After the disciples have spent so much time with Jesus watching him heal and teach and forgive it seems that Jesus feels it is time to give his disciples a ‘midterm test.’ He wants to see what they have learned after spending so much time watching him minister to others. But before he asks them the one and only question on the test, he has them hike 25 miles to the region of Caesarea Philippi. Why the long hike? What is the one question he asks them….and asks us? And how would you answer?

1. 24 August 2014 21st
Sunday in Ordinary Time Cape May, NJ
When I was a sophomore in college and began my coursework in Organic Chemistry I had to choose
between two faculty members. One professor had you learn the material using rote memory. The other
professor specifically focused his teaching style on ensuring the student learned the meaning of the
material and grasped an understanding of how it all interconnected. This wise Jesuit professor knew that
rote memory remains isolated from other knowledge and is helpful in certain instances. But meaningful
learning brings something new into our cognitive structure and attaches and builds upon existing
knowledge.
It seems this was the teaching style Jesus used as well even though he was a Jewish rabbi who, like all
the other rabbis, grew up memorizing the first five books of the bible. It was pure rote memory of the laws
which provided the foundational teachings of all rabbis. But for Jesus, there was more. That is why
earlier on in Matthew, during the Sermon on the Mount, we hear Christ say that he has not come to
abolish the laws, but to show everyone a new way to live. So without throwing out the Ten
Commandments, he gave us the richer, deeper Beatitudes.
So for the past months we have heard Gospel stories of Jesus on the road with his disciples healing,
preaching and teaching. They walked with him and lived with him and witnessed his new way of living. So
halfway through his ministry Jesus seemingly decides to give his disciples a ‘mid-term test’ – containing
only one question. But in preparation for the test we hear in this morning’s Gospel that he has taken his
disciples on a 25 mile hike north from the Sea of Galilee to the foothills of Mt. Hermon to the region
Caesarea Philippi. The key question is why the hike?
Well it would seem that this one question was so important that Jesus wanted to set the stage by bringing
his disciples to that region due to its physical geography as well as its political significance. For one of
the most prominent pieces of landscape in all of Israel is the massive wall of rock at Caesarea Philippi. It
is upon this sheer cliff, well over 100 feet high, that this city was built. In 14 AD Caesar Augustus died
and around the time of Christ’s ministry, the marble temple was enlarged and rededicated by King Philip
to honor Caesar, who had considered himself a god. And it was during those times and throughout the
years that hundreds of people would carve niches into the side of the cliff for their pagan god statues so
they could be worshiped.
But the opening line of today’s gospel clearly states that Christ took them to the region of Caesarea
Philippi…but not into the city….and the reason has to do with one’s viewpoint. You see, Christ was
looking for the perfect backdrop to make his point…to ask his question. And the only way this enormous
rock formation can be seen is for the viewer to be outside and below the city. For if you were in the actual
city – all you would be able to see is the view from the top of the rock…your viewpoint would be one of
power and control, and you would miss seeing the rock itself…you would miss the whole point.
Now, can you better envision the setting of today’s Gospel? It seems clear that Jesus took his disciples
on a 25 mile journey in order to make a point. With this massive rock in the background, with a marble
temple that honors an earthly emperor sitting atop it and niches to pagan gods carved in the side, Christ
asks his one question: “So who do people say I am?
Did they see him as just another one of those gods being honored with a temple? Was he simply just
another god to be idolized with a niche in the wall? You can almost see the disciples shuffling their feet
1 Deacon Jim Knipper

2. as they begin to answer him; “Well, some say you are Elijah and others say John the Baptist.” But then
Christ cuts to the chase as he pins the disciples down and asks, “Who do YOU say I am?”
Can you imagine the look on their faces? Christ standing before a backdrop of a temple to Caesar, with a
massive rock wall honoring false gods…looking them in the face and asking them, “ Who am I….just
another one of those gods? You have walked with me, listened to me, watched me heal the sick and feed
the hungry – have you figured it out? Reach inside yourself and tell me, who am I.”
And it is Simon who steps forward with the answer – “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” And
with that 10 story high rock in the background, Jesus looks at Simon and calls him: Kephas – Aramaic for
rock, translated in Greek as Petros or Peter. And it is Christ who proclaims that it is upon Peter, that
kephas, that human rock, that he will build his church. And look at who Christ chose… Peter! A rock? A
shaky rock, perhaps at best. It was Peter who lost his faith and began to sink in the waters as he
answered the call of Christ to walk on the water. It was Peter, who we will hear next week is admonished
by Christ and called Satan. Peter – wheat and weed, is called rock and… is called to be a rock – to be a
foundation that Christ will use to build this church.
How does all this relate to our lives today? Easy! The same scene that we heard described today in the
Gospel is played out each and every day with all us. We all have our Caesarea Philippi’s…and it begins
with the walls that hold up what we worship. Maybe it is our work, our drink, our food, our toys, our
image, our egos…it is all the things that we hold near and dear…but are simply empty falsehoods. And
Christ comes to each of us – with our weeds growing from within our wheat, carrying the same faults and
indiscretions found in Peter and asks you and me the same question – Who do you say I am? But before
we answer that question, we need to know who we are!
The answer is right there in the gospel….upon this kephas Christ will build his church…but notice …it is
church with a small c and not a capital c. Remember Christ was not a Catholic…Christ was a Jew. He
did not come to necessarily start a new religion or build large cathedrals – but rather Christ came to teach
a new way for an ekklesia, an assembly of the people (you and me), a church to live and to love as God
loves. Pope Francis during his first major interview said he dreams of a church that is a mother and
shepherdess and that we need to be a people who find new roads and reaches out and is merciful and
loving to others.
You see, we all have a role, we are all various forms of rock, with various talents and gifts…we are like
the seed scattered on fertile soil which yields wheat as well as weeds, we are like the yeast hidden and
growing in the dough, and all of us are called to be part of the church. We who are the body of Christ, we
whom Christ dwells within, we who are being called to open ourselves to God’s love...versus living lives
focused on what we love.
So Jesus continues to ask us – Who do you say I am? And where does the answer come from? Look
at Peter…his answer did not come from years of catholic education, it was not taken from rote memory of
Church doctrine, dogma or encyclicals – we are told that it was revealed to him by God, in short….it came
from within. It is Paul in his letter to the Romans who tells us that it is God who touches our spirit and
confirms who we really are so that we may know him and…know ourselves.
And it is this internal revelation that clicked within Peter – even with all his imperfections…and one could
even say it was because of his imperfections…that Peter opened himself up to the flow of God’s love, the
revelation of this indwelling. God simply waits for each of us to be open to this gift….waits for us to walk
2 Deacon Jim Knipper

3. away from the pagan gods in our lives…waits for us to walk away from our Caesarea Philippi’s, our false
rocks and to simply be a true kephas, like Peter.
My sisters and brothers, as disciples we are called, not to be perfect, but to be part of a growing and
nurturing foundation that Christ can use to build a church, an ekklesia, a community that loves as God
loves and that forgives as God forgives. And in doing so - see who we are in Christ…and who Christ is in
us…for only then will our eyes be opened to the love of the one who truly is…the Son of the Living God.
3 Deacon Jim Knipper