July 3, 2022 | 10:45 a.m.

A Celebration of Saints Peter and Paul

READINGS

Psalm 66:1–7
Acts 15:1–21
Galatians 2:1–10
Matthew 16:13–19

message presented by Rev. Frank C. Ruffatto

+Points to ponder

What is your answer to Jesus’ question, “who do you say that I am?”
Why would Jesus ask His disciples these questions about how people identify Him?
Pastor’s challenge: Read two of the four Gospels, beginning to end, by the end of the Summer.

+Sermon Transcript

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto each of you from God our Father and our Lord and King, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Let us pray: Merciful and eternal God, Your holy apostles Peter and Paul received grace and strength to lay down their lives for the sake of Your Son. Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit that we may confess Your truth and at all times be ready to lay down our lives for Him who laid down His life for us, even Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The first disciples of Jesus were called to know the goodness of Jesus and to share that with others – to let people know who Jesus is – to the ends of the earth. This is the call Jesus has given to the church even for us today. You see we are God’s mouthpiece amongst the people with whom He has placed us.

There is a statue that stands outside Christ the King Catholic Church in San Diego, California. The hands were broken off by vandals around 1980. Instead of repairing the hands, the church decided to put up a plaque at the base that states, 'I have no hands but yours.' This is a reference to a poem by St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) that reads:

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours, Yours are the eyes through which to look out Christ's compassion to the world Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; Yours are the hands with which He is to bless men now.”

And if I may add: ‘yours are the mouths through which He speaks His Good News.’

Beloved, we are in tandem with God when we share His good news, and this involves knowing who Jesus is. St. Peter describes it thus: “[I]n your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you …”

So, who do you say Jesus is? It seems like a simple question but there are many different answers proffered. There are many different views on Jesus - many different perceptions.

Our Gospel reading today is set in Caesarea of Philippi, a warbling cauldron of spirituality and ersatz piety. A supermarket shelf full of ways to heaven, to God, to a better life. Sound familiar? Prominent was Baal; the Greek God, Pan; and let’s not forget the Romans’ Caesar worship.

It is no wonder, then, that we hear this discussion between Jesus and the Disciples: “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, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’”

But, what about your own situation. Who do the people you interact with say Jesus is? Many people can acknowledge Jesus but have their perceptions of Jesus at worst, just wrong or at best, incomplete.

I think of the young family who decided to send their young daughter to the Lutheran school attached to our congregation. That’s not a bad thing but they said they just wanted her to get a little bit of Jesus. Because a little bit of Jesus is a good thing. But, as the discussion continued, what they believed about Jesus came out. They believed Jesus was merely a good moral teacher and that is what their daughter needed. This is not uncommon as many see Jesus as just that, a good moral teacher and nothing more.

Some people have the perception that Jesus is just a waifish nice guy – He is the lovey-dovey, go with the flow, Jesus. He never offends and always affirms. He would never say-or-do, or have you say-or-do, anything contrary to the thoughts and actions of the greater, popular culture. Others see him as Prosperity Jesus – that by following Him, He will be their path to wealth, health, and fame.

These are just a few examples of the differing views of who Jesus is. But, for you and I to talk effectively with people about Jesus we need to listen – listen to what their understanding of who Jesus is and what are their thoughts about Him.

This doesn’t mean we interrogate people but when the opportunity comes in our everyday lives and situations, a couple of good questions to ask are: What do you know about Jesus? What is your perception of Jesus?

Again, like Caesarea of Philippi there are many different views of Jesus. Yet we are mindful that just because someone believes something about someone, that doesn't make it true. This is why St. Peter exhorts us to “always be prepared to make a defense” – and for you and me, for all Christians we need to have our views and understanding molded and tested by Holy Scripture – the Written Word which points to the True and Living Word, Jesus.

So, here I want to give you a challenge – between now and the end of Summer, pick two of the four Gospels and read them from the beginning to the end. Just read and inwardly digest the content, because as you do you journey with Jesus, you will gain a clearer and more robust picture of just who Jesus is and what He has done for His people. And, as you make this journey, share with each other the hope that is in you.

And so, beloved, what about you? Who do you say Jesus is? If Jesus was to sit down with you tomorrow at breakfast and ask who you say He is – of course, after you pick yourself up off the floor - How would you answer Jesus’ question, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ That is exactly what Jesus asked Peter.

From our Gospel reading: “[Jesus] said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”

Remember for Peter to come to this conclusion he had been with Jesus, following Him, experiencing some of the good things about Him. He had seen Him walk on water and been rescued by Him. He had seen Him take two loaves of bread and five fish and somehow feed five thousand people. He had seen Him welcome an outsider into Hs group and heal her daughter even though her daughter was not present.

What about you? How do you answer Jesus’ question – ‘who do you say that I am?’

So, here is one of the reasons we celebrate Saints Peter and Paul as they came to intimately know Christ and came to adamantly proclaim the Good News about Him.

While you and I may or may not be called to the exact same kind of service as these two Saints were, we can take solace and encouragement in the stories of their lives in and with Christ.

“The Festival of Saints Peter and Paul is one of the oldest saints’ days in the Church’s calendar. Christians have remembered these two on [or around] June 29th since at least AD 250. A very old tradition holds that both apostles were martyred the same day under orders from Emperor Nero in AD 68.

Peter, of course, during Christ’s Passion had denied his Lord three times out of fear. When Christ restored Peter in John, chapter twenty-one, He asked him if he loved Him three times. Three times Peter confessed that he loved Christ like a brother. He apparently hesitated to use the word for love (agape) that entails willingness to lay down one’s life [for the other]. Christ charged him to feed His lambs and tend His flock. The Lord Jesus, however, did go on to tell Peter that the day would come when he will stretch out his hands, have another dress him, and lead him where he does not want to go. ‘This [Jesus] said to show by what kind of death [Peter] was to glorify God.’ [Jesus also] added the invitation: ‘Follow Me.’ Peter was thus given the promise that he would die a [martyr’s death] for his Master.

When that time came, Peter was in Rome (called by the code name ‘Babylon.’ ) He had witnessed [about] Christ’s resurrection to Jews and Gentiles for many years, confessing to one and all, ‘We believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.’ He was arrested and sentenced to death by crucifixion. He reportedly begged only the favor of being crucified upside down. He did not feel worthy to die in the exact same manner as the One he once denied.

St. Paul, when last heard of in Acts, was under house arrest in Rome. Tradition suggests that he may have been released from that initial imprisonment and fulfilled his desire to preach the Good News in Spain. But under fickle Nero, the apostle landed in prison yet again in a short while later and this time received the death sentence. Because he was a Roman citizen, Paul was not crucified, but given a relatively merciful death through a swift beheading. He had long contemplated this final victory: ‘With full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.’ [“If Paul lived, his body would honor Jesus Christ, because the Gospel was proclaimed through him. If Paul died, he bore witness about life eternal that cannot be taken away. ] Paul knew that the death that awaited him was already a vanquished enemy.

The remains of the two apostles are said to be interred beneath the original St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Together they await the joyous resurrection that they fearlessly proclaimed.”

Beloved, let us, like Saints Peter and Paul, journey with Jesus and fearlessly proclaim who He is and tell of His Good News of forgiveness and life. Amen.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”