I am sure that, as you listened to the text this morning that you were not overly surprised by the account. You have heard it many times before. We all know that Jesus is quizzing his disciples and that their answer at first is somewhat iffy. “Who do the people say that the Son of Man is?” Or, “Who are the people saying the Son of Man is?”, and the disciples’ respond John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.
When we hear these words, we may also recall that Herod recently feared that Jesus was John the Baptist raised up from the dead, that even Jesus equates Elijah with John the Baptist later in the Gospel, that the disciples thought that Jesus was a ghost walking on the Sea of Galilee so to connect Jesus and the Son of Man with a bunch of dead guys is not too far afield at first glance. But let us be clear, Jesus is not asking his disciples who they think the Son of Man is, he is asking his disciples who the people say that the Son of Man is. This slight shift in understanding changes the conversation.
You see, back in the day, in their culture, “Messiah”, “Son of Man”, and “Son of God” were popular titles. “Messiah”, by itself, simply means “the anointed one” and was attributed to the leaders of God’s people including judges, prophets, and kings. “Son of Man” was an additional title of a “Messiah” who was sent to lift up the needs of God’s people in times of particular crisis. They were meaningful titles among the Jewish people. As such, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, other prophets of note, and John the Baptist would have qualified as one in a line of “Sons of Man”. The coming of the “Son of Man” was a popular title and subject in the book of Daniel.
On the other hand, “Son of God” is a title that the emperor claimed. Tiberius had it stamped on the coin with his likeness on it. At one time, the emperor had to die before the senate claimed him as a god, but then the emperors decided that they didn’t want to wait for that honor so they declared themselves the “Sons of God”. After all, if their father had been declared a god after he died and the next emperor was the son of the guy who had been named a god, then he must be a god too, right?? This title, “Son of God”, entitled the emperor to sacrificial offerings and, of course, taxes.
It is also important to understand a little geography and the family connections of the time. Caesarea Philippi was a city built in the northeastern part of the old kingdom of Judah. It was known as Caesarea Philippi to distinguish it from the city known as Caesarea Maritima which was constructed on the Mediterranean Sea by Herod the Great. Each of these cities was built to honor Caesar, but the one who oversaw the construction of the later Caesarea was Herod’s brother Philip, thus the name of Caesarea Philippi. His son Philip is the half-brother of Herod Antipas. It is Philip’s wife that Herod Antipas marries and whose daughter has just danced for Herod at his birthday party where she asked for John’s head to be served on a platter.
It is in this northeastern province where Caesarea Philippi is located, where Roman culture is thriving, that Jesus asks, “Who do the people say that I am?” or “Who are the people saying that I am?”. The answer is really important for Jesus to understand what the people were thinking and what the disciples were saying. If everyone is just expecting the “Son of Man”, another in the line of prophets that had gone before, then the people would be expecting one thing, but, if the disciples are saying that the people say that Jesus is the “Son of God”, then a whole different set of imperial expectations are going to be in place.
Yes, these two titles were part of the everyday language, but they did not have the special association to Jesus that they have for us today. We did not yet know Jesus as both fully human and fully divine, as stated in the Nicene Creed, or as written in the hymn Beautiful Savior: “Beautiful Savior, King of creation, Son of God and Son of Man.”
Now Jesus asks the disciples to say who they think he is. Simon combines the two titles and says something remarkable that goes beyond. He does not say Jesus is just “Son of God”, like one of the Caesar’s, Simon says, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!”—Jesus is everything they have hoped for and more.
Jesus’ words to Simon confirm his statement, “This is something that has come from my heavenly Father; you couldn’t have come up with this on your own, and, because of your statement, your name will be changed. No longer will you be Simon; from now on you will be Peter, that is, Rock, that object on which buildings are constructed.” Upon this rock Jesus plans to build a community of people who are called out of their places of suffering and comfort to proclaim the good news of God’s love for the world. We know that community as the Church. And in spite of the problems of the Church, Jesus says that the Good News proclamation will not be overcome by the gates of Hades.
It is at this point that the keys of the kingdom of heaven are given to Peter with the information that what is bound on earth is bound in heaven and what is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven. A door has been opened that cannot be shut. As Pandora’s box opened the world to the disasters of the world, so now, Simon’s declaration has opened something new—a new relationship with Christ built on a new understanding of who Jesus is. This new relationship will lead to a daunting authority controlling the in-breaking of the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.
As the titles of “Messiah”, “Son of Man”, and “Son of God” have been connected, so too are the kingdoms of heaven and the world. Back in chapter 4 at the baptism of Jesus, we witnessed the heavens opening and the Spirit descending. Now we witness the capability and authority to open the doors that separate the Kingdom of Heaven from the kingdoms of the world. Using the keys in the locks of the gates or doors of heaven opens the way to goodness and wholeness of God’s grace, allowing God’s already given, saving intent—God’s only son, our Lord—to flow out into the world with the power and authority to repair the brokenness of the evils and sins of the past, present, and future.
Yet, the honor of this gift comes with privileges and responsibilities. We can use our authority to keep the gates or doors locked against God’s intentions, but why would we do that? Wouldn’t it be more likely that Peter would run from gate or door to gate or door unlocking all of them, unleashing heaven’s bounty? Why wouldn’t Peter and every successive generation of disciple just open the floodgates of God’s divine reign and mercy to overwhelm the world? If we have the privilege of opening all the doors, then, why wouldn’t we?
As I considered these questions for myself this week, I was reminded of the many stories of breaking through the limitations of our world into another. Some of these stories are serious, some are fanciful, some are there to help us think of our own situations differently. There are movies like Back to the Future; and The NeverEnding Story, with their attending sequels; Monsters, Inc.; the Harry Potter books with Platform 9 ¾ and the Room of Requirement. From C.S. Lewis comes The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Voyage of the Dawntreader. From Lewis Carroll there is the rabbit hole Alice falls down. Science fiction brings us all kinds of doors that allow time travel through time machines or slipping through rips in the space-time continuum.
Even in Scripture we find people transported into new dimensions. Revelation takes us into the world of the Apocalypse with the healing trees of New Jerusalem. Isaiah takes us to the holy courtroom with the question of “What shall I cry out?”. Ezekiel shows us the fearsome angels. Daniel opens the world of Holy Conflict. The problem is not whether to open the doors. The issue before us is, “Which is the right door to open at any given time? Which door will release the great river of God’s justice that will flow down like everlasting waters? Which door will open to us the peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding? Where is the right door for the right occasion?”
Some of those doors that open to new possibilities are ours, not in God’s word alone, but in the waters of Baptism, those waters where we are drowned and raised up into new ways of living, into new life in the kingdom of God. Another door is found at the table with the wine and the bread, with Christ’s words, “given for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin”. There are also the doors of individual forgiveness and those of individual blessing conferred daily in the actions of love and care to the neighbor. Each of you both extends and receives these, many of which appear in unexpected places and at unexpected times.
This weekend I saw doors opening in the midst of the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. When some were asked why they were doing what they were doing helping others while risking their own lives, one person said, “If I were in trouble, I’d sure want someone to come to help me.” Another said, “It’s the right thing to do. Texans help Texans.”; but the one that really opened the door for me this weekend was the woman that said, “It’s what we are called to do.”
As the flooding waters of devastation were pounding at the door, this woman, without hesitation came to help because “It is what we are called to do”: Don’t make a big deal about it, you don’t have to make a big fanfare about the Messiah, the Son of Man, or even the Son of the Living God. Just show up. “It is what we are called to do”, and the Gates of Hades will never be able to prevail against it. Let our work let loose on earth what is already prepared for us in heaven, and may we always be willing to unlock the doors of God’s love and caring for the world.
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