Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost
November 12, 2021
Invitatory
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be always acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end.
Amen.
Praise ye the Lord.
The Lord's Name be praised.
Reading: Matthew 16:13-20
Now 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.
Meditation – Peter Vanderveen
I subscribe to four daily newspapers, and most mornings I start the day by selectively reading through all of them. I was never directly instructed to keep this habit, but for all of my adult life being informed on issues of public significance has seemed to me to be a basic responsibility. The presumption behind this responsibility is that one who is better informed will better understand what is happening in the world, and a better understanding will naturally lead toward better responses and solutions. Much of life involves finding the best possible way to manage whatever problems our circumstances present, and being properly informed is key to discovering the best course of action. I step into the world as a way to begin my own day, which seems prudent.
Something about the Gospel story from Matthew, however, seems to undermine this presumption.
This short text is often used to privilege the church: all those who trace their ecclesial authority back along an extensive line to the Apostle Peter himself. Some even claim that the text grants the institutional church the power to determine who will and will not receive the grace and salvation of God. Jesus, it is argued, handed over the keys to us. And so it might seem. Peter appears to have been properly informed. He understood the moment. He knew who Jesus was, and with this knowledge came reward. This seems plain in the text.
But I am curious about one thing. After Jesus made this declaration, Peter is not mentioned again by Matthew until the passion story, until Peter, notoriously, denies Jesus three times. One might think that Peter would have had a greater role to play, as a herald or an ambassador for Jesus the Messiah. He could have paved the way for others to come to the same realization. He could have started a movement. He could have been revolutionary. But none of this happens. Instead, he disappears. And when he is mentioned again -- only once -- it is he who most devastatingly chooses to forget what he had said. For Matthew, the very one who is given the most authority -- above all others -- shows how little such knowledge matters. At the most critical moment, it came to nothing.
Peter’s role doesn’t privilege the church; instead, it emphatically shows that establishing the Kingdom of God is not in our hands and is not our work to do. Matthew’s portrait of Peter stands as a warning to our presumption. The keys are not ours. The crucifixion and resurrection demonstrate that the Kingdom is God’s to establish. God alone. We can stand only as witnesses.
This is the news that counts. And I often have to remind myself that my morning habit can too quickly immerse me in the world of human preoccupations -- as if human beings set the only agenda that matters. We make the world all about us, and, in so doing, we can become blinded to the greater reality of God and creation. The world is greater than what we want to fashion out of it. It doesn’t belong to us; it will far outlast our greatest aspirations. And this greater world is what I need to realize as I begin my day, which is more than prudent; it’s blessing.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
