Upon This Rock

In the scripture where Jesus asks his disciples, “who do you say I am,” Peter stands up and tells Jesus they believe he is ‘the Son of God.’  I think Peter was the spokesperson for the disciples.  I imagine the disciples had been talking among themselves and Peter answered for all of them; it was a collective answer.

They had heard people in the towns and villages talking about it, questioning who this man might be who traveled from place to place healing the sick and lame.  Since the disciples traveled with Jesus, they must have been involved in some of these conversations.  Towns people pulling them aside and asking questions or simply overhearing the whispers.  Jesus knew this, so asked the disciples first, “who do people say that I am?”

I don’t know if Peter was elected to be the spokesperson or if it happened by default because he had been with Jesus from the beginning, as far as we can tell from the scripture.  Jesus also healed Peter’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:29-31) which is one of only a couple references to the disciple’s families, so they must have had a close relationship. There is no real explanation of why Peter always seemed to be the one who spoke up and stepped out.

In many scripture stories, Peter is mentioned.  He is the one who, when they went up the mountain with Jesus and saw Elijah and Moses, said they should build tents to stay there (Matthew 17:1-13).  Peter pleaded with Jesus not to go to Jerusalem because they knew tension was high but Jesus rebuked him by telling Peter that he was letting the world dictate his actions, not God (Matthew 16:23).  It was Peter who, when he first met Jesus, questioned his instructions (Luke 5:1-5).

Peter is also the one who denied knowing Jesus after the crucifixion (John 18: 13-27), which causes some to question what Jesus meant when he said that Peter was the rock on which he’d build his church (Matthew 16:18).  However, Jesus also asked Peter, “do you love me” and Peter responded, “yes, Lord, you know I do” three times (John 21:15-17).

Regardless of what WE think of Peter and his qualifications, he was chosen by God for this purpose.  He was human and thus prone to human faults, temptations and thinking.  Peter wasn’t perfect but it is because of his questioning of Jesus and firsthand experiences that make him the right person for this honor.

I believe Peter is someone for us to relate to, someone who helps us understand how Jesus loves us even when we don’t do or say the right things.  I further believe that Peter is not the only rock on which Jesus builds his church.  I think through our baptism, we are all given the honor to spread the Gospel and be church for one another.

So, whether Peter was voted to be spokesperson for the disciples, or it was his natural inclination to step up and speak out because that is who God created him to be; he is also our spokesperson.  We can learn from Peter’s interactions with Jesus, things like keeping our eyes on Jesus so we don’t sink.  And that even though Peter denied Jesus, Peter was the first-person Jesus appeared to when he rose from the dead. 

We can follow in the footsteps of Peter, to go out and tell the world about our best friend, Jesus.    We too are called to stand firm on the foundation of faith taught to us through the scriptures.  It is not out of obligation because it is what we must do, rather it is out of love that we want to share the Good News with others.  It is how we maintain Jesus’ presence in our lives and in the world.  Let’s go out and build Jesus’ church!