Sermon

“Upon This Rock”

Matthew 16:13-20

A sermon preached by the Rev. Douglas M. Donley

August 18, 2002

University Baptist Church

Minneapolis, MN

I told you I wanted to speak about rocks this week in my weekly e-mail. When I was younger and differently proportioned, I used to love to rock climb. I still like the idea of rock climbing, but I’m not sure I could enjoy it as much with my waning agility. I chose this sermon title a few months ago when I saw that the lectionary text for this Sunday from Matthew’s gospel indicated that Peter was the rock of the church. How ironic that last Sunday, Andrew Riverside Presbyterian church, a church with whom we once flirted a merger, lost a portion of their wall. Huge stones fell out of the second story of their church building as a result of too much age, pressure, water on too porous stones and too little maintenance. The stones fell in on their great hall and onto an apartment building next door. Thankfully, no one was hurt. But it got me thinking again about the stones of hour lives, about the rocks about the foundation of our being. Hymns started to flow through my musical brain:

“How firm a foundation, ye saints of the lord is laid for your faith in God’s excellent word….That soul though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”

“Rock of ages, cleft for me let me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood, from the riven side which flowed. Be of sin the double cure, cleanse me from its guilt and power.”

“My life flows on in endless song above earth’s lamentation. I feel the real, though far off hymn that hails the new creation, no storm can shake my inmost calm, while to that rock I’m clinging, All things are mine since I am loved, How can I keep from singing?”

On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

“The building block that was rejected has become the cornerstone.”

But perhaps the most poignant hymn is this one,

"Built on the Rock the church doth stand even when steeples are falling.

Crumbled have spires in every land. Bells still are chiming and calling.

Calling the young and old to rest, calling the souls of those distressed,

Longing for life everlasting.

Not in our temples made with hands God the almighty is dwelling

High in the heavens God's temple stands. All earthly temples excelling.

Yet thee who dwells in heaven above, Deigns to abide with us in love

Making our bodies God's temples.

We are God's house of living stones, built for God's own habitation;

God fills our hearts, God's humble thrones, granting us life and salvation.

Were two or three to seek God's face, God in their midst would show thy Grace.

Blessings upon them bestowing."

Would that we could take all of the problems of this world and tie them up in a song. We could have it all solved in three or four verses and then we could go home and putter in our gardens or watch the Twin, the Vikings or even Tiger Woods, knowing all is well with the world.

But life is more complicated than that. And we had better know where our hearts and hands rely. We had better know our foundation. We had better look at the rocks of our lives. In these days when rocks fall from towers and foundations are shaky at best, it’s good to look at the rocks upon which we depend. It takes more searching than it used to. We can no longer depend upon the courts to protect civil rights. We can no longer depend upon the congress and senate to look out for the best interest of their constituents as much as their re-election possibilities. We can no longer depend upon the integrity of the Supreme Court. We can no longer depend upon the wisdom and intelligence of our leadership to protect peace and foster tolerance. We can no longer depend upon the infallibility of the clergy or others to be safe from abuse. We can no longer depend upon the voracity of the stock market. My dad would love to retire at 67, but he cannot afford to. He’s in the same position of many people these days. All of these rocks are coming a tumblin’ down like so many trade towers. Corporate moguls used to be the people in whom we put our trust.

The only one we can truly put our trust in is God. God is the only one who is infallible. God is the only one who laughs at our worldly priorities and shakes the divine head. God is the only one who can deliver us from evil. We need God now more than ever. But God can only work through people. God can inspire people, but people need to take the action. And there’s the rub. We are God’s hands and feet. That is why it’s so important to know God’s plan and to have a relationship with God that is ever growing, yet ever-grounded in that unmovable rock of our salvation.

And just in case you think you don’t have enough faith to do all of that, I’ve got good news for you. You’re in good company. The disciples weren’t much better than any of us. Jesus asks Peter, “Who do people say that I am?” He’s asking him how people perceive him. He says the obvious answers. He says some say John the Baptist. Others say one of the prophets. Still others say you are Elijah. But Peter, says Jesus, “Who do YOU say I am?” Jesus never made it easy. Like a good therapist, he said to Peter, stop parroting what other people say. Stop hiding behind others’ words. Who do You say that I am?

It’s interesting the words he uses in this story. He says “Simon Peter, who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter responded, “You are the Messiah, the Christ.” He was the first one to declare Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus responded by saying “blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah. You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church”. Now you need to know what these names Simon and Peter mean.

Simon means “reed”. You see these things blowing in the breeze. A reed can be swayed by another’s’ influence. “Simon, your vocation is no longer to be a fickle weed. No, your name now is “rock””. Petros, Peter means rock.

You are no longer a reed, you’re a rock, and that’s what I’ll build my church upon. Now, Jesus called him Peter, rock, but he acted like Simon, a reed. He was impetuous. He fell asleep on Jesus. He denied Jesus. He wanted to have the faith of Jesus, but proved his lack of faith when he couldn’t walk on the water, like Jesus.

Peter’s a lot like us. Sometimes we need someone to call us to something even before we know we have the ability. That’s what Jesus did when he renamed Simon-the-reed, Peter-the-rock. Nelson Mandela said the following (now well-known) words at his inauguration:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us: it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Jesus tried to liberate Simon, by calling him rock, Peter. Peter does a pitiful job

Jesus even calls him Satan four verses later. But Jesus doesn’t let him get away with it. We are so good at writing people off for a wrong they have done or a flub they have made. The good news is that God doesn’t give up on us. God want to call us all petros. God wants us to make our lives into living stones. If that happens, then things would be pretty different in this world of ours.

Jesus says, I will build my church upon this rock and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. He’s certainly not talking about porous Mississippi sandstone. He’s talking about a force greater than the winds of this politician or that one.

Buildings are finite. Just like stocks; just like congressional, senate or gubernatorial terms; just like other material assets. They don’t last. But your faith, that’s what lasts. That’s what needs to last. That’s what saves us.

Jesus is calling us Petros even when we don’t think we are that strong. Jesus is telling us to cling to that rock that will not crumble, especially when other supposedly formidable structures are too fragile for words.

The church, says Matthew, is entrusted with the keys to God’s reign, symbolizing victory over death. Death is destined to lose because its opponent has been given the ultimate weapon: the keys to the gates of heaven. Andrew Riverside and UBC were both built upon a sound foundation. I’m not talking about buildings now. I’m talking about foundations that last. We were built upon the rock of great faith. We now exist so that the disenfranchised have a home. We now find our rocks hardening as we face the ever-increasing challenge of living a faithful life in the midst of a world so antithetical to basic economic, ethical and international morality. We need that firm foundation, that rock to cling to when our edifices crumble around us.

We are God's holy temple. The people. The Community is the place where God's revelation occurs. Therefore, we are to keep that light shining. WE are to build up that community. We need to tend the garden of our relationships, and we need to always remember the one who gives us hope, faith and a foundation which will never be shaken.

And if we take care of God's community and always remember that, then the church will be built upon a firm foundation, upon a rock the church will stand. Fires and earthquakes and snow and icy winds and time over porous sandstone will test us. And still, the church will continue its great and powerful work. For it is the work of God which is always here.

Sisters and brothers, the role of a Christian is to build our foundation on solid ground. The rock of a Christian is to follow Jesus. The rock of a Christian is to sacrifice to the work of God and not the work of empire. The rock of Christian is to live with integrity. The rock of a Christian is to celebrate every moment of this life as a gift from God. Let us build our lives upon this rock, knowing that this one will not come a tumbling down. For upon this rock, we can all stand and find a new way of living and being.

As summer winds down, I encourage you to find some time to reconnect with the rock of your faith, the rock of your salvation. I’ve taken to jogging or riding my bike in the wee hours of the morning. I find I can pray at this time when there are no distractions, save the sights and sounds of nature. Find some time, some moment of reflection and remember that you are petros. Even though we sometimes live our lives like reeds, we are claimed as petros, people of the rock. Jesus calls us all to be more than we think we are. That’s what makes such a difference in the world.

I would like to close with reciting once again the words to the old hymn which started our this sermon. See if it does not take on new meaning.