2023 08 27 Sermon
Binding & Loosing
Pentecost 13 A
Matthew 16:13-20
Rev. Karl-John N. Stone
When my boys were young we had DVDs of classic cartoons that I loved as a kid, and we’d watch them together: Looney Toons, The Pink Panther, Tom & Jerry. The boys watched other newer cartoons that they loved, as well, that were totally new to me: The Backyardigans, Phineas & Ferb, Sid the Science Kid, Little Bill. To my surprise I found that friends of mine, whose kids were just a few years younger than my own, had never heard of any of these cartoons that my boys watched. Meanwhile, their kids were watching even newer cartoons that I had never heard of!
It can be hard to find a show that everyone knows and watches and can talk about together, and it’s not just kids shows. It’s simply gotten more rare to find cultural references that most people hold in common. Yes, there’s still the Packers! And even if you’re not a big football fan, you probably hear a lot about the Packers, and can probably talk about them at least a little bit (if you live in Wisconsin, that is). Even if we live in the same community, go to the same schools, shop in the same stores, and eat at the same restaurants, we often hear different voices, follow different stories, participate in different conversations, and therefore we make different assumptions about the world.
Different generations have always had generally different outlooks to some extent, but even with the differences there were still lots of things that people of all stripes did in common. Some of you may remember how the end of a popular TV show, like MASH or Cheers, would be watched all at the same time by a huge percentage of the population, and then everyone would talk about it the next day. I can’t think of a show anymore, besides the Superbowl, that such a huge percentage of people would all watch at the same time, and then be able to talk about it together. More and more, we watch different things at different times, when we want to, where we want to, using streaming services or a DVR, and it could be on a TV, or a tablet, or a smartphone. People choose among a great variety of news sources to find the one that they like and trust. Even people who know each other, like each other, and live near each other don’t necessarily experience the same events in the same way. There are many voices and many stories to choose from.
This is actually nothing new (even if it is to a greater extent than before). Take, for example, today’s gospel from Matthew 16. Jesus and the disciples travel into the district of Caesarea Philippi. This is an important detail because it was a place that was sacred to many different religions, and therefore was a place where many different voices and stories could be heard. Originally the area of Caesarea Philippi was used by the Canaanites as a place where they worshiped their god Baal. By the time Jesus visited it was best known for its many shrines to the Greek gods. The Romans had also built a fancy temple there, dedicated to Caesar Augustus. Several Jewish communities lived in the area, as well. So Jesus decided to visit a place where people could choose from many religious alternatives; a place where many voices and stories competed for attention, loyalty, dedication, power. In short, it was quite similar to the world today.
Jesus did not tell the disciples to avoid this place of many voices and stories. He knew that the disciples had to learn how to live in the real world, and he knows that we need to learn how to live in the real world. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t mean retreating from the real world, but learning how to listen for the voice of Jesus among all the other voices out there.
So it makes sense that it would be in Caesarea Philippi where Jesus would ask his disciples “Who do you say that I am?” The answer St. Peter gives is “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” This is how he embraced Jesus out of all the many choices competing for his attention. Jesus responds with hearty encouragement, acknowledging that it’s not always easy to recognize the voice of the Messiah when we hear so many other voices, both good and bad. Jesus goes on to say to Peter that “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.” It’s like I mentioned in my sermon last week—our having faith in Jesus Christ is not cause for feeling superior but for cultivating greater humility, because it’s ultimately a bit of a mystery why we have faith, while others turn away from it. So we shouldn’t turn to judgmental-ism about the faith of another, but rather follow Jesus in adopting a posture of love and care for all.
Jesus continues his encouragement of Peter, saying: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” In our English translations of the Bible, we lose the word play of the original language. It’s really more like Jesus says: “You are Rocky and on this rock I will build my church.” The rock that Peter and the disciples would build on—and the rock that we are still building on today—is the ministry and teaching of Jesus Christ and his continuing risen presence among us.
Amidst the many voices and stories clamoring for our attention, Jesus continues to call us, as he called Peter and the disciples, to build upon the rock by looking to him as our Messiah, and listening for his voice. He has even entrusted us as Christians with the task of interpreting how to apply his teachings to the various situations and circumstances of life. It’s not that we’ll always get it right just because we have faith in Christ, but that Jesus knows that there “gray areas” that we need to navigate, and we have to make decisions even when it’s not obvious what to do. This is what Jesus is talking about when he says “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Jesus was drawing upon a rabbinical practice known as “binding and loosing”, which meant applying principles of how to interpret whether certain passages of scripture are applicable to a given situation. [see Mark Powell, Fortress Introduction to the Gospels, p.78-81]
We read many examples in the gospels where Jesus did this “binding and loosing”, and as we read the gospels we find core principles he’s given to us when we are called upon to “bind and loose”. For example, a core principle is the Golden Rule [Matthew 7:12]: “in everything do to others as you would have them to do you, for this is the law and the prophets.” Then there’s his commandments [Matthew 22:37-40] to “love God with all your heart, mind, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.” Or how Jesus wants us to consider people’s health and well-being in body, mind, and spirit when he reminds us [Matthew 12:7] that God “wants you to show mercy not offer sacrifices”. And how it’s important to not get lost in the small stuff, and it’s important to not “ignore the weightier matters of God’s law: justice, mercy, and faith. (Matthew 23:23)”
This means that when we hear the many voices and stories of the world that are competing for our attention, the way to build up the church and follow the way of Jesus is to ask ourselves: How can we treat people with greater affection, care, and desire for their health and well-being? How do we grow in sharing kindness, compassion, and forgiveness? When someone has experience oppression, injustice, or prejudice, how do we try to make things right? What kinds of things help people to put more trust in God, while letting go of our efforts to try to control things are beyond our ability to control?
That’s a lot and it ain’t easy! But the good news is that Christ is still the rock upon which the Church is built, and he has made us into one body in Christ. Together we can listen and learn from each other as we grow in following Jesus as our Messiah. Amen.