It is no secret to members of this congregation that I like puns, wordplay, double meaning. And this morning, I am in good company in that regard. The Bible is filled with puns, and this morning, we catch Jesus in the act of making a pun.
You see, Peter's name means Rock. This is not an unusual name, even in our own culture. We see people named Rock, or Rocky, or Stone. We also can understand that a structure built on or with rock or stone is solid. Both meanings Jesus uses in his pun make sense. On this Rock, meaning Peter the rock, I will build my church. This rock will be my foundation. This is where we say, arr, arr, arr, good one Jesus. But of course Jesus is not just making a pun. He is making a point about the church, and about Peter.
But there is one problem here. Peter is a slippery rock. He's not the sort of rock that any prudent person would want to use as a foundation, especially for something as critical as the church. He's brash and impulsive. He denies Jesus three times, betraying Jesus at the hour of his greatest need. Just a few short verses later, Jesus rebukes Peter, saying get behind me Satan, when Peter opposes the path Jesus needs to take. Peter is not a particularly bad person. The problem with Peter is that he is human. He is as self centered as the rest of us. And humans are rather slippery sorts upon which to build a church.
The record of the institutional church is the record of a human organization. An organization of the impure and unholy, of mortals. And the more political power the church gained, the worse its abuses. The excesses of the crusades. The torture chambers of the inquisition. Corrupt clergy profiting from their positions of power. Leaders abusing the most vulnerable. Shutting people out. Putting people in their place. Compromising faith and principle for worldly fame and fortune. This is the record of the church. It is what happens when you build the church on a foundation of human beings. Slippery rocks.
Five hundred years ago our Anabaptist ancestors recognized that the church was not living out God's excellent Word. They recognized that the church was not following the lead of Jesus revealed in that Word. They recognized that the church was not about taking up its cross and following Jesus. They recognized that the church had become too much about political power in this world. They recognized that the church was not doing too well at being a sign of God's presence in the world. And so they formed a new movement that eventually gave birth to the Mennonite church.
But there is one problem. Anabaptists and Mennonites are human too. We too fail to take up our cross and follow Christ. We too fail to show the world the grace, mercy and compassion of Jesus. We too can be petty, squabbling among ourselves while we work for peace. We too can end up taking pride in our humility and service, forgetting what Jesus calls the greater part, the part of Mary who only wants to be with Jesus. We too are slippery rocks.
Sometimes people ask me, as the son of a preacher, how it is I can be a pastor. I grew up knowing that church people are just as fallen as everybody else. I grew up seeing the brokenness of the church first hand. I grew up seeing the pettiness, the self-centeredness just as common in church life as everywhere else. I grew up seeing a church built on slippery rocks.
Well, I have good news this morning. I have wonderful news. I have earth moving news this morning. It is not our church. It is Jesus' church. It is not ours to build the church. Jesus will build the church. The church is not about us, it is about Jesus. The church exists to witness to, point to, name the reality of God. And the power of death will not stop that witness. Jesus says I will build my church on this Rock. On Peter. On the Apostles. Jesus says that the gates of Hades, the abode of the dead, death itself will not prevail against it. The powers of death, those both inside and outside the church, the reality of our mortality, will not stop the triumph of the church. In the end, nothing can stop the church from witnessing to the reality of God, and the power of Jesus, the Messiah, God's anointed. It is what makes Peter's statement so spot on. What makes Peter a firm foundation for the actions of Jesus, is his witness to Jesus. The church is a witness. The church points to Jesus. The church has failed at so many things, but it has always found a way to witness to Jesus. That's why we are here, two thousand of years of witness passed on to and through us.
We are human. We are imperfect. We make mistakes. Slippery rocks indeed to be a foundation for Jesus' church. But as long as we witness to the mighty acts of God in Christ Jesus. As long as our foundation is not our witness to ourselves, and what good Christians we are. As long as we confess with Peter, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God who brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt. The God who formed a people through everlasting covenant. The God who made us who were once no people into a people.
As long as we confess that the Son of the living God healed and taught and ate with sinners. As long as we confess that the son of the living God was crucified by unjust powers. As long as we confess that he was buried. And as long as we confess that God raised him from the dead. Jesus will build his church. And death itself cannot stop it. Just like death could not hold Jesus. Because he is The Anointed One, the Son of the Living God. Now that is a firm foundation.
A politician quoting Lincoln… Make sure your feet are in the right place and stand firm. We have no surer footing than our witness (by our I mean the church) to Jesus Christ. Stand firm, and on us, Jesus will build his church. And the power of death itself cannot prevail against it.
