A Moving Temple of Living Stones

8/4/2019 A Moving Temple of Living Stones

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A Moving Temple of Living StonesMatthew 16.13-20

If youre someone who listens to popular music from the past 40

years, theres probably a song you really like where youre mistaken

about the songwriter. For years, I was convinced that this beautiful

song To Make You Feel My Love was a Billy Joel tune. But when

youre around serious music people, they will correct your wrong

understanding. Somewhere along the way someone told me, thats a

Bob Dylan song. I have since learned that, if Im unsure of the

songwriter while listening to a beautiful melody with thoughtful lyrics,

Im guessing the songwriter is either Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen. /

Theres a Jimmy Webb song I remember from my teenage years

a) that I didnt know was a Jimmy Webb song because I didnt know

who Jimmy Webb was and b) it never left my memory because of the

story it told through one particular image. In the signature style of

American poets, Jimmy Webb uses the image of a house to be his

storyteller in his song, If These Walls Could Speak. If these old walls,/

If these old walls could speak/ Of the things that they remember well,/

Stories and faces dearly held/ If these walls could speak./ If these old

fashioned window panes were eyes,/ I guess they would have seen it

all. The song goes on to tell the story of a familyof cherished

shared memories, of arguments and apologies, of an identity forged

through relationships that shapes the future.

As Americans we often tell stories through houses we have lived

in. Houses have shaped our past, given us a heritage, and orient us to

the future. Id like to suggest a similar approach in reading these

passages of Scripture, from Matthew, Isaiah, and Psalms, but drawing

on the prevailing image given in these Scriptures. Whereas

Americans personify walls and houses as telling stories, the Jewish

authors of Scripture are fond of using rocks and stones as the recurring

image for their stories. We enter the story through images and the

Proper 16; Apostles Anglican Church; August 21, 2011 1


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Scriptures teach us which images are most important. Rocks and

stones dont seem very exciting at first. No offense to geologists, but

Im not interested in the composition of rocks. But I do want to

understand what God is saying to me, especially when it concerns who

I am in relationship with Him. Thats the question I believe these

Scriptures address. Odd as it sounds, the stories that stones tell

expand our vision of who we are and who we will be, based on the fact

of who God is. Lets look at these stories in a new way so that our

vision of ourselves and our future looks different to us. //

The biblical pattern of imagining a new future always begins with

a new consideration of our past. Its why we hear Isaiah (turn to verse)

saying in his generation, Listen to Me, you who follow after

righteousness, You who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from

which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were

dug. 2 Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for I

called him alone, and blessed him and increased him. Notice how

Isaiah tells the story of Abraham in a whole new way. The familiar

version is Abram was called from a foreign land to a promised land

with his wife, Sarai, where God would make him the father of many

nations. But Isaiah dramatizes the calling even more through the

image of a rock being dug from a quarry. He says look to the hole of

the pit from which you were dug. Isaiah is saying Gods rescue

mission of the world began because the world was sinking down in the

depths of idolatry. Thats why Abram is called to a new place. Thats

why Abram is given a new name. Thats why Isaiah calls him a rock.

The world was sinking in self-destruction and God needed a man of

solid faith, a rock upon which other stones could be laid to rebuild a

pure and holy people. /

Its interesting that stones keep showing up in significant

moments of the biblical story, especially in Abrahams family.

Abrahams grandson, Jacob, becomes the chosen son in whom the



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nations will be blessed. Immediately after he receives that blessing,

he sets out on a journey to find a wife. He comes to a town called Luz

in his journey, finds a stone for his pillow and falls asleep. Youre

probably familiar with the famous dream Jacob has next, with angels

ascending and descending a ladder to heaven. In that dream the Lord

spoke his promise and blessing over Jacob that all the families of the

earth would be blessed. When Jacob woke up he said, God Himself

was here and I didnt know it. The place is different because God is

here. The name must change. This place will be called Bethel and the

house of God will be built here. How did he begin building that

sanctuary? He took his rocky pillow, poured oil on it, turned it on its

side and vowed it would be the pillar for a sanctuary.

There are several more events wherein we see stones employed

to establish Israel on solid ground. Immediately we think of Israel

receiving their identity as Gods people when the Law is written on

tablets of stone. Joshua builds a monument with twelve stones upon

crossing the Jordan to receive the land promised to Abraham.

Thousands of stones are stacked to build Solomons Temple so that

God would be present with his people, extending forgiveness and

mercy. The pattern pervades the Scriptures.

But another pattern exists in Gods rebuilding plan through

Israel. Gods rescue mission for the world is initiated through

Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and David, yet it is brought down again and

again when Israel turns to idols and rejects the love of God. Few were

more destructive in Israels history than one of her earliest kings,

Jeroboam. What did Jeroboam do? Where Jacob turned his stony pillow

into a pillar for worship at Bethel, Jeroboam built a shrine with golden

calves, a monument to tell all Israel: I am Jeroboam, King of Israel.

The problem was that Jeroboam didnt descend from David. He was an

impostor, a royal usurper. / Whats especially significant for our

purposes is that Jeroboam set up an idolatrous shrine not only in



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Bethel, desecrating Jacobs sanctuary, but also in Israels northernmost

city, Dan. Jeroboams policy of pagan worship infected Bethel and Dan

for centuries. In Dan especially, the city became the red-light district

of all Israel. The more Israel pursued the pleasures of their own hearts

at Dan, they further they descended back into the pit from which their

father Abraham was called. //

Now why is Dan significant to us? Dan is about as far to

Caesarea Philippi as we are to Cedar Bluff Road. Look again at the

Gospel lesson printed in your bulletin. When Jesus came into the

region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do men say

that I, the Son of Man, am? Jeroboam had been a spiritual wrecking

ball and centuries after his death the spiritual climate in Caesarea

Philippi was desperate. Nowhere was the God of Israel to be found in

Caesarea Philippi. Instead a massive pagan sanctuary, devoted to the

Greek god, Pan, covered the whole side of a mountain. Statues of Pan

and other gods were carved into the rock face, embedded in this

massive cliff. At the base of that cliff, a cave system is found where

fresh springs flow to this day. In those dark, watery places, Pans

worship required prostitution and all kinds of lewd acts. In those

shadowy places, the ancients perceived there was an evil, spiritual

undertow in those waters, drawing victims into the chaotic underworld

of Hades. No wonder Caesarea Philippi was assigned a nickname by

the ancients: the gates of hell.

Interesting place to ask the most significant question of your

followers, isnt it? And I believe its entirely intentional. Who do you

say that I am? Simon speaks up and says, You are the Christ, the Son

of the Living God. That immediate faith, spoken in the midst of a

pagan threshold, shows us that Gods new rescue plan for the world is

breaking out through Peter. Just as Abram was rescued from pagan Ur

to become the rock of Israel, now Simons confession shows us the

Mighty Deliverers new plan: God Himself is the foundation, God



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Himself is the cornerstone, and Simon becomes Peter, the new

Abraham, the rocky pillar that stands defiantly in front of the gates of

hell, turning away from those crumbling temples to turn towards the

Temple of God in human form, Jesus of Nazareth, saying, You are the

Christ. I hear the psalm we prayed this morning in Peters confession

at Caesarea Philippi with renewed meaning: I will praise you with my

whole heart; before the gods I will sing praises to you. I will worship

toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your

lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word

above all Your name.

Peter was entirely incapable of discerning Jesus identity on his

own. Flesh and blood cannot accomplish that magnificent revelation.

Our world has infected us with so many false gods that we cannot

recognize the living God made Flesh with our own eyes. But how great

is the mercy of our God, not only that He Himself becomes the rescue

plan for all creation, but that He would give us the gift of faith which

we cannot manufacture in our own strength. //

I know what some other interpreters of this passage will say.

Some speak about how Peter receives the supreme office of church

leadership from Jesus in this moment, an office that each pope carries

on as the head of the Church. Some would emphasis Peters confession

only, ignoring the unique role of this man in the history of Christs

Church. But we need not assign Peter the office of pope to appreciate

that his faith and witness are truly unique. There will never be another

Abraham; there will never be another Peter. But Christ alone is the

foundation of the Church. Peter is the rock, not the foundation. Yet

Peters faith in Christ and his changed identity have fathered an entire

Church, just as Abrahams faith brought forth the sons and daughters

of Israel.

Even if the name Rock is meant for Peter only, the solid nature

of his name is like a family nameit describes all who make Peters



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good confession. From Peters confession, we understand our own

story entirely differently. As soon as Peters eyes are opened to see

who Jesus is, Peter finally sees himself as he is. You are the Christ.

Then Jesus: You are Peterthe Rock. Only in recognizing who the

Son of God can we possibly understand who we are. So many are

searching for identity within themselves, but Peters encounter shows

us its a dead end. I cant alleviate this inner emptiness or discover my

identity in saying, I am this; I am that. Searching for our identity

without Christ only spins us in a circle of endless confusion. My

identity finally becomes grounded when the Spirit opens my eyes and I

confess, Jesus is the Christ. And then He tells me who I am and to

whom I belong. However hollow or empty I feel in myself, I become

solid because my identity is grounded outside myself, in the very

person of Christ Jesus, the sure foundation that stands firm in any

storm. //

What does all this mean? Who are we? We are the Temple of the

Living God. There is no more sanctuary in Bethel, no more Temple in

Jerusalem. We are the Temple of GodChrist the Foundation, Peter

the Rock, and we who follow that good confession saying You are the

Christ, we become living stones entrusted with the gospel of

forgiveness in our generation. / Hear Peters own words, written in his

first epistle near the end of his life. He still grounds our identity in our

strong confession of faith. As you come to Jesus, a living stone

rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you

yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to

be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God

through Jesus Christ.

Theres a dozen more things Id love to unpack about our identity

and the promises that Jesus has given to us. But it will be enough to

end on this thought: the Temple is on the move. When we leave here

we become chapels scattered throughout this city. Im often asked



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through the week by people who know Im a pastor this question,

wheres your church? I dont always do this because it would be

obnoxious, but every once and a while I give the right answer, its

Tuesday, theyre working, theyre at home, theyre in school.

Inevitably Ill end up giving people a polite answer about our building

and all the details of our meeting times. / But this building is just a

building; these stones dont breathe. The only reason to tell anyone to

come here on Sunday is because living stones are gathered here, built

on the rock, laid on the foundation that is Christ Jesus. The only reason

to invite someone to this place is because the Lord Jesus and You, His

Churchy, are gathered here. Wherever we gather, whether in this

room or any another, always remember who you are. Jesus entrusted

us with a family name, not only for our own identity, but that that

family might grow, that all might become solid, living stones built on

the foundation of Christ Jesus. In the Name of Jesus, the dead-bolted

doors of human hearts fling wide open because He has given us keys

that unlock what no other man can open. Wherever we go, may we

stand firm in Christ Jesus, knocking on the doors of human hearts,

speaking the gospel of forgiveness and love that has makes us solid in

His name. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.


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A Moving Temple of Living Stones