Matthew 16:13-20
The whole of Scripture charts the call of God and humanity’s response. We see this in the major events that shaped the faith of the people of Israel. God’s plan inches forward, with many twists and turns along the way. At every turn God waits for a response. Everything is played out through relationship.
In today’s Gospel text the story of our salvation reaches another milestone. It’s from a place of real relationship that Jesus asks Peter one of the most poignant questions in the Gospels:
‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said, ‘the Son of the living God.’
In one sentence we see the depth of Peter’s relationship with Jesus. Jesus acknowledges this relationship with words that affirm:
‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.
Biblical scholars refer to this text as the Primacy of Peter and much theological discourse is built around these verses. In my own mind I have reframed this text as the Primacy of Relationship. Peter stands for each one of us. We can each stand where Peter stands and hear these challenging and affirming words.
God builds the Kingdom, of which the Church is a part, with the fabric of our lives. Nothing is wasted. Each courageous act, each faltering yes, God will take and use.
How can you live the values of the Kingdom this week?