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Monday, August 25, 2008
Rock-Solid Faith
Psalm 124:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20
Jesus took his disciples on a little retreat for some spiritual R 'n' R.
Not in a serene secluded place like St. Dorothy's Rest, where our church family will get away next month up in the Sonoma County redwood forest. No, he took his men to the place called Caesarea Philippi, about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. About as far into Gentile territory as you could get and still be inside Palestine. It was shot through with spiritual significance, but vibrated with alien powers that warred against the Jewish religious traditions.
True enough, it was honored by devout Jews as a mystical site. The mountain there featured a gaping cavern whose bottom held an immeasurably deep pool of spring water, which was believed to be the source of the Jordan River.
But the area was strewn with the ruins of ancient temples dedicated to various Syrian nature gods called Baal this or that, perpetual competitors for the loyalty and service of God's chosen people Israel. Remember, for example, the prophet Elijah's face-off with priests of Baal worship on Mt. Carmel when Ahab and Jezebel ruled the land (see 1 Kings 18).
Not only that, but in Greek mythology that awesome cavern was the birthplace of Pan, the randy god of nature. Yikes.
More recently, the city had been renamed Caesarea by King Herod to honor the Roman emperor and thank him for allowing Herod to hold onto power over the Jews 'way out there in the imperial boondocks. To seal the political deal, Herod had a huge marble temple built and dedicated to the emperor as god incarnate. The Philippi part came in when Herod's son Philip the tetrarch served as project manager in a temple improvement venture.
So here, of all places, Jesus decides to spend some time refocusing on spiritual things with his twelve disciples.
And he asks them, "What's the buzz, boys? Tell me what people are saying about me?"
They offer various bits of the word from the streets, none of it tremendously persuasive and all of it missing the real point.
Then he says, "So, what about you? Who do you say that I am?"
They just sit there, silently. But their minds and their hearts are racing noisily. "What can I say? Suppose I get it wrong? Maybe I haven't been paying close enough attention!"
Finally, Simon breaks the silence. "You," he says, "are the Messiah, the son of the living God!"
And Jesus answers, "Right on. You got it exactly right. And not by your own keen insight, but by the revelation of God my Father in heaven." And then he nicknames Simon "Peter," or "Rocky." To emphasize the rock-solid character of the faith he's just expressed in what the church calls The Great Confession.
For now, just take note of the "living" part of Peter's reference to God. How appropriate, given the location there among all those markers of alternative spiritual paths.
To Peter, and all biblical believers both Jewish and Christian, all the rival deities are as good as dead. In fact, the prophet Jeremiah calls them "nothings," nonexistent figments of spiritual imagination (Jeremiah 10). He goes on at length about the folly of idolatry...
People cut down a tree, carve its trunk into an idol, deck it with jewels and precious metal, then worship the end product as if it had a life of its own. But without willing handlers to carry it, prop it up, polish it, and finally stash it for safe keeping, the idol can't do a single blessed thing!
And yet, inert idols and their elaborate mythology do exert incredible power in people's lives.
Apart from theology, let's think about how that works in today's world.
History books and newspapers are full of stories about good people whose early idealism went all wrong when they were seduced by sexual appetites... by the quest for power... by the pleasures of popular recognition, of personal influence, of fame and fortune and...
Well, you get the point. One way or another, we tend to bow down and worship at the shrine of one or another "nothing," hoping against hope that this time will be different. For we are different -- innocent, well-intentioned, optimistic, good at heart. Oh yeah.
In this context, if we will only listen carefully enough, you and I might hear a voice... "And you, who do you say that I am?"
Who is Jesus to you? To me? And what difference does it make in the way we live our lives? Really?
Listen to the GODcast!
posted by Jack Buckley at
12:12 PM
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