Thursday, August 4, 2016

Matthew 16: 13-23

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
and he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Then he strictly ordered his disciples
to tell no one that he was the Christ.

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly
from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.
Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,
“God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”
He turned and said to Peter,
“Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Jesus was a tecton, a day laborer. Holy Scripture translates this word as carpenter. He used many tools while working in the trades. He used hammers, saws, and chisels. There is a proper tool for each task at hand. The task of salvation is no different. Jesus uses tools and proves us with these tools to make our lives easier.

There are many out there today who say they do not like religion. They do not have need for a church. They have a personal relationship with Jesus and that is all they need. This is the equivalent of Jesus showing up for work without his tool bag. No need for my hammer today boss. I have my fist. I don’t need a saw to cut that would. I have my teeth. This is as crazy as going through life without using the tools the Lord has given us.

In this passage we clearly see Jesus establishing his Church. He assigns Simon as its earthly head and bestows upon her first bishops all of the power and authority he was given by the Father. He promises that his Church will never fail.

What Jesus did not do was give the Twelve a book and instruct them to tell those who believe in him to follow only that which was written in it. He did not tell the Twelve to go and write such a book and instruct people to follow only that which was written in it. He did not tell the Twelve to teach people to only come to him and only him for their salvation. What Jesus did do was to establish his Church, put leadership in that Church, and provide that leadership the tools necessary for them to continue his work of salvation after he goes back to heaven.

If Jesus was on the worksite and had a question about the work to be done he did not go directly to the owner to get the answer. He would have gone to the foreman. Those who choose to go directly to Christ ignore the foremen he provides for this job at hand. Now, having a personal relationship, even an intimate relationship, with Jesus is not a bad thing. In fact, it is a necessary thing. But not to make full use of the tools he has provided us is foolhardy at best.