“A FIRM AFFIRMATION”

MATTHEW 16:13-20

13  Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

14  And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

15  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

16  Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

17  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.

18  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.

19  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."

20  Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

There’s a sign just outside a town in New Mexico that catches people by surprise when they see it for the first time.  The sign says, “Welcome to Portales, New Mexico, home to 12,493 friendly folk and 8 or 10 grouches.”

Maybe it’s just my imagination but I get the sense that some people feel the same way a husband felt when he got up in the middle of the night and went down stairs to be by himself. After a while his wife woke up and realized he wasn’t there. So, she went looking for him. Eventually, she found him sitting at the kitchen table in the dark.  When the wife heard him sobbing quietly she began to worry. “What’s wrong?” she asked.  “Oh,” the husband said when he realized she was standing there.  “Do you remember when your father told me twenty years ago that he’d throw me in jail if I didn’t marry you?” “Yes,” the wife said softly. “Well,” the husband said, “today I would have gotten out.”

Sometimes people are grouchy because they feel trapped. Sometimes they’re grouchy because they feel like something is missing in their life.  How about you? On a scale of one to ten how satisfied are you these days?  Do you get up in the morning full of delight or do you get up in the morning full of dread?

To understand the difference between a life of delight and a life of dread you don’t have to look any farther than the words that Peter shouted that day just outside Caesarea Philippi. It took place while Jesus and the disciples were on their way to Jerusalem.  Jesus knew that the Cross was waiting for him just over the horizon. So, he figured it was time to ask the question that needed to be answered once and for all.

Jesus asked the disciples what people were saying about him and then he asked them, “Who do you say that I am?”  That’s when Peter, in a moment of divine inspiration, shouted, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  It’s called the Great Confession and it earned Peter a gold star.  Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.”

When Peter shouted those words there wasn’t any doubt in his mind. He knew that Jesus was the Christ which is the Greek word for Messiah. He knew that Jesus was the Son of God; the incarnation of the God who came to dwell among us full of grace and truth.  In the words of the Apostle Paul, Peter knew that, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)

Peter knew that Jesus wasn’t just a nice guy.  He knew that Jesus wasn’t just a prophet who could hear God speaking to him.  He knew that Jesus was more than that; much more than that.  That’s why he shouted, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Believe it or not, those words can turn a person’s life around. That’s because the Great Confession is a firm affirmation that will lead you to three very important blessings. Those blessings are easy to remember because they all begin with the letter H.

The first thing you’ll notice is that you’ll be a lot happier. Why?  Because you’ll know beyond a doubt that you are loved by the God who came to be with us in the man of Nazareth. You’ll know you’re loved by the God filled man who played with the children when the disciples wanted to turn them away; the God filled man who wept at the tomb of his good friend Lazarus; the God filled man who turned to the penitent thief on the cross next to him and said, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” You’ll be blessed by a love from above that celebrates with you when you success and forgives you when you fail.

That in turn will lead you to the second blessing which is the blessing of humility.  Now we usually don’t think of humility as being a blessing.  Instead, we usually think of it as a way you’re supposed to live your life.  Humility says you’re not supposed to think that you’re better than everyone else. Humility can also be a blessing though when you realize that because you’re already loved by the God who was in Christ you don’t have to be better than everyone else. You don’t have to be perfect. So, you stop pushing yourself and you find peace in the words of the “Desiderata.” That poem encourages you to find peace in the understanding that there will always be “greater and lesser persons than yourself.”  So, it’s okay to be second best or third best or somewhere in the middle of the pack because you’re already loved.

The blessings of humility will also help you avoid the mistake that the president of a synagogue made one day. It happened at a meeting that was held to decide if the rabbi should stay or leave.  Unfortunately, there’d been a lot of conflict in the synagogue. So, the president along with nine other elders met with the rabbi. The meeting took place in a conference room around a very impressive mahogany table. After airing one grievance after another the president finally decided to call for a vote.  Pieces of paper were handed out and when the votes were counted the president announced that it was 10-1 in favor of firing the rabbi.  At that point the rabbi stood up and said, “So, you think that this vote proves that you’re right and I’m wrong.  Well, I call upon the Holy one of Israel to send us a sign right now that proves that I’m right and you’re wrong.”  Just then, as he raised his arms to the heavens, there was a terrifying crack of thunder and a blinding flash of lightning. The lightning struck the mahogany table and split it in two.  The room was filled with smoke and the president and elders were hurled to the floor. The rabbi, on the other hand, was untouched. Slowly, the president picked himself up off the floor. His hair was singed and his glasses were hanging from one ear.  “Alright, alright” he said, “the vote is 10 to 2, but we still have the majority.”

That doesn’t happen when you know in your heart that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” When you embrace the Great Confession it leads you to happiness and a humility that accepts the fact that God’s in charge not you.  The third blessing is the joy that you find in being helpful.  You see when you know that you are loved you instinctively want to share that love with others.  In the words of the Apostle John, “We love, because he first loved us.” (I John 4:15) So, instead of look to see what you can get out of life, you look at what you can give away.  You look at what you can do to bring a little more love into the world.  You begin to hear God calling you to share your gifts with others.

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The Great Confession is a firm affirmation that leads a person to bake a batch of brownies for a family that’s wrestling with a serious illness.  It’s what leads a person to go to South Carolina in the middle of August and volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, spreading dirt in all of that miserable heat and humidity.  It’s what leads a person to tithe without giving it a second thought and here’s the really amazing thing about this blessing.  The more you give, the more you realize you have left to give.

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” That Great Confession is a firm affirmation that gives you something to build your life on and around. It puts you on solid ground and it will lead you to the blessings of happiness, humility and a joyful helpfulness.  It changes your whole outlook on life.

That was certainly true for Mr. Rogers; the same gentle cardigan clad man who invited millions of children each day to spend a half hour with him in his neighborhood. What you probably didn’t know though is that early in his life Mr. Rogers was a U.S. Navy Seal, who served in Vietnam and had over 25 confirmed kills to his name. He was a master in small arms and hand-to-hand combat and do you know why he always wore those cardigan sweaters? He did it so he could hide his tattoo covered arms.  After the war, Mr. Rogers embraced the Great Confession.  Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that he was embraced by the Great Confession.  He became an ordained Presbyterian minister and a pacifist.  He vowed never to harm another human being and dedicated the rest of his life to helping children find the right path in life.

So, let’s go back to Peter a minute.  The Great Confession that he uttered that day didn’t make his life easier but it definitely made it better.  Anyone can have that better life. All you have to do is answer the question. “Who do you say that I am?”   “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

August 21, 2005