Matthew 16:13-20
Peter made the confession, “You are
the Christ, the Son of the living God.” It is what comes next that piques our
interest. “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not
revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.” We see emphasis given to the
source of Peter's confession. It is not just Peter, nor even his confession,
but the authority of the church is established by how the reality of his
confession is revealed to him, not by flesh and blood, but by the action of God
the Father.
It seems that the rock on which the church is built is limited
neither to Peter nor his confession, but points to the divine activity that
reveals truth to Peter and moves him to confess it. Add to this the further
assertion that “the powers of death shall not prevail against it,” and we see
clear reference to the resurrection of Jesus and to his church as the
resurrection community.
On this apostolic witness and such preaching of Peter
rests the church as the end-time community. This amounts to one of the strongest
statements of the role of the church, as God's present activity to save, given
in the New Testament. Clarifications regarding the role of the church, its
reason, mission, and authority, in this time and society are warranted and to
be welcomed with no little urgency. –– John E. Smith
Isaiah 51:1-6
Speaking to those in exile, Isaiah
offers words of comfort and hope. He reminds the righteous from whence they
came, he exhorts them to remember God's faithfulness. God will restore Zion.
Yet deliverance will come through God's power, and it will come to all
(including the gentiles). The people have but to look at the wonders of
creation, and whatever may change, trust that God's plan will continue to
unfold. This word gives comfort and hope even today as we hear an inclusion of
the natural world along with salvation for God's people. The waste places will
be restored. Perhaps God is working through the ecological movement as a sign
of grace. –– Sarah Webb Phillips
Romans 12:1-8
Any human relationship that goes
much distance requires dying and sacrifice. . . Would we even want to worship
God without personal transformation, dying and rising? How would we know we
were dealing with anything beyond ourselves? A god who cannot ask us to do
things that we would rather not do if left to ourselves is not much of a god.
This God can cause us not to
think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. Now that's power. He can
cause us to submit to being part of one body in Christ and to belong to submit
to one another. A God who can do that in this world of individual egos and
personal autonomy is working a major miracle. This God moves people to serve.
Simple reality: every church you see standing only exists because people
somehow have been moved to serve body and spirit and put it there. –– John E.
Smith
John E. Smith has
served as a Methodist pastor for many years.
Sara Webb Phillips
is a United Methodist minister serving North Springs UMC in Sandy Springs,
Georgia.
Homily Service 41, no. 3 (2008): 167-177.
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