Upon This Rock (Guest Blog)

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16, KJV)

I’ve been thinking about this particular passage frequently lately. As with many things the words that have passed down through the centuries carry a multitude of meanings. One of the more conventional thoughts is that Jesus was designating Peter himself as the cornerstone of the church. While by no means an expert in Catholicism that is the basis for naming Peter as the first pope. This is given credence as the name “Peter” is derived from the Greek word “Petros” meaning stone. Others point to the notion that Jesus was referencing himself as the foundation, the nexus from which all beliefs spring true. The latter is probably much closer to truth of the words, but I think a deeper, more meaningful, explanation can be examined.

One must turn first to the core of the exchange. Peter says to Jesus, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responds after explaining to the others present why Peter has said, what he said, “thou art Peter.” It is this very short, very personal dialog in which one individual distinguishes the truth and identity of the other that is at the heart of the significance. Peter recognizes Jesus Christ. Jesus recognizes Peter - Servant to Savior, and Savior to Servant. It is this simple acknowledgment that I believe is the “rock” to which Jesus has mentioned. It is personal comprehension, first revealed to Peter of who Jesus is that becomes the foundation.

Over the years I’ve had the privilege to attend church services with many congregations of several denominations. Starting with my youth, I was raised in a fairly small Pentecostal church in rural Ohio. Since then I’ve listened to homilies at Catholic mass, witnessed baptisms at Baptist Churches, and attended with small congregations of 10-12 as well as some of the mega-Churches with congregations numbered in the thousands. All of these successful congregations had one thing in common. There was at least one person upon whom the congregation found its strength and stability. Sometimes this is the pastor, sometimes a church elder, sometimes someone unlikely (a youth minister for example). Churches always need a cornerstone upon which to lean in troubled times.

Back in that small church in Ohio, my dad was one of those rocks. In title, he was Deacon for this congregation. He rarely ever missed a service, and frequently sat in the same pew. His criticisms were handled in private. His encouragement and praise was frequent and without strings, and his forgiveness was deep.

15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.” (Mathew 18, NAS)

21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Mathew 18, NAS)

My dad was certainly not without fault, but his example still rings in my ears more than a decade after he has gone. It takes rocks like him to build a congregation.

24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. (Matthew 7, KJV)

When he died, the pastor of that small church knowing that a large part of his foundation had gone away approached me to fill my father’s shoes. My mother, my wife, many of the congregation supported that assertion. For reasons known only to God at the time, the Spirit said to me, “No, do not do this.” In the passage of time, I have come to know the wisdom of this guidance. At the time I was a very passionate young man (some would say still), full of the fervors and obsessions that associate with early life. I would not have been a rock for that congregation, but sand instead.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. (Mathew 7, KJV)

This is one of the instances in my life when I have questioned from time to time if I acted properly. For a few years since this time, my father’s church having lost its rock since dissolved and its congregation passed to the wind. I take some solace in the teachings of Jesus about the future and the changes that would be endured by the Apostles and in fact Jesus himself.

33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away (Luke 21, AKJV)

The real question for all of us that must be answered is, “which rock?” All of us, having learned the lesson of Mathew 7, have built our spiritual houses upon rock. But again, “which rock?” I mentioned that I have attended services at a few of the modern mega-churches. Once near Easter, my wife and I visited one of those with very contemporary services. After the service as we were walking to the car, she turned to me and said, “That was nice, but I feel like I need to go to church.” As we talked about it on the drive home, we agreed that while the service was certainly entertaining, there was something lacking in the clarity of the message. There is certainly nothing wrong with this type of congregation and service and I surely do not think that church services should be dour and boring. That is just as ineffective at feeding the soul, but as with so many things there can be a tradeoff.

Years ago as I was finishing up one of my engineering degrees, one of the University requirements was an interdisciplinary capstone course. As I was trying to fulfill this requirement during a summer term and the available courses were limited. I ended up in a course called, “Theatre and Architecture”. Basically, it dealt with the interplay between the play and the performance space. Starting with the humble Greek tragedy, through Roman plays, medieval passion plays, Shakespearian plays and many others up through modern type such as theatre in the round, the course examined the performance the space and also those observing.

One of the things that becomes obvious when you compare theatre throughout the ages is that, sitting and actually “watching” the performance is a very modern thing to do. Really only in the past 200 years or so do we actually go to sit in a dark room and quietly watch a performance. Prior to that, the principle activity in going out the theatre was to “see and be seen”. Going to an ancient Greek play would have more in common with a modern day baseball game than going to, let’s say, Phantom of the Opera. In ancient times, you’d have a seat based on your affluence, probably arrive late, chat with friends and colleges, have some food, try to expand your sphere of influence, talk some politics, then go out for a late evening. You should notice that “watching the play” in not a primary activity. This is true also of Shakespearian plays. If you were to investigate Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre for instance you will find that the most expensive seats are also the farthest from the stage, which can only mean that the performance was secondary. In Hamlet, at one point Hamlet says, “The play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.” In reality nothing could be further from the truth. Shakespeare had a very fine and ironic wit.

It is also ironic where we find our modern versions of theatre for one hypothesis is that human beings crave this kind of activity. On that Easter Sunday a few years ago in the mega-church, the experience I had that day had more to do with theatre than worship. I observed a Sunday morning where to see and be seen, and to conspicuously display your wealth was the norm. In my opinion, too many good people had drifted away from the rock of personal understanding of Jesus Christ to another earthly rock of the Sunday morning experience. In Paul’s letter to the Church in Corinth he makes a similar point to the congregation there.

1 We then, working together with God, make our request to you not to take the grace of God to no purpose. (2 Corinthians 6, Bible in Basic English)

Which brings us back to the fundamental question, “which rock?” You recognize Jesus Christ. Jesus recognizes you. Servant to Savior, and Savior to Servant. It’s really just that simple.

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Mathew 7, KJV)

Once your feet are firmly planted there, all things become possible.

Timothy Hill

(Used with permission)