Howdy. Bill Murray has developed something of
a reputation for showing up in places where Bill
Murray is not necessarily expected. Yes, the
star from Ghostbusters and What About Bob and
Lost in Translation, that wild kooky guy. Yeah.
In Scotland, Bill Murray met some college students
at a bar. accepted an invitation to their house
party, and eventually ended up in the kitchen
washing their dishes. In Charleston, a couple
was having engagement photos taken when they
noticed a strange man behind the photographer
lifting his shirt over his face and rubbing his
belly. Yes, that was Bill Murray. It wasn't me.
And at South by Southwest in Austin, he walked
into a crowded bar and decided he would rather
be working than drinking, so he went behind the
bar and started serving drinks. He has played
kickball with strangers, read Emily Dickinson
to construction workers, and crashed bachelor
parties. There's a pattern here. Bill Murray
doesn't necessarily announce himself. You don't
always recognize him because he walks into the
room and says, hi, I'm Bill Murray, the star
of Ghostbusters, and what about Bob? Sometimes
you recognize him because of the way he behaves.
You see him and you think, wait a minute, isn't
that Bill Murray? And then he does something,
and you think, yep, that is absolutely Bill Murray.
And that is so Bill Murray of him. And in today's
Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples a question about
his identity. Who do people say that the Son
of Man is? Isn't that always funny whenever people
refer to themselves in the third person? I mean,
we're not all Bob Dole or anything over here.
But you know, he's over there trying to say if
the Son of Man is being sent out for God, What
is it that you believe about him? And by the
way, we all know I'm talking about me and they
give him several answers. John the Baptist or
Elijah or Jeremiah, one of the prophets, all
names that people would have known. But then
Jesus asks the more important question, not what
they're saying. Who do you say that I am? And
Peter answers, you are the Christ, the Son of
the living God. Peter recognizes Him, not comparing
Him to everybody else. He sees Him for who He
is. And that is where our readings take us today,
recognizing who Jesus is, understanding who we
are because of Him, and allowing Him to shape
us into the people He has called us to be. because
what you are built upon shapes who you become.
What you are built upon shapes who you become.
Look at the answers that the disciples were giving.
John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, the prophets.
The thing is these were not foolish answers that
made no sense. People saw something very prophetic
in Jesus. they were correct that he was very
much a prophet. Sure, they've heard him speak
with authority, they've watched him heal, they've
seen him confront evil, and they've heard him
call people to repent. And so they're reaching
for categories that they could understand. Maybe
he's John the Baptist come back. Maybe that's
really who he is. Or maybe he's Elijah returned
from the grave. Maybe he's Jeremiah speaking
to the people who felt they were in exile or
one of the other prophets because they were used
to what they had heard from those prophets. But
notice what they all have in common. They're
all looking backward. The prophets were God's
messengers. They pointed forward toward God's
work. They announced what God was going to do,
like someday. But Peter says, you are the Christ.
In other words, you, this is he. This is the
one we've been waiting for. This is the one that
the prophets were all pointing toward. This is,
Jesus is not simply another prophet announcing
God's salvation. He is the Messiah that brings,
that is God's salvation. And Peter goes further.
The son of the living God. It's one thing to
be the son of man, knowing that God will use
a human to do his work, but Jesus isn't merely
another person that God has used. Peter recognizes
something unique. about Him. He realizes this
is God, and this is His presence. Jesus tells
Peter, flesh and blood have not revealed this
to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Peter
doesn't just simply figure it out. It's not like
Peter is some ridiculously wise sage. Faith is
not forcing Jesus into the shape of what we expected.
God revealed who Jesus is to Peter. Because faith
doesn't force Jesus into what we expect. Faith
recognizes Jesus for who He actually is. And
the crowds, they might say, He must be someone
that we would recognize, someone like what we've
seen before. And Peter says, no. This is the
one. This is who we've been waiting for. And
then Jesus, he actually then takes that question
of identity and he turns it around. Isn't that
such a Jesus thing to do? Oh, hey, you asked
a question. I'm actually gonna turn it around
back on you again. Peter says, you are the Christ,
and Jesus says, you are Peter. See, Peter's name
is connected to the Aramaic. Kepha. A lot of
times we see C -E -P -H -A -S and we say Cephas,
but it was actually Kepha. And the thing with
it is it means rock in the Aramaic. You see,
Matthew, Matthew was recording the words though
in Greek. So even though they might have said
Kepha, Peter, this is the rock, Kepha. Matthew
was writing down to show that Petros, the masculine
form for rock, was referring to Peter, and Petra,
the feminine form, was referring to the rock
there. You are Petros, and upon this Petra, I
will build my church. And there's meant to be
a wordplay there. That connection between the
Kepha Peter and the Kepha of what the foundation
is meant to be. You see, this connection, is
meant to show us something about what we're meant
to do, too. See, Peter is being called Rock.
Why? Why is it so important for him to have this
name? Every time I introduce myself to people,
I don't say, hello, I'm the Reverend here, I
am the healer. No, my name's Jason. It's okay.
Why, though, is it important to know this about
Peter? Is Peter naturally strong? Does he always
get everything right? Is Peter alone meant to
lead the church going forward? No, on all accounts.
In fact, Peter, in the gospel, is about to get
something very, very wrong, and he's gonna be
so wrong about it that Jesus is gonna have to
look at him and say, get behind me, Satan. I've
said some dumb things in my life. I don't think
anybody's actually called me Satan in any context.
But you know, Peter, He's even gonna later on
deny Jesus three times. The New Testament does
not present him as the sole leader of the church.
James, the brother of Jesus, is actually the
leader of the Jerusalem church. And Paul presents
Peter and the brothers James and John as pillars,
plural, of the church. Peter, he is a foundational
apostle, but notice what Jesus is actually saying.
Jesus is saying, I will build my church. See,
this isn't Peter will build my church. Jesus
will build it. Peter is the rock, but his significance
cannot be separated from what he just said. Because
look at the timing. You are the Christ, the Son
of the living God. That is what brings the keys
to the kingdom of heaven. That is how it is that
all of us have the opportunity to be part of
the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven is
because of the fact that Jesus is the Christ.
The Son of the living God is the sent one to
come and bring us salvation. Peter matters because
he confesses Christ, because he proclaims Christ,
because Christ has called Peter to bear witness
to Christ. Peter isn't important instead of Jesus.
He's important because he points to Jesus. His
name tells us what Christ is doing with him.
Peter is not rock solid with his own strength.
He has a task, he has a role. And that name points
to Christ. And it reminds us of what we actually
heard and learned in Isaiah, the prophet. Isaiah
says, look to the rock from which you were hewn,
carved, and to the quarry from which you were
dug. You were hewn from the rock. You were dug
from the quarry. In other words, remember where
you came from. What does that mean? Why is that
important? Isaiah explains, look to Abraham your
father and to Sarah who bore you. Isaiah uses
the imagery of a rock and a quarry. to make God's
people remember their origin back to Abraham
and Sarah. Remember Sarah, remember Abraham,
remember where this people came from. Is that
because everything was about the Jewish community
coming from Abraham and Sarah? Not actually.
What we see is what Abraham and Sarah's story
taught about God's grace. Abraham was one person.
and a very old man. Sarah had been barren, never
bore a child. The beginning looked small and
impossible. How could God use these two people
to do what he promised? But God says, I called
him alone and blessed him and increased him.
Because the point was not about Abraham, the
point is what God did through him. The point
was not ultimately Sarah. The point was what
God did through Sarah. And the point is the people
that God created through the promise. See, the
story keeps going. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel,
the prophets, the promises, the Messiah. Christ
Himself and now the Church. The story of Abraham
and Sarah finds its fulfillment in the true Israel
sent to save us from our sins, Christ himself.
The story has reached its fulfillment. So Isaiah
is saying, remember the God who made a people
out of his promise. Matthew takes that story
another step forward. Isaiah was saying, look
to the rock from which he were carved. Jesus
says, upon this rock, I will build my church.
Peter, the rock, is pointing toward Christ, the
foundation. See, Paul would end up saying, no
one can lay a foundation other than that which
is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Christ is the
rock, the foundation. and the builder. And what
you're built upon shapes what you become. Imagine
if you have a sculptor, then again, no, sorry.
But imagine that you've got a sculptor who is
there with a large stone and he ends up turning
it into something beautiful. Michelangelo is
famously associated with the idea that when he
looked at a block of marble, he saw a figure
that could be revealed by removing what did not
belong. His sculpture of David gives us a striking
example, a massive block of marble becoming something
recognizable, beautiful, and purposeful, even
if you do have to cover your eyes for a moment.
But we need to be careful with the metaphor.
Because Christianity, it's not just a self -help
tool where you have to just actualize your real
self. It's not just something simplistic of saying
there's some perfect version of ourselves hidden
and God is just uncovering it. We are sinners.
We sin. We don't just have rough edges to smooth
out. We resist God. We cling to the things that
we're supposed to let go of. We need more than
just improvement. We need redemption. We need
to be saved. We need to be forgiven. We need
to die to the old and be risen to the new. And
that is precisely what Christ gives us. The one
who calls us to be transformed is the one who
first gave Himself for us. He bears our sin.
He dies for us. He rises again. And He reconciles
us to the Father and makes us His own. And He
begins restoring what sin distorted. That's why
being conformed to Christ, it's not about God
giving us a new pile of laws we need to follow
now. It's about restoring His creation, restoring
us to the life for which we were created. And
He does it by conforming us to the likeness of
Christ. Christ is not merely another set of rules
to follow. He's the image of what humanity was
created to be. In Christ, God is restoring us
to life. And that's what we look at when we see
Romans 12. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable to God." Notice where Paul
had begun, by the mercies of God. This is not
Paul saying, sacrifice yourself to God and then
maybe He'll finally love you. This is him saying,
God has shown you mercy out of His love, so now
we offer ourselves to Him. Grace always comes
first. Mercy. forgiveness, love, hope always
comes first. We don't sacrifice to earn God's
grace. We sacrifice because we've already received
it. And so much when we take that term sacrifice,
we keep using it as a word that doesn't matter
in our lives the same way. How often do we say
that we're sacrificing for our family or for
our friends, but it's something we want to do
because we love them. And yet, when we talk about
sacrifice for God, somehow we miss that true
sacrifice is something that brings us closer
to the ones that we love. You see, the sculptor
is standing there, and the hammer. It keeps striking
while the chisel cuts. And frankly, as the pieces
of stone fall away, it hurts. It hurts to be
chiseled away. The sacrifice is real. Following
God costs us something. In reality, it costs
us everything. But you see, the sculptor, he's
not destroying us. He's not destroying the stone.
He's shaping us. You see, the sacrifice, it's
not about sacrificing who God created you to
be. It's about sacrificing the things that keep
us from becoming who God has called us to be.
We surrender our pride, our selfishness, our
bitterness. We surrender our hatred, our need
to control everything, our unwillingness to forgive.
We sacrifice our desire to be praised. The things
that distort the image of God in us. The things
that... destroy us. The chisel is real and it
hurts, but the pain is not evidence that God
has abandoned us. The pain is evidence that the
sculptor is still working on us. God is not giving
a new law. He's not saying, here are 20 more
things that you all need to do. Oh, hey, we got
five more people in late service and three more
in early service to join. I guess we got eight
more people suckered into doing all the stuff
on our to -do list. The transformation is the
life that flows from the grace of God. When God
removes our hatred, He isn't making us less of
ourselves. He's restoring us to love. When God
removes our pride, He's not freeing us from something
that we should identify with. He's freeing us
from having to prove ourselves. When He teaches
us to forgive, He's not letting people off the
hook. He's restoring what sin broke inside of
us. And when He teaches us generosity, He's freeing
us from being possessed by our possessions. The
goal is life. because once that sculpture has
been carved, there the person stands, as they
were always intended. Paul says, we though many,
are one body in Christ. And then he talks about
gifts. Some people serve. Some people teach.
Some people encourage. Some people give. Some
people lead. Some people show mercy. different
people, different gifts, one body, one Christ.
God is not carving every person into the same
statue, as great as the statue David might have
been if the next one was also the statue of David.
After a while, you start to wonder, Michelangelo,
can't you do anything different? Peter does not
have to become Paul. Paul does not have to become
Peter. The goal is not sameness. The goal is
faithfulness. You don't have to become anybody
else to be useful in the kingdom of God. Christ
gives different gifts to different people as
He's building the one body. You are not meant
to be like anybody else. Believe me, I understand.
There is something though that is joyful about
that. when you no longer have to convince God
to love you by being like somebody else. God
is not shaping us for sameness. He's shaping
us because each one of us is meant to be his
unique creation. As we discover that each one
of us is gifted in a way that's unique, we find
opportunities to use those gifts in service to
others. We begin to experience something of joy
of becoming who God made us to be. There's this
particular kind of joy. It comes when you realize,
I was made for this. This is something God gave
me to do. I'm supposed to do this. You get to
do something that you know speaks to who you
are. Doesn't matter if it has more tasks to do.
You're joyful because you realize, this is me.
And I'm truly becoming myself. The sculptor doesn't
only remove what doesn't belong, he also brings
what he has placed there. And Christ shapes us
within his church. And this is where our psalm
gives us an important assurance. The Lord will
fulfill his purpose for me. It's not, I'm gonna
figure out my purpose. Time for some eat, pray,
love. It's not. I'm gonna go manufacture an identity.
Let's go check out the Career Center. It's not
I have to make myself worthy. It is saying the
Lord will fulfill His purpose for me. His purpose
for me. The sculptor knows what He's doing. The
builder knows what He's doing. The God who called
Abraham and Sarah knows what He's doing. The
Christ who called Peter, even knowing everything
He would do, knew what He was doing. and the
God who has called you the flawed, struggling,
frustrated, imperfect person that you are, sorry
to let you know, knows exactly what he's doing.
Sometimes you look at your life and you don't
understand the shape that it's taking. What is
God doing? Why is he shaping me this way? But
the Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. and
the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.
There is the foundation. It's not about our performance.
It's not about our ability to understand what
he's doing. It's not about our ability to get
everything right. It's about his steadfast love.
So we come back to the question, who do you say
that I am? And I'm asking you that today, Christ
Memorial, and all of you on the internet. Who
do you say that Jesus is? Not just with your
words, but with your life. There are so many
answers that could exist. He's a prophet. He's
a teacher. He's a moral example. He's a revolutionary.
He's a great historical figure. Sure, those are
true. Is that truly Christ, when all we say is
what the rest of the world is okay with? Peter
says you are the Christ, the Son of the living
God. The one the prophets pointed to. The one
that God promised. The one who fulfills the story
that began with Abraham and Sarah. The one who
builds us, the church. The one who calls imperfect
Peter and imperfect everyone else. The one who
calls us. The one who gives us identity. Restoring
creation. Giving us life. The one who shapes
us by His grace. so that we can look back to
the rock upon which we are built. So today, I'm
calling you to look to Christ. We may be able
to do some great things as a community here.
And that's wonderful. But it will never, and
it can never be anything other than what we as
the church are doing in Christ. The one who shapes
us. The one that we trust to continue to shape
us. And every time the chisel strikes, we remember
that the sculptor does not destroy us. He forms
us. And when we surrender, we're not surrendering
the identity that we hope for. We're surrendering
what keeps us from living in the identity that
Christ has given us. We surrender all the things
that keep us. From the true identity we have
in Christ So when you don't understand what God
is doing with that chisel in your life remember
the Lord will fulfill his purpose in you and
when you wonder Paul says far from him and through
him and to him are all things Because he is the
Christ and upon him we are built And if Christ
is your rock, then by His grace, He is restoring
you to life, shaping you into His likeness, and
building you together with His people into the
church that He is building. Thanks be to God.