On this Rock

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:16-19

We recently took a drive up north and I again marvel at the huge rock formations that the road was cut out to pass roadways through. You can look up as you drive by and not see the sky for the rocks. The granite, quartz and steel rock colors glistened in the rainy fall weather. These unmovable ancient towers, stationed along the highway were formed early in creation. They have been a silent witness to thousands of generations of human beauty and folly. They have silently recorded the comings and goings of our ancestors and remain changeless despite the whims of humanity. We cut into them and destroy them for our own needs and yet they remains, solid reminders of the presence of eternal in the midst of all that is passing by and passing away. They stand as silent witnesses. to the constancy of the Creator, of God, who despite our selfish whims has promised to be in the midst of our fractured world.

Jesus tells Simon, that he will be called Peter, the Rock and on this rock he will build the church. We can think that give Peter supremacy in the church and yet, his statement rather than his person hood is the rock on which Christ founded the Church. Founded on the solid knowledge that Jesus was the son of the living God, the Christ, this rock solid knowledge that was a gift from God. Here is where the church is founded. On the unchanging rock of Jesus. In the midst of storms, in the midst of trials and temptations, in the midst of the worst that life can and does dish our, Jesus remians the Christ, the Son of the living God. A solid and permanent foundation in the midst of the daily changes we face.

May today be a day where we rely on the permanent consistency of the solid rock in Christ. The permanence, solid heart of God given for the world- then and now. On which the Church is founded and in which the church is completely grounded. None of us are alone or without because God sent a solid permanent covenant child in Jesus Christ. And in our worst days we can lash ourselves upon that rock and survive every storm.