley or something. All of these important and pressing questions of life surround us all the time. Should we invest our money in this fund, should we plant this variety of tomatoes this year, should I get the pizza or the pasta at the Olive Garden? Maybe just the Italian Wedding soup and Salad instead!

Today though, our Bible text from Matthew’s Gospel poses for us the greatest question that the world could ever ponder: “who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (MT 16:13). That’s a “deep end of the pool” kind of question! When was the last time we asked that question? What kinds of answers did we get? It seems like the world has always been a little bit confused about who Jesus is. Even 2000 years ago, it wasn’t quite clear. “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (MT 16:14). What about today, 2000 years later? Some say a nice teacher, an example, an inspiration, a buddy, a pal, a friend, a rebel, a racist, a civil disturber, a vegetarian, a hippie. This really shouldn’t come as a shock to us though, as St. John’s Gospel says, “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him” (JN 1:10). If you remember some 20 years ago, the Da Vinci Code book became a movie and certainly caused the world to ask these kinds of questions about Jesus. Hollywood painted the picture of Jesus as a family man, marrying Mary Magdalene and fathering kids, the lineage of which might walk amongst us to this very day! But there is no crucifixion for the sins of the world, no resurrection from the dead beating down death by death, no destruction of the works of Satan. “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

When the world is asked that question, you’re going to get the veritable cornucopia of answers. But Jesus is more concerned with what His followers have to say than that of a social media Facebook poll. “But who do you say that I am?” (MT 16:15) This my friends is the greatest question a person can ever face. The correct answer is what defines faithfulness or not!. Good ol’ Peter, for being “ye of little faith” answers correctly from his Holy Spirit enlightened soul! “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (16:16). Eat that, Dan Brown and all the other Hollyweirdos. The truth of the Gospel rings loud and clear throughout the ages! St. Peter’s answer prevents the Christian Faith from being seen as merely another philosophical system, or ‘one path of many’. It cannot be mixed with other religions, it cannot be lumped in with worldly spiritualities. There is no compromise with the world and it’s variety of responses. Christ is the one and only Son of the Living God. He is the way, the truth, and the life. But such an answer cannot come from human logic and reason. It comes only by divine revelation, it comes only by faith – and faithfulness comes only from the working of the Holy Spirit.

“But who do you say that I am?” This question perhaps has not been posed to you in quite some time, but all of us who wish to follow Christ must answer. Who do you say that Christ is, when the neighbours, or the family and or the friends ask you? When they ask you why you attend church, what do you say? Do you confess that Christ is the Son of the Living God or do you clam up and keep your personal faith to your personal self? I think by and large we have been guilty of keeping Jesus a secret. But ever since the stone was rolled away from the tomb, the time of secrecy has been over. Now is the time of proclamation. Now is the time for you to boldly give your answer. Our world dwells in the darkness of Satan pretty much all the time. The demons attack the church and all of those who are faithful to the Gospel message. But now, perhaps even more now than ever before, our world needs the light of Christ shining through your answer. “But who do you say that I am?”

When I was a kid they invented the Saskatchewan Science Centre in Regina. A veritable “Powerhouse of Discovery!” We went there on a school field trip back in the day. A few years ago we took our kids there for an interesting outing and it really hadn’t changed at all since I was a kid! Same thing for Wanuskewin in Saskatoon. Exactly the same from when I was a kid. Truly this is a hallmark of Saskatchewan. We don’t change our clocks and we don’t change our exhibits! But I remember being at the Science Centre and we saw all these shiny stones and fossils and petrified wood. “Petrified wood!” I thought to myself, “who’da thunk that a tree could become rock!?” Then when I grew up and learned Greek for Bible studies it became very clear: petra in greek means stone. And this word is also where the name “Peter” comes from. Petra, Petros, Peter. Our Lord Jesus does this exact word play in the Gospel text: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (MT 16:17-18).

Not only did Peter sink like a rock in the water only 2 chapters ago, but our Lord Jesus tells us that his Holy Spirit inspired confession of Christ, is the “rock” on which the church is built. The gates of hell cannot resist this solid foundation. This image of hell that Jesus uses, this image of gates, calls to mind a fortified city. Any city worth its salt back in the day had huge walls and gates to protect it. This neat image Jesus uses shows that by His Cross and Resurrection, He has shattered the gates of hell and opening for us the way to everlasting life. So also, the church, though persecuted and attacked throughout time, shall never be stopped in her proclamation of salvation to the world.

The church, Baptized Christians, we exist to make this “rocky” confession of Christ. We are not a conglomeration of like minded people coming together for social reasons. We are not a country club. The church is not this building made with human hands. The church is truly a Divine gathering of God’s faithful people, built on the solid rock foundation of Jesus Christ her Lord. We have been marked with the cross of Christ in our Baptism and sealed with God’s Holy Spirit. Our membership in God’s church is heavenly and nothing can change that fact. It is an enormous source of comfort to know that the church has been given the amazing power, the so called “keys of the kingdom” to forgive sins and make people whole through this rocky confession we proclaim.

These keys continue to do what Jesus did for all on the cross - binding sin, Satan, death and hell, while loosing sinners from their guilt and shame, freeing them to be the children of God, and swinging open wide the gates of salvation. What an amazing source of hope and joy for us as we make our way through this world. Christ Jesus has conquered! By faith we are joined to Him, the Son of the Living God. And you, my dear baptized believers, confessing Him, you are as solid as the Rock who saves you. In His Name, Amen!