Matthew 16
Source of all wisdom and understanding, amid so many competing voices, let us
hear your word for our times. Send your Holy Spirit to help us discern your will
and follow the path Jesus sets for us as your Living Word. Amen
In the gospel lesson we read today
Jesus is with his disciples in Caesarea Philippi
This is an area that boasts one of the largest springs that feeds the Jordan River
As a result of the abundant water, the land in the region was fertile
There were temples in Caesarea Philippi dedicated to various gods, Baal and Pan
to name two
It may be significant that Jesus asks the disciples who he is at a spot where false
gods had been worshipped
Peter makes his confession of faith where the Roman god Pan had a temple
It may also be that Jesus wanted his followers to reflect upon who he was right at
this spot where the power of God the Creator was evident in the abundant water
and lush vegetation
Regardless of why the conversation happened at Caesarea Philippi
Jesus asks who people think he is
And the answers given are based upon what people have seen him do
And what they expect
The answers come from the head
Some thought Jesus might have been John the Baptist come back to life
After all, Jesus did wander in the wilderness and he taught with authority
Just like John
2
Some thought that Jesus might be Elijah
There was a promise in the Hebrew tradition that Elijah would come back
And Jesus did proclaim that he had a message from God
Others thought that he might be Jeremiah or one of the prophets
Same criteria
So far these are the conclusions that may have been discussed as the men
gossiped at the local gathering place
Jesus steps the question up a level and says, “Who do YOU say that I am?”
Simon answers, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God”
This answer comes from the heart
Simon has seen in Jesus something more than there has been in any other teacher
he met before
Jesus is divine
He is more than any other person that Simon has ever met
In Matthew’s gospel Peter makes the confession of who Jesus is and he is given a
job and a new name
It is as if Jesus is saying “Good for you Peter”
Jesus does say “On you I will build my church”
The conversation Peter has with Jesus is only a part of the ongoing relationship
between the two of them
Jesus is the divine energy in Peter’s life
And being equipped by Jesus the Messiah, Peter is able to be the one on whom
the church is built
I think the writer Thomas Merton was onto something years ago when he said
that Jesus was a like a great magnifying glass,
3
And through him the light of God came to the world in a concentrated and
beautiful way;
And when we place our dry and brittle lives under that light, the spirit of each
person comes ablaze with newness.
To me that is the power of Jesus Christ–divine light, divine energy and divine love
that still combusts within the complexity of the human heart.
To know that energy and to share it with others is everything. (Rev. Scott
Colglazier)
To recognize that Jesus is the Christ is to recognize that energy that can be
unleashed.
God at work in our lives
It is more than a statement of fact
It is living as if that divine energy is our energy
The word Messiah means anointed one
The chosen one
The leader
The one given God’s work to do
The Messiah is the one who brings us to God and God to us
This way of living
This being touched by the divine spark
This being in relationship with God
Is not something that can be described like a geometry theorem
It is rather the story of an ongoing and growing relationship
4
Our lesson in the Hebrew Bible today is the story of the birth of one of the people
who had notable faith
Moses
Sometimes God calls us to big and bold things like in the call of Moses
We all know the story of the call of Moses
He heard a voice calling his name
He heard that voice coming out of a burning bush
And upon closer examination he saw that the bush was not consumed
He listened to the voice and led the Hebrew people out of Egypt.
Moses would never have gotten to that wonder moment without some faithful
women
John Bell has written a song in which he highlights two of the women who helped
Moses
There is a line of women
who took on powerful men
defying laws and scruples
to let life live again.
And though, despite their triumph,
their stories stayed untold
God kept their number growing,
creative, strong and bold.
So sing a song of Shiphrah
with Puah close at hand,
engaged to kill male children,
they foiled the king's command.
And sing a song of Rahab
who sheltered spies and lied;
and sing a song of Esther
preventing genocide.
5
Shiphrah and Puah were the Hebrew midwives in Egypt
Pharaoh was so intimidated by the Hebrews that he commanded that the male
children be killed at birth
There was no voice from God that directed the midwives what to do in response
to this command
There was no burning bush as there would be for Moses later in his life
There was no angel who wrestled with them
There was no pillar of cloud or of fire
There was the daily prayer with which the faithful Hebrew began the day
Hear, O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One.
Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever.
You shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your might.
And these words which I command you today shall be upon your heart.
You shall teach them thoroughly to your children, and you shall speak of them
when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down
and when you rise.
You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for a reminder
between your eyes.
And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.
These Hebrew midwives knew that to love God with all their heart, soul and might
meant keeping the law of God
It meant protecting life
6
It meant that they were to obey God before Pharaoh – so they did
These women who made the catch at countless births were the ones who helped
to keep Moses alive.
Moses’s mother was not about to let her son be slaughtered either
She kept him hidden for as long as she could
Moses’ mother was helped by her daughter, Moses’s sister, Miriam
And then there was Pharaoh’s daughter
When she found the baby Moses floating in his basket on the river she did not
obey her father’s pronouncement
She decided that she was going to take this child and raise him in the palace
Miriam, being a dependable and quick-thinking young woman offered her mother
as the nurse to care for Moses
There we have it
Moses kept safe by 5 women and raised by his own mother.
They were not conformed to the world
But rather served God
Many years later the apostle Paul would write
“I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God to present your bodies a
living sacrifice
Holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service
And do not be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of
your minds
That you may prove the will of God”
Romans has us consider how God has gifted us and to offer those gifts in service
Notice we are to consider how God had gifted us, and to use those gifts
7
We don’t compare ourselves to others, we offer who we are to God
It isn’t just the quiet uncelebrated people who doubt their abilities and place in
the world
Even kings can doubt that they are doing worthwhile work for God
The story is told of King Henry III of Bavaria who lived in the eleventh century
He grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch.
He made an application to Prior Richard at a local monastery,
He asked to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the
monastery.
“Your majesty” said Prior Richard,
“Do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience?
That will be hard because you have been a king.”
“I understand,” said Henry. “The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ
leads you.”
“Then I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard.
“Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.”
When King Henry died, a statement was written:
“The king learned to rule by being obedient.”
(Source: told in Leadership Magazine, Fall 1985.)
When Jesus asked Simon who he, Jesus, was
Simon gave an answer that showed he understood that Jesus was one who had
been sent by God
The life that Simon would live as a disciple of the Messiah was one that would be
a life of obedience in as much as Simon could offer obedience
8
We know that Simon Peter was a man who spoke without thinking,
who denied knowing Jesus,
who wanted to walk on water, but began to sink
We also know that this man with all of his foibles
was the one on whom the church was built
He was a disciple for the rest of his life
He travelled and taught about Jesus, living and teaching the gospel to as many as
he could
The divine spark was present in his life
Had the song “This little light of mine” been written in that day, Peter would have
sung it
And so today I ask, how has God gifted you?
What are the unique abilities that you have that can be offered to show the divine
spark that is in your life?
The following story tells of the experience of one man in showing God’s love
Oswald Golter was a missionary in northern China during the 1940′s.
After ten years’ service he was returning home.
His ship stopped in India,
and while waiting for a boat home he found a group of refugees living in a
warehouse on the pier.
Unwanted by anyone else the refugees were stranded there.
Golter went to visit them.
9
As it was Christmas-time wished them a merry Christmas and asked them what
they would like for Christmas.
“We’re not Christians,” they said. “We don’t believe in Christmas.”
“I know,” said the missionary, “but what do you want for Christmas?”
They described some German pastries they were particularly fond of,
and so Oswald Golter cashed in his ticket,
used the money to buy baskets and baskets of the pastries,
took them to the refugees, and wished them a merry Christmas.
When he later repeated the incident to a class, a student said,
“But sir, why did you do that for them?
They weren’t Christians. They don’t even believe in Jesus.”
“I know,” he replied, “but I do!”
One way our faith is lived out is by supporting others who work on the frontlines
On August 19 World Humanitarian Day was observed when we recognized and
celebrated the efforts of humanitarian workers who provide life-saving assistance
to millions of people affected by conflicts, natural disasters and other
emergencies.
Whatever their faith, they are the living examples of what Jesus asked us to do.
One way we support that work is through the efforts of PWD&D workers, as well
as those we support through our gifts to Presbyterians Sharing
With daily reports of so many struggling around the world, we can give thanks to
God for these selfless advocates, and we can give thanks that we are able to offer
unwavering support for their vital efforts.
10
For most of us our obedience to God is lived out in our day to day lives, like the
lives of the Hebrew midwives
We live lives of obedience to God letting our light shine where we find ourselves
Helping by giving and sharing
Like the hymn writer we say
On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand
Prayers of the people
Blessed be our God,
For you created
heaven and earth.
so we praise you, God,
on earth, as it is in heaven.
We give our thanks to you,
For all the ways
you touch our lives.
We are so grateful God,
that you are always here with us.
We beg for help, dear God,
For all the things,
we pray for now.
Please hear our sighs, dear God,
11
and in your love, please meet our need.
We pray for children in our world, that they may be safe and loved
Help us to see how we may be like the Hebrew midwives, or like Moses’ mother
or Miriam
Help us to be brave to act on behalf of the disadvantaged and powerless
We give thanks to you God that young women and men in Guatemala are learning
how to stand up against gender-based violence. We pray for PWS&D’s partner
AMMID and their staff as they work for women’s empowerment.
We pray for staff and campers at Camp d’action biblique in Richmond, QC, as they
learn and grow together in faith in a Christian camping community.
We pray for the courage to seek justice where it is denied.
We pray for staff and campers at Cairn Family of Camps in Baysville, ON, as they
learn and grow together in faith in a Christian camping community.
We pray for those who visit the Presbyterian Church Heritage Centre in Carlisle,
ON. May they be encouraged and inspired by their encounter with the rich legacy
of faith present within The Presbyterian Church in Canada
We pray for the Executive of the Atlantic Mission Society as they finalize plans for
the annual meeting in September.
We bring to you our prayer for those who are ill, or perplexed
We pray for those who grieve
And so we join our prayers,
with all the saints
and folks in heaven.
12
Listen to us, God,
now and always,
Amen
Commissioning and Benediction .
Consider the gifts God has given you
Find ways to offer yourself with generosity, diligence and cheerfulness.
And may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may
abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit and the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ