August 23, 2026 "Location, Location, Location"

13th Sunday after Pentecost

Isaiah 51:1-6

Psalm 138

Romans 12:1-8

Matthew 16:13-20

Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

grace and peace to you from the Messiah,

the Son of the Living God Amen.

Location, location, location,

 Jesus may have been an itinerant preacher

 but like anyone in real estate

he knew the value of location

 and chose very specific spots

 for certain moments in his ministry,

the location adding an intentional layer of meaning

to whatever took place there. 

In our gospel for today

that location is Caesarea Philippi,

 and Jesus chooses there

 to ask his disciples two questions:

who do people say that the Son of Man is?

 And who do you say that I am?

And their answer,

 Peter’s answer

 will stand in direct contrast to their surroundings.

Long before Jesus and the disciples arrived there,

and even before the Romans,

the area had been a center for worship of the Greek god Pan,

 among other deities,

 caves that dotted the hillside

 had been turned into temples and shrines to these gods,

one of the caves was even believed to be a door to Hades- the underworld. (https://biblehub.com/q/what%27s_caesarea_philippi%27s_biblical_role.htm) 

  This was an area rich in religious symbolism and thought,

 a religious destination even.

The original name of the city is Banias/ Panias in honor of Pan

and that’s the name it is known by even today.

Then along came Herod Philip,

Son of Herod the Great,

 the local Roman puppet ruler

who rebuilt the city and renamed it Caesarea

 in honor of the Roman Caesar

and Philippi to distinguish it from the other Caesarea’s

 and to take some credit for himself-

it could only help his standing with those in power.

 and of course this rebuild

included a temple dedicated to Caesar

among whose titles were “Son of the Divine”.

It is in the midst of this highly charged

 religious and political atmosphere

that Jesus asks the disciples to consider who they say he is,

and it is in direct contrast to the surrounding shrines and temples,

that Peter answers “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”

 not Pan,

 not Caesar,

 Jesus

 is the Son of the living God,

 the Messiah

 the long-promised deliverer of God’s people.

This is a confession with serious religious and political implications

 (no wonder Jesus orders the disciples not to tell anyone, at least not yet)

 and Jesus affirms Peter’s confession!

‘Yes! You got it Simon!

The only way you could come to this revelation

 is with the help of my father but yes!’

and then Jesus surrounded by shrines built on rocks,

 out of rocks,

 turns to Simon and says

 “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church…”

 the Son of the living God

is saying that the people,

the community

 is where he, the living God will be found,

it is these living stones that will come together

as one body in Christ.

 not a cave with a statue,

or a temple in one place,

 but a living breathing community.

Our God is alive,

our God is among us,

our God has given us agency in the world.

This is amazing news! 

And perhaps a bit sobering

 because it means we have a role to play

now we humans are self-centered enough

 to go quickly from ‘role to play’

 to ‘it’s all up to us!’

“don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think”

 Paul quickly reminds us,

 it’s a balance,

it’s not all up to us,

 but God does have a part for us to play,

 each with the gifts God has given us,

 working together seeking to live God’s way in the world,

 a way that stands in contrast

 to the static inflexible idols

the world would have us serve,

 that the world would have us conform to without a thought

except for who has the power.

But power has been given to us,

 the power and possibility for growth and change,

not for our own sake

 but for the sake of God and the world God loves.

Jesus is a power with messiah

rather than a power over messiah-

 and next week we’ll explore more of what Jesus means when he says ‘messiah’-

 but suffice it to say

how Jesus is the messiah

will stand in stark contrast to the way of the world.

‘Look’ Jesus says,

‘I’m building a way of life, a way of living

and for that to be the case,

the foundation must be living as well,

 and Simon Peter is perfect for the role.’

I used to think that Simon Peter

was a bit of a silly choice

for Jesus to make the “rock” upon which to build the church.

We tend to think of rocks as steady and stable,

and Peter is anything but,

 he confesses the truth one moment

 and the next completely misses the point,

 he will offer to die with Jesus

and then deny him three times,

but in spite of his failures and missteps

 Peter will persist in his pursuit of God,

whom Peter has found to have been revealed in Jesus,

the messiah, the Son of the living God.

That persistence,

 that pursuit of the love, mercy, grace, and justice of God

 is the foundation upon which Jesus will build,

 and as commentator Matthew Meyer Boulton remarks “This portrait of Peter is an open invitation to all of us to join the movement, to be a part of the community of the church, flawed and meager and courageous and beautiful as it is. As compared to the great monuments of empire, the church can certainly seem unimpressive. But the good news of the Gospel is this: at the center of the church is not a statue but a living person, the living child of the living God, embodied as the community itself, the Body of Christ — calling us all to a deeper, more human, more excellent Way of Life. (https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2020/8/18/who-do-you-say-that-i-am-salts-lectionary-commentary-for-twelfth-week-after-pentecost0 

Persistent pursuit of God,

that is the foundation for life with the Son of the Living God,

 not static cold perfection,

 but a way of life,

one that is big enough, flexible enough

 to include enthusiasm one moment and denial the next,

 big enough for mistakes and forgiveness,

 learning and growth,

as Paul says in our reading from Romans

it is through seeking growth and transformation that we worship,

transformation that aligns us with the way of God,

 that reveals our role in the community

which we are a member of,

 where we have a role to play

and where Christ is at the center,

calling us to live and share that life that really is life.

Who do you say that I am? Jesus asks

You are the Son of the living God, Peter answers

Yes, Jesus says,

 now go and live. Amen