For Sunday, August 24, 2014 – Matthew 16:13-20
Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” It reminds me of those funny questions, the kind that have the answers tucked inside, like “Who is buried in Grant’s tomb?” Jesus enjoys being playful with his friends, using wit and humor to tug them in closer. We would do well to lighten up ourselves and be a bit more playful with him and each other. Here he calls himself the Son of Man, then Simon calls him the Son of God, and then Jesus calls Simon the son of Jonah. It goes back and forth like that, each playful give and take bringing them to more and more serious considerations.
I wonder what Jesus might have meant, calling Simon “son of Jonah.” There seems to be no historical evidence that this was actually Simon’s dad’s name. Maybe Jesus is using humor, which means saying something important in an unexpected way. Simon has just acknowledged him as coming from God. So maybe Jesus is saying, I see you, too, my friend. You come from an honored line yourself—from Jonah, the one who runs away. What a whale of trouble you can get yourself into! Yet God chooses you again and again, even when it means having to chase you down and roust you from your clever hiding places.
What’s more, Jesus tells Simon, “You are Cephas (Peter), and on this rock I will build my church…” It’s hard for us to hear how hilarious this would have sounded to the group, that they are to start calling Simon “Cephas,” Peter the rock! They have such a clear picture in their minds of how he impetuously bounced out of the boat and skimmed across the surface of the water like a rock, and then sank like a rock, too. How could anything rock-solid be built on Simon? Jesus uses humor to open our minds to new ideas. The foundation of the new community will be strong in a different way—an eager, fearful-joyful, running away, sinking, rising again way. Like Simon Peter, son of Jonah, this new kind of church will venture forth with courage and wobbly knees. Each of us born into it receives a new name. I wonder, for this season in our world’s life, what is mine? What is yours?
