Showing Your ID: Matthew 16:13-20 - Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

¹³Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. (NRSV)

Mirror by Antonio Janeski.  Creative commons image on flickr

If you’ve visited West Haven Manor recently, chances are you’ve met Gloria, their “official greeter.”

Gloria is a resident at the home.  She is only in her late sixties, and suffers from severe cognitive and/or physical impairments that I cannot identify.  She is wheelchair-bound and sits somewhat slouched on her right side.

Despite her many ailments, God has given her a purpose and an identity.  She will sit by the main doors for most of the day and greet everyone who enters.  And she is not shy about sharing her love for Jesus or her devotion to her Catholic faith.  The joy of the Lord absolutely radiates from her.  In fact, every time I’ve ever visited, she’s asked to pray for me and for our church. 

Gloria’s name, in Hebrew, means “Glory to God!”  She is a miracle in a world where a person’s identity is defined by your strength, self-sufficiency, wealth, race, gender, or creed—and so much more. 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus and his disciples are in the city of Caesarea Philippi.  There, Jesus asks Peter: “who do you say that I am?”  Peter, who almost always speaks before he thinks—gives the right answer.  “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”  Then, Jesus reveals Peter’s true identity: “You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church.  I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.”

Wow…

However, just minutes from now, Jesus will say to him, “Get behind me Satan!” after Peter rebukes him for speaking of his death and resurrection.  Later, Peter will deny knowing Jesus three times when Jesus is on trial before the high priest.  Ultimately, the one thing Peter refused to accept about Jesus happens: Jesus is crucified.  Jesus dies.

It is only after Jesus’ resurrection, after Jesus’ three-fold reaffirmation of Peter’s identity, after Jesus’ ascension—that Peter finally embraces the truth of who he is and who Jesus is.

Just as he does for Peter, Jesus tells you who you are.  At your baptism, he says, “you are sealed with the sign of the Holy Spirit marked with my cross forever.”  Your identity is a child of God, and your purpose is discipleship.  Your value to God is measured in the life of God’s Son given for you. 

And while this is wonderful news and something to celebrate, these are truths that are much easier spoken than lived…  Peter had to suffer through the traumas of his own failures, the trauma of Jesus’ death, and crisis of his resurrection and ascension.  You could say Jesus put Peter through a spiritual meat grinder.  To put it more bluntly, the Peter who was had to die in order for him to live into his God-given identity and know the truth of who Jesus is.  You and I are no different.

The Christian life is no cakewalk.  Jesus makes it very clear that unless you take up your cross and follow him, you cannot be his disciple.  The only way to truly know Jesus Christ is to be crucified and die with him.  You’re handing over to Jesus your plans, your pursuits, your values, and your whole sense of self—in order that Jesus may transform them into whatever he desires.  Don’t think for a second that transformation will be painless.

What makes this even more complicated is that you live in a world where your identity is defined by your strength, self-sufficiency, wealth, race, gender, or creed—and so much more.  So, if the world says you are significant, you must become a nobody.  If, on the other hand, the world says you’re a nobody, Jesus is going to liberate you from that false sense of inadequacy and the dehumanizing labels others impose upon you. 

In God’s Kingdom, Gloria the Greeter is no more important than someone else who’s rich, successful, and strong by the world’s standards.  Gloria lives in the promise Jesus speaks here today, in spite of all her limitations. 

In this bitterly-divided, dog-eat-dog world we’re living in now, Jesus is gathering all people to himself to know the truth of who he is in order that you may live your true, God-given identity.  As a church, we play a vital role in this work…

Now more than ever, Jesus is calling his church to be a community that does not play by the same rules as the kingdoms of this world—and there is nowhere else on earth where someone can go to be loved, accepted, and valued as in the Church.  Nowhere else on earth are you set free to be your true self.  Jesus nurtures your identity through the people who know and love you.  We belong to each other in Christ so that we can bring out the Christ in each other.  The people who know you and love you will you to live out God’s purpose for your life. 

Together, we are a powerful force in the world when we go and show people their value and worth in God’s eyes—especially those whom the rest of the world abuses and excludes. 

Here, it’s not about me versus you or us versus them.  Here, your sins and your failures go the way of your feelings of inadequacy and the dehumanizing labels the world imposes on you. 

Here, we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.  Here, we come out of the darkness and into the life God intends.  Here we are to be known and loved; healing together and tasting the kingdom that is to come.  Here we are to thank God for creating us, and to look forward with hope for the people we shall become.