Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost: The True Faith and Ministry of the Church

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 51:1-6 (NRSV)

Thus says the Lord:

"Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness,

you that seek the LORD.

Look to the rock from which you were hewn,

and to the quarry from which you were dug.

Look to Abraham your father

and to Sarah who bore you;

for he was but one when I called him,

but I blessed him and made him many.

For the LORD will comfort Zion;

he will comfort all her waste places,

and will make her wilderness like Eden,

her desert like the garden of the LORD;

joy and gladness will be found in her,

thanksgiving and the voice of song.

Listen to me, my people,

and give heed to me, my nation;

for a teaching will go out from me,

and my justice for a light to the peoples.

I will bring near my deliverance swiftly,

my salvation has gone out

and my arms will rule the peoples;

the coastlands wait for me,

and for my arm they hope.

Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

and look at the earth beneath;

for the heavens will vanish like smoke,

the earth will wear out like a garment,

and those who live on it will die like gnats;

but my salvation will be forever,

and my deliverance will never be ended."

Psalm 138 (BCP., p.793)


Romans 12: 1-8 (NRSV)

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-- what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Matthew 16:13-20 (NRSV)

When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And 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. And 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. I 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." Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Blog Reflection

This Sunday's Gospel text is one of those that I wish we could skip.  It is a text that has been used to say many different things.  

In the Roman Catholic Tradition this is the text attributed to the Papacy.  Evangelical Christians have interpreted these words from Matthew's Gospel to say that it is only by confessing Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Son of God can one be saved.  More progressive theologians would say that this Gospel reflects that Christians confessed Jesus as the Son of God, but Jesus Himself did not.   This Gospel is also used every year on January 18 the Confession of St. Peter the Apostle in The Episcopal Churches' calendar.  It is a Holy Day with it's own collect in The Book of Common Prayer on page 238.

I recently began reading my next book in my formation.  The book is entitled Western Monasticism: A History of the Monastic Movement in the Latin Church written by Peter King.   I was reading through the first chapter about the beginnings of the Monastic Movement in Egypt.  I was quite struck by the following paragraphs.  

The first flowering of christian monasticism occurred at a critical time in the history of the Church.  In 313 the so-called Edict of Milan ended the persecution of Christians once and for all.  The Emperor Constantine soon began to look upon the Church as an important support of his monarchy and to grant it various privileges.  Christianity soon became the new state religion.  Bishops were now looked upon as the emperor's advisers and held important positions at court.  From having been persecuted, they became persecutors of those holding deviant opinions.

The consequent worldliness and lowering of standards did not go unnoticed.  Saint Jerome remarked that as the Church acquired princely might it became 'greater in power as measured by its wealth, but less in virtue'.  'Not all bishops are true bishops', he wrote, 'You notice Peter; but mark Judas as well....Ecclesiastical rank does not make a man a Christian'.  As for christian priests, There are other men...who only seek the office of presbyter and deacon that they may be able to visit freely.... When you seen these gentry, thing of them rather as potential bridegrooms than as clergymen'. (Pages 27,28).

I wanted to quote these words to you, my readers, as part of my own interpretation and application of this Gospel text.  It may or may not work among Scriptural and/or theological scholars, but, no one said it absolutely has to.

St. Paul in his letter to the Romans calls upon Christians to "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-- what is good and acceptable and perfect. "   It would seem to me that the ministry of Jesus was about seeking the lost and lonely, bringing justice to the oppressed, and helped people find their way to God through love of God, neighbor and self.  The basis of such a ministry was the God came to us, as one like ourselves to show us the way to a relationship with the Divine, through a life of self sacrifice and devotion to the reparation of the human community.  It was more than a doctrine.  It was about more than what was decided by a Church council, or political party.  It was because God created all of us with the dignity as God's beloved.  In Christ Jesus, our relationship as God's beloved is redeemed, and with us God is well pleased.  If the Church only ministers to and for the wealthy, the powerful and the most privileged, the Church "conforms to this world."   When the Church works for the poor, marginalized and the lonely, it is being transformed by a renewed mind.

The confession of St. Peter and the words of Jesus to him in Matthew's Gospel are about the faith and ministry of the Church, by the grace of God.   They are not a statement of political and/or universal authority for the purpose of control.  The ministry of the so called Apostolic Succession is not only about twelve men, who declared by Sacred Scripture everything from the ordination of women, to justification for discrimination against LGBT people, Muslims, the Jewish people, African Americans and so forth.  It is precisely because of the faith and ministry of the words between Peter and Jesus that the Church should be more inclusive and abundant with diversity.

The late Archbishop Michael Ramsey said it best when he wrote:

The succession of bishops is not an isolated channel of grace, since from the first Christ bestows grace through every sacramental act of His Body.  But certain actions in the work of grace are confined to the bishops; and thereby the truth is taught that every local group or church depends on the one life of the one body, and that the church of any generation shares in the one historic society which is not past and dead but alive in the present.  Thus the church's full and continuous life in grace does depend upon the succession of Bishops, whose work, however is not isolated but bound up with the whole Body (The Gospel and the Catholic Church, p. 82, 83).

The work of confessing Jesus Christ, and the binding and losing of the Reign of God is the work of all Christians in whatever capacity they are in.  It does not matter what our race, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, wealth, health, etc.   What matters is that we bring the faith and ministry of the Church into where we are, who we meet and what we do.  We bring that faith to our work for justice for Michael Brown, and peace for Ferguson, Missouri.   We live the confession of our faith in our prayer and work, and in respecting the dignity and integrity of every human person, loving our neighbor as ourselves with God's help, in our Baptismal Vows.

Today's Gospel reading from Matthew is a call of grace upon all Christians, and the true hope for those who have been hurt by the Church and society, so that they may find some kind of peace, healing and reconciliation with God.  Whether they believe what they profess in the Nicene Creed or not.

May our faith and ministry as the Body of Christ mean that the Church fulfills it's mission, because we are all faithful to what Christ has called us to.

Amen.


Prayers

Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered
together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your
power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 16: The Book of Common Prayer, p.232).

Gracious Father, we pray for thy holy Catholic Church. Fill it
with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt,
purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is
amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in
want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake
of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior. Amen.  (Prayer for the Church, The Book of Common Prayer, p.816).

O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior,
the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the
great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away
all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us
from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body
and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith,
one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all
of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth
and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and
one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.  (Prayer for the Unity of the Church, The Book of Common Prayer, p.818).