Peter and Paul

Matthew 16: 13-26

June 29, 2014

Today is a day we remember the human hands which

were used in making the foundation of the church.

Two men that have long been identified as the most

prominent figures of Christianity aside from Jesus himself.

The human hands that did the work that

many others have done after them:

They told the stories, they wrote the letters,

they lead the congregations, they preached the sermons,

they gathered the people, they shared the gospel,

they clarified the purpose and vision.

They baptized, served communion, prayed.

They faced arrest, persecution, and death.

They did what the church does,

but these two did it when there was no history,

no model, no best practices to copy.

They were pioneers.

Peter and Paul both recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the chosen one. 

The one sent from God to save the world,

through his own death and resurrection.

Paul and Peter recognized this, never wavered on it -

at least after the resurrection.

and like Jesus told them in the gospel reading -

This is the rock that the church -  the one that we are a part of -

is still built on today.

Peter, formerly called Simon was seen ,

even by Jesus, as the leader of the disciples.

He was headstrong,  maybe a little too eager, too sure of himself.

But still, Jesus chose him for the job, even though he would

deny Jesus when the chips were down.

 

But when it really mattered, Peter came through.

On that day of Pentecost, when the Spirit blew

through the church, and there was chaos of people speaking

and understanding other languages,

it was Peter who brought clarity

to that moment and told the people that it was

the power of the crucified

and risen Christ they were experiencing.

They should believe, change their lives, and be baptized.

And Paul, also called Saul,

was chosen after Jesus resurrection,

after the church had already begun.

Maybe Paul was a little more stable,

a little more experienced in life than Peter.

But he was chosen, in spite of the fact that he was

a Pharisee who lead a persecution of Christians

and supervised the stoning of the Apostle Stephen.

But after his dramatic conversion when it really mattered,

Paul came through for Jesus. He turned from a mean,

callus persecutor of Christians to a caring, fatherly person

who started and nurtured communities into being, Churches for Christ And he reminded them to love one another,

and explained to them the meaning of Jesus crucifixion.

Peter and Paul, two normal people who

had extraordinary roles in making a glorious institution,

which still does today what they set out to do from the beginning:

worship Christ, remember his life, death and resurrection,

and live by his teachings.

 

Now some people might point out that these two

strong people that God chose never really saw eye to eye on much.

We see some of their arguments in Paul’s letters and

some other writings, so surely there were many more.

Peter thought the church should go in one direction

and Paul thought it should go in another.

And some might point out that this church that they built

sometime through its history has done as much harm as good. 

Inquisitions, burning for heresies,

it’s had a hand in preserving

slavery, prejudice, war, homophobia.

Its leaders have sat quietly in lavish palaces while

it’s own people starved and suffered.

And those are valid criticisms of the history of the Christian Church

that can’t and shouldn’t be denied.

I have never been to Rome or to St. Peter’s Basilica there, but I hear that in the dome

that is above the very ornate altar

in the center of the cathedral , is printed in Latin verse 18 of this gospel that we read today:

“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,

and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.”

The idea of the Church at that time, the 1500’s,

and for much of the time before that,

was that the church rested on Peter and the position that Peter

held as leader of the church,

Therefore whoever took the office of Peter,

or the pope, the church rested on that person

who was then understood as second only to Christ

and could do no wrong.  Or at least less wrong than

any other average Christian.

Martin Luther and other people have found

that notion to be dangerous

Luther recognized that even Peter was flawed:

he was both saint and sinner at the same time.

And the church, still a holy and sacred vessel,

ordained by God - is still the creation and product of people.

My suggestion is that it would do the church good if

the architects of St. Peters would

take off some of that gold leaf somewhere,

or maybe erect a wall of plywood

right below that dome that says,

“on this rock I will build my church”

and etch, or just spray paint the other statement

that Jesus says just five verses later to Peter:

“Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things

Peter, Paul, and us, the church that they helped create

live constantly between those two realities:

The great, glorious, holy, community of baptized saints

gathered from the four corners of the earth by the Holy Spirit

and perfectly center around our savior Jesus Christ,
And the flawed, sinful, selfish, fearful, human creation that

at many times has it’s mind set not on divine things

but on human things.

We gather together today with Peter and Paul

and the rest of the saints and sinners that have built

this church that is our community of faith.

Flawed and stained,

and yet a place of sacred promise.