“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matt 16
----------------------------------------------------------
"I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God." These were the words I had my sons repeat the day I was privileged to baptize them in our church pool. Some call it the 'good confession'. And look at what this confession opens up for Peter.
First, Jesus calls him by his old name and family association. "Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah." Then Jesus changes his name and association - he is Peter, the rock of his new family, the Church.
Elsewhere the Bible says that "if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. Old things have passed away, all things have become new."
When we throw our lot in with Jesus we let him tell us who we are and he puts us in touch with a new family, a community of hope where history is not a weight and the future is ripe with possibility.
No comments:
Post a Comment