Breaking Open The Word

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Matthew 16:13-20

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 
Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly ordered his disciples
to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Good morning, brothers and sisters. Father Ron here. Thank you for joining me. Breaking open the word the gospel is in the show notes. Be sure and take a read of that before you go driving here. I don't even know why I said that. That's weird. Driving anyway, before you listen to this or watch this reflection. Okay. There are seven words in today's gospel that may be among the most important words Jesus ever speaks to us. Truly, this isn't hyperbole. And these seven words, they come not as a command, but as a question. Who do you say that I am? That is seven, right? Yeah, one yeah. Who do you say that I am? Notice Jesus does not ask, What have you heard about me? Or what do you believe about me? Jesus makes it personal. Who do you say that I am? In other words, who am I to you? What difference do I make in your life? Really? The seven most important words. And you know, Jesus really isn't looking for an answer to that. He's looking for a profession, a testimony, a conviction is what he wants from us. Because answers, they just stay in your head. A profession has to find its way into your heart and eventually into the way you live your life. That's what Jesus wants. Because a profession gives direction. It changes priorities and shapes a life. And my guess is that if we were in this gospel there, standing with Jesus and the disciples, and Jesus asks that question, who do you say that I am? I suspect most of us would have answered the same way Peter did. You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Because we say essentially the same thing every Sunday in the Creed. We know the answer. Most of us have known it for a very long time. But so what? Does it make a difference? Does my life reveal that I believe those words I'm professing? And that is why, friends, I love Peter in the Gospels. Yes, he got the answer correct today. He got that gold star. But we know from the rest of Scripture that Peter also got a lot of things wrong and messed up all the time in learning how to actually live that answer. How to profess it. Messed up, tripped up on that over and over time and time again. At the courtyard after Jesus' arrest, what does Peter do? He denies Jesus not once or twice, three times. He says, I don't know who that man is. Or Peter walking on the water. Remember that Jesus calls him out, he's walking, until his eyes become fixed on himself and the waves and the water and the fear, and then what happens? He begins to sink. And that may be one of the most accurate pictures of the spiritual life ever given. The distractions around us so easily shift our gaze off of Jesus and onto ourselves. And that seems to be Peter's struggle. Not that he does not love Jesus, but that other things keep competing for his attention in Peter's life. Fear, control, anxiety, his own plans, the wind and the wave, stability, and whatever one of those things distract him, his eyes and gaze and love and desire moves off of Jesus. And he loses his footing. So yeah, Peter is our first pope, the rock, the foundation of the church. But he was also flawed, struggling, like you and me, trying to get it right. Sometimes succeeding, oftentimes struggling. And perhaps that is the reason why he is the rock, the foundation. Like all the saints who struggled the same way, like you and I, because we do love the Lord, right? We do believe, like Peter. We pray, we go to Mass, we've walked with God through joys and losses in our lives, through prayers answered and prayers still waiting to be answered. But the problem for many of us, like Peter, is not unbelief, it's distraction. Jesus can slowly be displaced from the center of our lives, not necessarily by terrible things, but by ordinary, simple things that somehow become too large. Worrying about our health, concerns for our children or grandchildren, money, politics, the news, our phones, resentment, Facebook, getting older, the need to control what can't be controlled, and on and on. You know, these things begin to swell and suddenly they take our full attention. And then without realizing it, we begin living as though we are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. We are trying to fix and manage everything. We have to be the one in charge. We lie awake rehearsing tomorrow, solving problems that have not even happened yet. You know, trying to control winds and waves that were never ours to command. I don't have to save the world or the problems of others. I don't have to control every outcome. I don't have to have every answer. I can let Jesus be Jesus. I can trust Him with the people I love. I can trust Him with what I cannot fix. I can trust Him with tomorrow and the next day. So, friends, I'd like to suggest one very simple practice for you and I to do this week to help us in that living profession. Ask yourself, what is one thing that regularly pulls your attention away from Jesus in your life? What is right now, what is one distraction, one fear, one habit, one worry, one need to control that has gotten so big that perhaps this week I can loosen my grip so that I might have that space and give it back to God. And when you notice that distraction returning, because it will, perhaps simply pray Peter's words today, slowly, you know, personally, from the heart. When you're in the midst of that struggle, it's trying to swell bigger in your life, you're trying to keep it slower and smaller. Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Just let that be your mantra this week as you move that thing, distraction from your life. So, friends, let me end today by praying with you the prayer that we profess every day on the God Minute. But really listen to the words, if you will, because they're so fitting for our scripture today. And here's where we end. To you do I belong, O God. Into your hands I surrender my life. Pour out your spirit upon me, that I may love you with everything, love you perfectly, and serve you faithfully until my soul rests in you. Amen. Thank you for being with me today, brothers and sisters. May God bless you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let us go forth, profess our faith in our lives, and we'll see you tomorrow.