+Lutheran pastor and author Delmer Chilton says this about today’s gospel:
[The name Peter comes from the Latin word “petra” which means rock. Now most of the time people who are nicknamed Rocky are stalwart, immovable, straight-ahead, no-nonsense kind of guys, like Rocky Balboa. Somehow the name Rocky doesn’t seem to fit Simon son of Jona.] For this Rocky, this Peter, was, to [be blunt], not very stalwart or immovable.
Simon, now Peter, was hot one minute, cold the next:
“I’ll walk on water, Lord.” And then, “help, I’m drowning!”
“I’ll never deny you Lord!” Then,
“ Jesus? Never heard of him.”
“Lord, I’ll stand by you forever!”Then, “Well, Jesus is dead, I’m going fishing.”
Was Jesus making fun of Simon by calling him Peter?
Was He joking when he said that “on this rock of questioning, unstable, doubting and undependable faith I will build my church?”
Why would Jesus choose someone so flawed, so irritable, undependable, doubting, questioning, fearful and full of angst as Simon Peter? Someone so……….
Like us? Shouldn’t the foundation of the church be entrusted to someone more deserving, more capable, more reliable?
Apparently not.
It appears that God rarely chooses the all put together and the likely. Consider Abraham, Sarah, Noah, Moses, Jonah, Ezekiel… the list goes on and on… countless flawed and very human people who God chose as prophets—- prophets!!!
Apparently, in God’s eyes, one needn’t be perfect, one needn’t even be particularly capable, to be chosen. God plucks prophets, redeemers and saints --even a messiah---out of the most unlikely of places and unusual of circumstances.
So why not Simon Peter… a Galilean fisherman who’s full of bravado and self-assurance one moment, cowering behind pillars of doubt, fear, and denial the next?
Just like us.
Peter wasn’t Jesus’ favorite, or even the most devoted apostle. But Peter’s The One. Obviously Jesus saw something in Peter that he thought was perfect for the establishment of the church. And although I don’t know that Jesus envisioned denominations, dioceses, parishes ,Church conventions, reformations and schisms (well he probably figured there’d be fights) when he mentioned “Church,” I do think the choice of Peter sheds light on the Church as an institution, it’s past, it’s present and it’s future.
Peter was flawed; Jesus knew that, God knew that, we know it. But God was willing to let Peter make his mistakes and Jesus was willing to let Peter grow into his role, because they knew that a big part of learning, of growing, is messing up. We don’t learn without making mistakes. They’re instructive and useful-- as long as we admit them, take corrective action, and try again. Going through this process teaches us---as individuals and as communities of faith.
Admitting our mistakes and then trying again. That’s what living a faithful life is all about folks. Most Sundays we have corporate confession and absolution. We confess our sins and are absolved. Forgiven. All of us.
How can God forgive what I’ve done, you may ask?
Or, how can God forgive that scoundrel a few pews over?
But, you see, God’s forgiveness is abundant, constant and without caveat. Forgiveness by God is assured as long as we admit that we’ve made a mistake and strive, with all our might, to learn from it. That’s reconciliation and repentance: an amendment of life. We don’t promise to never make another mistake, we simply promise to learn from those we do make and when we mess up, admit it, make it as right as we can and move on. It’s what we tell our children all the time. Admit your error, fix it and try to do better next time.
This is what the church as an institution needs to always do: admit, repent, reconcile.
The Church makes mistakes: some small, resulting in hurt feelings,others large, resulting in atrocities; but regardless of the magnitude, the church MUST admit its, our, mistakes. And then do better.
So often the Church has not done this. We preach a God whose love knows no bounds, whose care for us is never compromised, yet we hide our mistakes, too proud or too ashamed to admit the error of our ways. When we, as a church, do this, we insult God and we deny the lessons we’ve learned from all who’ve come before us.
Why was Peter chosen to be the cornerstone of our faith, the gatekeeper of salvation and the symbol of the Church as Institution? Because. ….
When Peter said:
I’ll walk on water, Lord.
Then, help, I’m drowning!
We’ve said (and say)
We’ll serve the poor, just after we skim some off the top…
And when Peter exclaimed:
I’ll never deny you, Lord…
Jesus? Never heard of him.
We proclaim:
We’ll love everyone, no exceptions. Well, except for the Jews. And the Muslims…and the immigrants….and the women…
And LBGTQI people…oh and the people with disabilities…and the folks who don’t look like us or vote like us.
And when Peter exhorted:
« Lord, I’ll stand by you forever…
Well, Jesus is dead, I’m going fishing.”
We’ve said:
Yes, the church is greater than the sum of its parts but if you make that decision, I’m out of here.
God chose Peter in spite of, maybe even because of , his flaws. God knew who Peter was and God knows who we are. But God also knows who we, through the help of the Holy Spirit, can be. Rocks and all.
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