A Moving Temple of Living Stones Matthew 16.

13-20 If youre someone who listens to popular music from the past 40 years, theres probably a song you really like where youre mistaken about the songwriter. For years, I was convinced that this beautiful song To Make You Feel My Love was a Billy Joel tune. But when youre around serious music people, they will correct your wrong understanding. Somewhere along the way someone told me, thats a Bob Dylan song. I have since learned that, if Im unsure of the songwriter while listening to a beautiful melody with thoughtful lyrics, Im guessing the songwriter is either Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen. / Theres a Jimmy Webb song I remember from my teenage years a) that I didnt know was a Jimmy Webb song because I didnt know who Jimmy Webb was and b) it never left my memory because of the story it told through one particular image. In the signature style of American poets, Jimmy Webb uses the image of a house to be his storyteller in his song, If These Walls Could Speak. If these old walls,/ If these old walls could speak/ Of the things that they remember well,/ Stories and faces dearly held/ If these walls could speak./ If these old fashioned window panes were eyes,/ I guess they would have seen it all. The song goes on to tell the story of a familyof cherished shared memories, of arguments and apologies, of an identity forged through relationships that shapes the future. As Americans we often tell stories through houses we have lived in. Houses have shaped our past, given us a heritage, and orient us to the future. Id like to suggest a similar approach in reading these passages of Scripture, from Matthew, Isaiah, and Psalms, but drawing on the prevailing image given in these Scriptures. Whereas Americans personify walls and houses as telling stories, the Jewish authors of Scripture are fond of using rocks and stones as the recurring image for their stories. We enter the story through images and the Proper 16; Apostles Anglican Church; August 21, 2011 1

Scriptures teach us which images are most important. Rocks and stones dont seem very exciting at first. No offense to geologists, but Im not interested in the composition of rocks. But I do want to understand what God is saying to me, especially when it concerns who I am in relationship with Him. Thats the question I believe these Scriptures address. Odd as it sounds, the stories that stones tell expand our vision of who we are and who we will be, based on the fact of who God is. Lets look at these stories in a new way so that our vision of ourselves and our future looks different to us. // The biblical pattern of imagining a new future always begins with a new consideration of our past. Its why we hear Isaiah (turn to verse) saying in his generation, Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.
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Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for I

called him alone, and blessed him and increased him. Notice how Isaiah tells the story of Abraham in a whole new way. The familiar version is Abram was called from a foreign land to a promised land with his wife, Sarai, where God would make him the father of many nations. But Isaiah dramatizes the calling even more through the image of a rock being dug from a quarry. He says look to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. Isaiah is saying Gods rescue mission of the world began because the world was sinking down in the depths of idolatry. Thats why Abram is called to a new place. Thats why Abram is given a new name. Thats why Isaiah calls him a rock. The world was sinking in self-destruction and God needed a man of solid faith, a rock upon which other stones could be laid to rebuild a pure and holy people. / Its interesting that stones keep showing up in significant moments of the biblical story, especially in Abrahams family. Abrahams grandson, Jacob, becomes the chosen son in whom the Proper 16; Apostles Anglican Church; August 21, 2011 2

nations will be blessed. Immediately after he receives that blessing, he sets out on a journey to find a wife. He comes to a town called Luz in his journey, finds a stone for his pillow and falls asleep. Youre probably familiar with the famous dream Jacob has next, with angels ascending and descending a ladder to heaven. In that dream the Lord spoke his promise and blessing over Jacob that all the families of the earth would be blessed. When Jacob woke up he said, God Himself was here and I didnt know it. The place is different because God is here. The name must change. This place will be called Bethel and the house of God will be built here. How did he begin building that sanctuary? He took his rocky pillow, poured oil on it, turned it on its side and vowed it would be the pillar for a sanctuary. There are several more events wherein we see stones employed to establish Israel on solid ground. Immediately we think of Israel receiving their identity as Gods people when the Law is written on tablets of stone. Joshua builds a monument with twelve stones upon crossing the Jordan to receive the land promised to Abraham. Thousands of stones are stacked to build Solomons Temple so that God would be present with his people, extending forgiveness and mercy. The pattern pervades the Scriptures. But another pattern exists in Gods rebuilding plan through Israel. Gods rescue mission for the world is initiated through Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and David, yet it is brought down again and again when Israel turns to idols and rejects the love of God. Few were more destructive in Israels history than one of her earliest kings, Jeroboam. What did Jeroboam do? Where Jacob turned his stony pillow into a pillar for worship at Bethel, Jeroboam built a shrine with golden calves, a monument to tell all Israel: I am Jeroboam, King of Israel. The problem was that Jeroboam didnt descend from David. He was an impostor, a royal usurper. / Whats especially significant for our purposes is that Jeroboam set up an idolatrous shrine not only in Proper 16; Apostles Anglican Church; August 21, 2011 3

Bethel, desecrating Jacobs sanctuary, but also in Israels northernmost city, Dan. Jeroboams policy of pagan worship infected Bethel and Dan for centuries. In Dan especially, the city became the red-light district of all Israel. The more Israel pursued the pleasures of their own hearts at Dan, they further they descended back into the pit from which their father Abraham was called. // Now why is Dan significant to us? Dan is about as far to Caesarea Philippi as we are to Cedar Bluff Road. Look again at the Gospel lesson printed in your bulletin. When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Jeroboam had been a spiritual wrecking ball and centuries after his death the spiritual climate in Caesarea Philippi was desperate. Nowhere was the God of Israel to be found in Caesarea Philippi. Instead a massive pagan sanctuary, devoted to the Greek god, Pan, covered the whole side of a mountain. Statues of Pan and other gods were carved into the rock face, embedded in this massive cliff. At the base of that cliff, a cave system is found where fresh springs flow to this day. In those dark, watery places, Pans worship required prostitution and all kinds of lewd acts. In those shadowy places, the ancients perceived there was an evil, spiritual undertow in those waters, drawing victims into the chaotic underworld of Hades. No wonder Caesarea Philippi was assigned a nickname by the ancients: the gates of hell. Interesting place to ask the most significant question of your followers, isnt it? And I believe its entirely intentional. Who do you say that I am? Simon speaks up and says, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. That immediate faith, spoken in the midst of a pagan threshold, shows us that Gods new rescue plan for the world is breaking out through Peter. Just as Abram was rescued from pagan Ur to become the rock of Israel, now Simons confession shows us the Mighty Deliverers new plan: God Himself is the foundation, God Proper 16; Apostles Anglican Church; August 21, 2011 4

Himself is the cornerstone, and Simon becomes Peter, the new Abraham, the rocky pillar that stands defiantly in front of the gates of hell, turning away from those crumbling temples to turn towards the Temple of God in human form, Jesus of Nazareth, saying, You are the Christ. I hear the psalm we prayed this morning in Peters confession at Caesarea Philippi with renewed meaning: I will praise you with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing praises to you. I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name. Peter was entirely incapable of discerning Jesus identity on his own. Flesh and blood cannot accomplish that magnificent revelation. Our world has infected us with so many false gods that we cannot recognize the living God made Flesh with our own eyes. But how great is the mercy of our God, not only that He Himself becomes the rescue plan for all creation, but that He would give us the gift of faith which we cannot manufacture in our own strength. // I know what some other interpreters of this passage will say. Some speak about how Peter receives the supreme office of church leadership from Jesus in this moment, an office that each pope carries on as the head of the Church. Some would emphasis Peters confession only, ignoring the unique role of this man in the history of Christs Church. But we need not assign Peter the office of pope to appreciate that his faith and witness are truly unique. There will never be another Abraham; there will never be another Peter. But Christ alone is the foundation of the Church. Peter is the rock, not the foundation. Yet Peters faith in Christ and his changed identity have fathered an entire Church, just as Abrahams faith brought forth the sons and daughters of Israel. Even if the name Rock is meant for Peter only, the solid nature of his name is like a family nameit describes all who make Peters Proper 16; Apostles Anglican Church; August 21, 2011 5

good confession. From Peters confession, we understand our own story entirely differently. As soon as Peters eyes are opened to see who Jesus is, Peter finally sees himself as he is. You are the Christ. Then Jesus: You are Peterthe Rock. Only in recognizing who the Son of God can we possibly understand who we are. So many are searching for identity within themselves, but Peters encounter shows us its a dead end. I cant alleviate this inner emptiness or discover my identity in saying, I am this; I am that. Searching for our identity without Christ only spins us in a circle of endless confusion. My identity finally becomes grounded when the Spirit opens my eyes and I confess, Jesus is the Christ. And then He tells me who I am and to whom I belong. However hollow or empty I feel in myself, I become solid because my identity is grounded outside myself, in the very person of Christ Jesus, the sure foundation that stands firm in any storm. // What does all this mean? Who are we? We are the Temple of the Living God. There is no more sanctuary in Bethel, no more Temple in Jerusalem. We are the Temple of GodChrist the Foundation, Peter the Rock, and we who follow that good confession saying You are the Christ, we become living stones entrusted with the gospel of forgiveness in our generation. / Hear Peters own words, written in his first epistle near the end of his life. He still grounds our identity in our strong confession of faith. As you come to Jesus, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Theres a dozen more things Id love to unpack about our identity and the promises that Jesus has given to us. But it will be enough to end on this thought: the Temple is on the move. When we leave here we become chapels scattered throughout this city. Im often asked Proper 16; Apostles Anglican Church; August 21, 2011 6

through the week by people who know Im a pastor this question, wheres your church? I dont always do this because it would be obnoxious, but every once and a while I give the right answer, its Tuesday, theyre working, theyre at home, theyre in school. Inevitably Ill end up giving people a polite answer about our building and all the details of our meeting times. / But this building is just a building; these stones dont breathe. The only reason to tell anyone to come here on Sunday is because living stones are gathered here, built on the rock, laid on the foundation that is Christ Jesus. The only reason to invite someone to this place is because the Lord Jesus and You, His Churchy, are gathered here. Wherever we gather, whether in this room or any another, always remember who you are. Jesus entrusted us with a family name, not only for our own identity, but that that family might grow, that all might become solid, living stones built on the foundation of Christ Jesus. In the Name of Jesus, the dead-bolted doors of human hearts fling wide open because He has given us keys that unlock what no other man can open. Wherever we go, may we stand firm in Christ Jesus, knocking on the doors of human hearts, speaking the gospel of forgiveness and love that has makes us solid in His name. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Proper 16; Apostles Anglican Church; August 21, 2011