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St. Peters' Day
by Reverend Murray Spackman, Vicar.
Sunday 29 June, 2003
Matthew 13: 16 –19
Being
St.Peter’s Day, our readings of course focus on some aspects of St,.Peter’s
life and ministry. When you think of Peter, what kind of a person do you
imagine? Physically,
you may think of him as being rather large and solid, capable of hard
manual work – perhaps a
bit of a rough diamond, - but I think this picture of Peter
the fisherman is formed more by speculation,
and Holywood, than
by any accurate description from scripture.
But
we will also add to that picture other characteristics
which we have gleaned from the gospels which tell us more about his
personality. We might think
of Peter as one who always seemed rather hasty to voice an opinion, - he
did that on more than a couple of occasions;
and then I’m sure we will think of the events surrounding the
crucifixion of Jesus – and we wont forget how Peter denied Jesus.
Sad, isn’t it, how we always tend to remember the times when others
fall from grace, and how seldom we remember the more positive times and
actions. Yes – Peter
denied knowing anything about Jesus
- even though he had been one of his closest friends for over
three years.- but lets not forget what else Peter did – Peter
became an outstanding testimony for Jesus, and an unwavering leader of
the church who eventually gave his life willingly in the service of his
Master. It was Peter
who recognised – before the others did,
just WHO Jesus was!
At the point in the life of Jesus
where we read the gospel from this morning , Jesus was now more
than half way through his ministry - and he journeys with his disciples
north of the Sea of Galilee to Caesarea Philippi.
While they were there he asked his disciples
- “Who do people say I am?”
He asked them for some feedback of what others were saying about
him. And some of them
replied - “Some say John
the Baptist, others say Elijah while others say Jeremiah , or some other
prophet!”
Its
interesting, as an aside – to note that all the comments and
comparisons being made about Jesus were to equate him with men who were
outspoken and dynamic, - men who stood for truth and righteousness and
justice – Elijah, and John the Baptist, and Jeremiah -
men who, because of what they stood for - inevitably made
enemies! The
other night , together with a group from our parish, we came up to the
Pumphouse to see Godspell ! A wonderful production.!
The person who played the role of Jesus thoroughly enjoyed the
role and there was a lot of humour in the part – but at one stage it
becomes very tense – and Jesus – in no uncertain terms confronts the
Scribes and the Pharisees and the Chief priests with their hypocrisy!
The mood changed dramatically and you could feel the tenseness in
the air! Here
was no weak and insipid gutless teacher who only said nice things to
people! And the same
was true of Elijah, and
John the Baptist, and Jeremiah – they all made plenty of enemies, and
it seems to me that Jesus must have done the same. So much so, that some
of the people thought that Jesus was one of them come back to life.
But then the moment arrives – and Jesus asks them
- “What about You? – Who do you
say I am?” How
would the disciples answer THIS question. Its one thing to be asked what
others think! – its another matter to be asked our own opinion!
Perhaps this is one of the most -
if not THE most -
important questions we will ever be faced with.
Who do WE say
Jesus is? I believe that there
is no question we will be asked in life that is more important
than this one! Boiled
right down, we could say that our answer to this question will affect
the way we live our lives, the way we treat our friends and our enemies,
the way we use our resources, what we spend our money on; what we give
our time to; how we treat
our families; how we respond in the face of ill health or adversity ,
and eventually – will decide our eternal destiny.
That’s quite a lot for one question!
And it was Peter who answered - “You are the
Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”
Peter was not just voicing an opinion about Jesus – he
was stating clearly who he believed him to be.
“You ARE the Messiah!”
And I would suggest that it is the primary work and purpose of
the church – the church both as individuals and also as a community of
faith – together - to proclaim Jesus Christ in such a way that people
come to discover that truth for themselves.
Our
parish has the Mission Statement -
“To Know Christ and to Make Christ Known” - That makes it abundantly
clear to others what our purpose is!
- to help people discover for themselves the person of Jesus
Christ.
So I ask you a rather obvious question this morning
- “Who do you say Jesus is?”
Is he, for you, just some person from the past whom the church
sings hymns and songs about ? Is
he a teacher who had some good ideas ? , a philosopher who taught us about
how to get along with our fellow human beings ?
– a religious leader who said a few things about God ? – or
do you, with Peter , affirm – “You are the Messiah, the Son of the
living God.” In
other words - you have taken on board the things which Jesus said and did
– you have thought them through – and you have made that decision of
the mind and heart that says “I
will follow Him – and what he says – I will trust Him as my supreme
Lord – I will seek to live my life according to His word, and in
obedience to His will”!
When that happens in our life – then social transformation
begins to take place. The world, albeit in some small way –
begins to be changed, because
I now speak up and act for what is right – not just for what is
convenient – I use my money and my time , my energy and
my work for pursuing a greater cause than self-interest. I look
and find God’s hand at work in every little detail of my life, and I
know that Jesus the Messiah, the Son of the Living God – is present
with me moment by moment. He
gives new courage, new hope, new life for each day.
And all that comes about because we have taken that step of
intelligent thinking faith and made the decision of a disciple to follow
Jesus and trust Him with my life.
When one of the great Baptist preachers of the mid 19th
century, Charles Spurgeon, was asked what he thought about Jesus Christ,
he replied:- “Christ is the great central fact in the world’s
history; to him everything looks forward of backward. All the lines of
history converge upon him. All the march of providence is guioded by
him.All the great purposes of God culminate in him. The greatest, most
momentous fact which the history of the world records is the fact of his
birth.”
Billy Graham once said -
“To know ABOUT Christ is not enough! - To be convinced
that he is the Saviour of the world is not enough!
To affirm your faith in him, as we do in the Nicene Creed, is not
enough! You really don’t
actively believe in Christ until you make a commitment of your life
to him, receive Him as your Saviour who died on the Cross for
you, and follow and serve Him as your Lord.”
Peter
declared - “You are the Messiah – the Son of the Living God!”
Will your heart and your life declare the same?
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