This morning’s Gospel reading centers on one of the key questions of our faith. Who is Jesus? When Jesus poses the questions to his disciples, they prevaricate a little: “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” (Matthew 16:14) Jesus pushes them a bit: “But who do you say I am?”
Peter is the one to step up and make the bold statement of faith, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” (v.16) It is this move that leads Jesus to say, “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.” (v.17-18)
Peter is the rock on which Christ will build the church. Now, you may have heard before that this is a bit of a play on words. The word for “rock” in Greek is petra, which means that Peter’s name is literally rock. Rocks are stubborn and dense, things that Peter can be at times. This pun isn’t the point, though, there is something about Peter that Jesus thinks can be foundational to the church. …to which my response is, “Really?! This guy?”
Peter is not exactly a stellar example of devotion, faith, or, frankly, even intelligence throughout most of the Gospels. What stories about Peter to you remember?
- Transfiguration
- Feeding of the multitudes
- Walking (or sinking) on water
- Last Supper (Don’t just wash my feet, but my head also!)
- Garden of Gethsemane
- Denying 3 times
So Peter makes some mistakes. He makes some bad calls. He can be impulsive and rash. Even still, he is able to be a powerful witness and evangelist. In truth, this is what makes Peter such a compelling figure for us. He is no superhero. He is fully human and extremely fallible. It’s not that Peter is an example to be emulated, so much as he is evidence that God can do great things through all kinds of people.
The only standards we need to meet are God’s…and God has set up no requirements for us. The world around us tells us we need to be smarter, or thinner, or stronger, or wealthier, or in a better career or driving a better car or living in a bigger house… These are the messages we hear over and over again. But there is more for us.
The apostle Paul, writing to the church in Rome says this: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2)
We are not to be conformed to this world, meaning we need not strive to live up to those messages we are given. God does not care about our job title or house size or bank account or appearance. God cares that we are whole and healthy and that we seek to help others find wholeness and health as well. We, as children of God, as disciples of Jesus, are called to be a “living sacrifice.”
“Living sacrifice” is kind of an oxymoron. A sacrifice, at least in the time Paul was writing, was something offered on an altar to a deity. If it was an animal, it was killed. Sometimes other things would be offered, but these offerings were not expected to have much of a life after they were given. You offered them up and they were gone; they were no longer yours.
So what does it mean to be a living sacrifice? What does that look like?
I think it means to live our lives sacrificially for the sake of the Gospel. It means to be generous with our wealth because we recognize that it is not ours to begin with anyway. It means to be willing to put our lives on the line for God’s justice. It means doing what we can so that everyone can experience safety, peace, and the dignity which should be afforded to every human life. It means that we live in such a way that our every action is a testimony to God’s abundant love and grace.
Peter, for all his mistakes and foibles, embodies being a living sacrifice. Although he doesn’t always do the right thing at the right time, he is devoted to God. He leaves his life behind to follow Jesus. Even though he denies it, people on Good Friday recognize him as one who was with Jesus. After the resurrection, he goes out to proclaim the good news he experienced firsthand. He preaches about God’s love. He helps to organize the blossoming church to help widows and others on the margins. He lives his faith in every aspect of his life.
We, too, can seek to be living sacrifices: people who put our faith in God first.
For some people, this might call to mind simply making sure that courthouses don’t remove the ten commandments or arguing that prayer in schools is necessary, but it is so much more than that. Living out our faith every day means finding time to pray, whether it’s in a group, in a quiet corner of your house, or at a stoplight driving home from work because you just have something you need to share with God.
It means seeing everyone you encounter, from the jerk who cut you off to the person asking for money outside the grocery store, as a beloved child of God, and acting accordingly. It means taking the stories of other people seriously when they share about struggles in their life and not just being grateful that it hasn’t happened to you. It means taking the call to love our neighbors as ourselves seriously, not just while we’re at church on a Sunday morning.
We’ll mess up. We’ll do or say the wrong thing. We’ll be selfish or scared or thoughtless. That’s simply what sin does. But it doesn’t mean we can’t also do the work God has called us do.
Throughout the Bible, God calls and equips people who are full of flaws. Moses was scared and couldn’t speak articulately. Jacob tricked his brother into giving away his inheritance, ran away from the consequences, and wrestled with God. Esther was a young woman, wholly unprepared to be Queen, who had to stand up for her people. David committed adultery and behaved rashly on more than one occasion. Paul had spent his time violently persecuting the church before Jesus came to him in a vision. Peter denied that he was ever even with Jesus.
And yet, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and brought down the Ten Commandments. Jacob was given the name Israel and God promised that many generations would come from him. Esther risked her live and saved her people from slaughter. David, for all his errors, solidified and established the Israelite nation and set the stage for the temple to be built. Paul became a prolific missionary and evangelist for the early Christian movement. Peter was called the rock on which the church would be built.
If God can work through even these people, if the stories of our faith lift up these individuals, as imperfect as they are, God can surely work through us, as well. Let us be living sacrifices, rocks on whom the church can stand.
Amen.
– Rev. Rebecca Ajer Frantz, Lutheran Church of Our Saviour
Image from Sundays & Seasons. All rights reserved.