Friday, August 22, 2008

Today’s text

Matthew 16:13-18

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Phillipi he put this question to his disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of man is?' And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' 'But you,' he said, 'who do you say I am?' Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Jesus replied, 'Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my community. And the gates of the underworld can never overpower it.

Prayer

What made this Peter a ‘rock,’ Jesus? Was it his ‘rocky,’ impulsive stubbornness? Did you see something in him that would make him a leader long after you had physically left the scene?

No, none of this works. He is the rock because of his knowledge of you, knowledge gotten by living near your voice, so near that God revealed in his depths a depth of knowing that can be had no other way.

Others observed from a distance, but Peter from near at hand. He could touch your flesh and feel the infection of your speaking.

So let me live this close to you, so close that I hear that elusive but unmistakable voice of truth in deepest soul, assuring me that you are the Son of the Living One, the face of the Eternal Wonder, the bringer of the world’s future … and of mine.

You call us into the community of your future, Jesus, the assembly of tomorrow. There we may live so close to you and yours that we may possess the knowledge that is the rock, solid foundation for our lives, unchanging amid the shifting sands of human fortune.

Let us be close to you, and we will have what we need, now and forever.

Pr. David L. Miller