Peter, The Rock with a Putty Center
The Rev. Mark Sherwindt, Pastor
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
Lent 4: March 25-26, 2006
Peter, the Rock (with a soft putty center): that's the title of this evening's Lenten drama. Peter has been acknowledged, both in the gospel narratives and through the witness of history, as the undisputed leader of the Twelve. There were others who were close to Peter, like James and John; and there were others who were close to Jesus, like the beloved disciple John. But the history of Peter's legacy lives on through the priority and prominence of the See of Peter, which, of course, refers to the authority vested in the Bishop of Rome, also known as the Pope, the most recognized symbol of Christianity anywhere and everywhere in the world. The question that has always lingered about Peter is why. Why doesn't this signature symbol of Christian witness, the unparalleled leader of the Twelve, have a Gospel to his credit? Sure, there are two brief epistles that bear his name. But why not a fuller narrative account of his journey with Jesus? Early on, and throughout much of Christian history, Mark's Gospel was sometimes attributed to the prominence of Peter, with the suggestion that Mark was Peter's stenographer. Peter plays quite a prominent role in Mark's short Gospel. The only problem is that it's not a very flattering picture of this first among equals. Yes, Peter is indeed prominent, prominent in misunderstanding what Jesus lays out as his mission in life and in death. He is prominent in resisting Jesus' own lead. He is full of his own bravado, and so much more. “The others may fall away, every last one of them, but I - Simon Peter, Cephas, the Rock, - will never fall away!” And yet, he fails to stand with his friend and to stand up for his convictions, precisely when such a witness might have made a real difference for his friend and for himself.
As it turns out, Mark's portrayal of the disciples as slow to understand and quick to stumble was an effective tool for reeling in the reader and getting us to focus on the Cross as the key to God's plan, as the key to Jesus' message, and the key to our salvation. The Cross is a message that was not anticipated, was hard to explain, has been difficult to embrace, and remains very difficult to live. That Peter would be prominently associated with the Gospel that got the message of Jesus rightly focused on the Cross of Christ is certainly a good thing; but some have argued that there may be more going on here than making Peter a sympathetic model for the many others of us who stumble in our walk with Christ. According to some of the studies I've read, Mark's Gospel wanted the church to know that no one group had a monopoly on leadership, not even those who were closest to Jesus during his time among us. Mark's Gospel makes it clear that they were not in lock step with Jesus when he was here on earth; and there's no guarantee that everything has changed now that he's ascended into heaven. Even more importantly, Mark's Gospel makes it clear that the church must look to Galilee for its future, and not become fixed on the Holy City of Jerusalem. This turned out to be incredibly on target. You see, there was every reason to believe that Jerusalem would be the key to it all and that Jesus' followers should wait there until the kingdom came. But Mark's Gospel made it clear in its rather cryptic conclusion, when Jesus' followers came to the tomb and found it empty, that they should seek him in Galilee. [Mark 16:7] Matthew's Gospel then spelled out the meaning of this directive with the Great Commission: “Go ye therefore into all the world teaching all that I have commanded, making disciples by baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” [Matthew 28:19-20]
Look, we all know that Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was the institution of the papacy. It took generations of leadership challenges and leadership changes for the issue of Rome's expanding prominence to finally get settled. At the beginning, the Christian community was just a small local movement with roots in Jerusalem. Jesus' family and the original disciples had set up their base in and around Jerusalem; and there was some sense that those closest to Jesus should become, like the example of King David before him, the beginning of a new dynasty, a new royal family with leadership passed down through those who shared his blood. Of course, blood is the key when it comes to our being a part of Jesus' family. But when it came to discerning how issues of leadership in the church should be decided, it was not the blood that flowed in James' veins (James being the brother of Jesus); rather its was - both back then and still today - the blood that poured from the nail prints in his hands, from the slash of the sword in his side, the blood that Jesus shed on the Cross for us.
The truth of the matter is that the record is clear. As we read through the Book of Acts and even some of Paul's own epistles, there was a good deal of sparring going on in the life of the early church. Paul sparred with Peter and also with Jesus' brother James over issues of leadership and direction. Who could speak with authority on matters of controversy, and where should the movement be heading? Paul was neither a brother of Jesus like James nor an insider among the Twelve like Peter; but his was the voice that proved decisive. Last week, we read from Paul's letter to the Christians at Corinth in lifting up the fundamental tenets of our beliefs: we preach Christ crucified, scandal to the Jews and folly to the Greeks; but to those who believe, both Jew and Greek, the Cross of Christ is the wisdom of God's ways and the power of God's love. [1st Corinthians 1: 22-24] This week the summary statement of the Christian faith is found in Paul's epistle to Christians in Ephesus: saved by grace through faith. [Ephesians 2:5] In fact, there is no more succinct a summary of Paul's proclamation of salvation than that which we find right here in the Second Lesson. For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. [Ephesians 2:8-9]
The long and the short of this little foray into early Christian history has been to under-score the unavoidable conclusion that Mark was not Peter's stenographer, and that Mark's Gospel is not a testimony for Peter's leadership; rather, it is a warning against it. The Cross is the key, not the personality or position of the earliest disciples. God's spirit is our power, not our reliance on the personality or position of the earliest disciples. Galilee is our destination, not the home town or resting place of the earliest disciples.
Now, don't get me wrong. Peter was truly instrumental in leading the church to the place where God was directing it. Also, as Mark's literary genius makes clear, everyone in the community of God's people has value, even if that value for Peter was serving as a bad example - but a bad example that brings us in with the humanness of his many failings, combined with the divine promise and persistence of his Lord's forgiveness. Saved by grace and grace alone: no one said this more powerfully than Peter. Well, actually, Paul said it more powerfully; but Peter lived it - the agony of his failure, the true joy of God's forgiveness. We can learn from Peter's failings, precisely because we know that he did.
Peter was a man of many firsts. He was among the first to become a disciple. He was also among the first to reject other disciples like Matthew because of his background as a tax collector. He was among the first to reject the Cross as Jesus' destiny. He was among the first, with his penchant for being misguided, to raise his sword in the garden and to break faith with Jesus in the courtyard. He was the first to deny Christ three times, and singled out by the seashore to be forgiven and commissioned three times - feed my sheep, love my lambs, feed my sheep. And that is exactly what Peter did. Sure, he lagged behind Paul in accepting Cornelius as clean and embracing God's mission to the Gentiles. But he was willing to head in the right direction and God was able to make sure that he got there. We need to display some of these same qualities here at Zion. For instance, we need to embrace the notion that the church is primarily about mission, about taking the Good News to folks beyond our circle of friends. During the Sunday School Hour in Luther Hall our adult class has been studying about evangelism for months now. The time has come to do more than study about evangelism. The time has come to close the study manual and find the courage to share the Good News that God is here among us, and that we're alive in the Spirit, alive with the joy that comes with our willingness to grow in love and service by grace.
You can help. In fact, we all must help, and here's how. (1) Take some time to think about why you come to worship. (2) Write down the reasons. Put them in a list, and then draw them together in a paragraph, or a couple of paragraphs. (3) Choose a Scripture passage to go with it. (4) Add a prayer and “voila!” We will then put these reflections together in creating a work of witness, an effort in outreach, the production of a Devotional Guide for Easter, letting others know why we worship, what it is that we find here at church, what they can expect to find when they join us. This will take a little courage, a little boldness. It might take us out of our comfort zone. But that's the challenge God equipped Peter to embrace. That's the challenge that remains key to the life of the church. The truth is that we spell this out in our mission statement and include it in our weekly news page as well. Put simply, we say that as God's people we have been gathered by God's Word, empowered by Christ's life, and called to invite our friends and neighbors to join us in our mission to grow in love and service by grace. That's the Good News that Mark proclaimed. That's the Good News that Peter came to embrace, and we can, too, by taking small steps, with Peter, testing the water, finding our courage, just trying to figure out how to follow faithfully and live boldly … in Jesus name. Amen