Michelle Sermon - July 31

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Knowledge is power.

In my office, a framed diploma declares that I have been conferred a degree of Bachelor of Arts, with all the “rights and privileges thereunto appertaining.” When was in college, we joked about this – what rights and privileges did I get by receiving a college degree?

And yet, I realize that there are certain rights that have come with each degree. I have the right to ask for more pay in some jobs, because of my degree, of course. For many people, this has become one of the main reasons why people go to college, and which I believe is to the detriment of education in general. Because, as a former educator, I believe that that right comes with certain skills, like critical thinking. That’s what makes college graduates valuable in certain jobs – and downright annoying in others. Once you have the ability to think, you shouldn’t be treated as if you cannot. And, you should not willingly accept the simple answers.

Peter has knowledge. Last week, he publicly declared Jesus to be the Messiah. And, Peter has rights and privileges associated with this knowledge. Last week, Jesus renamed him, and declared him the rock on which he would build the Church. It seems like high praise, indeed. You can imagine the other disciples squabbling behind him – “look at Peter, he’s a rock. What about us? Aren’t we good for Church-building?”

And today, they are perhaps vindicated. Jesus does a 180 – turns around and declares Peter Satan and a stumbling block. And the jealous disciples smirk, perhaps, and say, ha ha. Look where you are now.

Is Jesus being fickle? Or is it Peter who is suddenly wavering? How do we make sense of this sudden turnaround, without giving ourselves whiplash in the process? And, what does it mean for us today?

To start, it may help to re-think what Jesus actually said.

Today, when we hear the word “Satan,” we automatically think of the devil. In fact, we may think that the two words mean the same thing. But, in fact, the words are more nuanced. In the Old Testament, Satan appears as a tempter, sometimes almost as an advocate. In the Book of Job and in a few other places, Satan almost seems to act like a lawyer in a courtroom, trying to get at the truth by testing out different scenarios.

Peter, last week, came to a critical truth – he declared Jesus was the Messiah. But, now, Peter is trying to test out what that means.

To start, it may help to re-examine what Peter and Jesus actually said.

Last week, Jesus asked the provocative question – who do you say I am? It was Peter who instantly came up with the correct answer, “You are the Messiah.” To which Jesus responded with a three-fold blessing, if you will. He renames Simon, calling him Peter, meaning Rock. He declares that Peter will be the foundation of the church – ecclesia, or community. And, he tells Peter that whatever he binds on earth will be bound in heaven.

Knowledge is a turning point for Peter – he has new privileges, a new name, a new title. But, he has new responsibilities, too. As the foundation for community – with the power to admit or deny new members – he cannot allow himself to fall into bad habits.

This, then, is what sparks Jesus’s outburst. Because, just as Jesus is getting ready to unveil the full scope of God’s plan, Peter is starting to show signs of backsliding. Because the people were hoping for a Messiah to be God’s Annointed King, a military conqueror like David, who would restore the Jewish people to glory. Because, in the popular mind, that might be what God was all about. If you were good, if you were holy, you had power, glory, honor, wealth, and healthy offspring to carry on the family name. You were what we might call one of the “beautiful people.”

Peter had declared Jesus the Messiah, the anointed one whom he thinks will bring the Jewish people glory. And Jesus is talking about suffering. That’s not what’s supposed to happen! That will not bring glory to the Jewish people.

And thus, with one rebuke, Peter falls back into the old trap. And Jesus chastises him. Because Peter is limiting who can come into the kingdom of God. Peter is setting his mind on human things, not on divine things. He sees as people do – in terms of wealth, power, influence – not as God does. He misses the point of Jesus. Jesus comes to earth and takes on flesh not because he wants to give those with some power even more power; that would be a simple answer. Jesus comes to show that God sees what the world does not – that even the most downtrodden person is beloved of God.

Knowledge is power.

Knowledge of God should be even more powerful. It should give you the power to do the many things Paul lists in his guidance to the Roman community: to be patient in suffering, to perservere in prayer, to contribute to others, to extend hospitality, to bless those who curse you. Why? Because if you know that God’s blessing does not depend on the things people think are important, you will not be tied to them. If following Jesus causes ridicule, causes you to lose social standing, Jesus promises that it will not diminish God’s love.

Peter says, Jesus, you should not suffer! You should not be put to shame!

Jesus says, I will suffer, so that others do not need to be ashamed.

This is the knowledge Jesus has.

Do we have that knowledge?

This week, I skimmed an article entitled “Why don’t the cops just shoot Jesus?” It was provocative – and meant to be. But then, so was Jesus.

The author, an African American man, pointed out that the problem with how we many news stories have been covering the events in Ferguson, Missouri, is that they have focused on the fact that Michael Brown was a “good boy and a promising student” who was shot by police. In other words, it is okay to shoot other people, just not good boys or promising students.

The news coverage seems to bear this out – there are hundreds of unarmed people shot every year by police, many of them African-American – but we don’t hear about most of them.