St. John s Episcopal Church, Clayton Exodus 1:8 2:10 The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost Psalm 124 Proper 16, Year A Romans 12:1-8 August 24, 2014 Matthew 16:13-20 The Keys of the Kingdom 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 (Mt. 16:19) The fresco from the Sistine Chapel on the front of your bulletins, portrays the importance of the gospel passage which we read this morning to the Church in Rome. Found on the North Wall of the Sistine Chapel it is a central fresco in the cycle of Jesus life by Pietro Perugino, painted about 1482. In the background is the Temple in Jerusalem (center) and balancing representations of Constantine s arch in Rome, which memorialized his victory in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 AD and subsequent conversion to Christianity. In the middle distance are two scenes from Jesus life the payment of the temple tax in Capernaum, and the attempted arrest and stoning of Christ at the Feast of the Tabernacles in Jerusalem. But it is the scene in the front which captures our attention. Here Jesus hands to St. Peter, kneeling, the keys to the kingdom of heaven, with the power to bind and to loose. Throughout the history of the Christianity, the Church in Rome has interpreted this passage as Jesus declaring St. Peter as the leader of the Church on earth the first Vicar of Christ. The Church in Rome believed that all who followed St. Peter as their Bishop would inherit this title and this right of primacy the right of the Popes to be the leaders of the Church on earth. In the context of Matthew s gospel, this is a central passage. Jesus had performed miracles of healing and feeding both among the Jews and among the Gentiles. He had traveled to Caesarea Philippi the heart of 1
the Roman world in Palestine and there had asked his disciples first, Who do people say that I am? and then more directly, who do YOU say that I am? Peter, the first to confess Jesus as Lord, is given the keys to the kingdom and the power to bind and to loose. Later in Matthew s gospel, this power would be bestowed on all the apostles. The community of faith would now determine who would or would not be able to enter the gates of heaven. So what does this mean to bind and to loose? In Judaism, the scribes as interpreters of the Scriptures determined what was forbidden (bound) and what was permitted (loosed) according to the Law. It was they who taught the Scripture to the people and determined their standing in the community. It was this role that Jesus transferred to Peter and the apostles. The apostles had the power of the patriarchs, scribes and prophets to determine who would remain in the congregation, how the Word of God would be interpreted, and who would lead the community. In Christianity this expanded to pronouncing judgment on those followers who strayed, and promising forgiveness to those who repented. After the death of the apostles and the first generation of those who had known Christ themselves, Christianity began to struggle with questions as to how to interpret many of Jesus teachings and what the right direction of the new community should be. We read in The Acts of the Apostles of the discussions over keeping the law, inclusion of the Gentiles and circumcision, and participation in the synagogues or in the new house churches of the Gentile families. What would be accepted and what would be condemned? And who had the power to bind and to loose was this to be determined in each city or community or were there to be certain universal strictures. The Church resolved this in the early centuries by a series of councils, most important of which was probably the Council of Nicaea in the fourth century. Through this process of bringing together the ancient churches, doctrine was developed, heresies were identified, and creeds were determined. The Gospel reading for today was critical in the historical development of the understanding of the primacy of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. This doctrine was asserted in the fifth century at the Council of Chalcedon by Pope Leo I, with the memorable words, Peter has spoken through Leo. The Celtic Churches in the British Isles were suppressed at the Synod of Whitby in the seventh century based on this doctrine. The Orthodox Churches of the East, which never recognized the primacy of Rome, split from the West in the eleventh century with mutual excommunication between the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Pope in Rome. The Western (or Latin) Church under the Pope, the Bishop of Rome remained intact until the Reformation in the sixteenth century, when division struck again. The questions at each of these critical times remained the same, Who really was speaking for God? 2
What was the right action, what was the right teaching? Who/What was heretical or orthodox? Since the late 19 th century in America, we have seen another kind of division in the Protestant churches - the rise of numerous cults those religious groups centering on a personality claiming to have a special relationship with God. The attraction of a cult is the certainty that the leader speaks for God - that he/she has direct communication from God and that he/she can determine God s will in any situation. So how do we decide that any person who claims to speak for God does or does not? As children both of the Reformation and of the Enlightenment we believe firmly in individual freedom and responsibility. This leads us to the logical conclusion that each person can determine the nature of God, the will of God, and the significance of Christ at least in his or her own life. But, Christianity requires a community of faith and the belief that an individual can have special knowledge of God outside of the Church is an ancient heresy. Our individual understanding of God must be constantly tested against the Church s understanding of God. It is when we hear dissension in the Church that we are most confused how do we determine what is right - what is authentically God s voice speaking to us? In our own Church, the General Convention determines and articulates doctrine, but we hear significant conflict among the Bishops over social issues. Are those who disagree with the doctrines and order, as promulgated, heretics, dissenters or prophets? Whom should we believe as values change, medicine and science create new ethical dilemmas and the gap between the rich and the poor in this world, becomes an abyss? There is no easy answer to this question but the Anglican Church has traditionally and historically appealed to certain criteria to discern this. First, the Scriptural witness, second the historical faith of the Church, and third the leading of the Holy Spirit. But the use of these three criteria presupposes first, a working knowledge of the Scripture and a basis for interpretation; second, an understanding of the history of the theology of the Church; and third, a commitment to prayer and guidance through the Holy Spirit and discernment in the community of the faithful. Our system requires the active participation of all in discerning God s voice and it engenders an environment of creative tension which is not as comfortable or reassuring as clear cut rules determined by others. 3
So, how does all this affect us at St. John s today? Now, all of us would like to go to heaven when we die however, we think of it. One of my favorite statistics is that more people think they will go to heaven when they die, than believe that heaven exists. Deep within us lies the fear that our behavior determines our destiny we have never really accepted the concept of God s unconditional love and forgiveness. So, naturally, under this scenario of binding and loosing, the gatekeeper/ rulemaker is an important figure determining our access to eternal life. The gospel says otherwise. Our behavior is important but it is not the cause of our faithfulness, but rather the result. I ll never forget when I was attending a Baptist seminary discussing with my Old Testament professor his view on believer s baptism. I was baptized in the Episcopal Church as an infant, so as far as the Baptists were concerned I had not had a valid baptism. Our conversation was interesting and entertaining, but in the end he said, Your life is judged by its fruits not that works will save you, but that without salvation you can never produce faithful work. Or as in the Letter of James (2:18), Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. Behavior is merely indicative of faith, not determinative. Over the years, churches have used the power to bind and loose to determine who was in and who was out. Excommunication, disfellowshipping and shunning have been used in different times and different branches of the Church to enforce the rules and cleanse the community. And of course, beyond these the Church used trials, corporal punishment, execution and war to keep the faith free of heresy (wrong thinking) and the people free of sin (wrong action). The Church held up the proverb from the Sermon on the Mount as normative that: the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction and the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life However, like many passages in the Gospels one has to examine the overall context to really understand Jesus message. For us now, we live our lives trying to be faithful to the Gospel as we understand it and to the voice of God as we hear it. Because we are children both of the Reformation and of the Enlightenment we think about our faith differently than those who were followers 2000 years ago. But central to our belief and throughout time, the quest for a Christian has been to seek God and live in the truth of his love. Behavior is not determinative of salvation, faith in God and love for others leads us as pilgrims towards the gate of heaven. When we get there, we will not find the gates closed, nor will we find an accounting of our sins, our 4
weaknesses, our failures or even our attendance at church but rather the gates wide open and a loving Father who welcomes us into the kingdom of light and truth and love. Let us pray: Christ of the pilgrim path, and of every pilgrim heart, Thank you for revealing yourself in situations We would prefer to pass by. 1 Christ of the pilgrim road, May your pilgrim people be more concerned with justice than with easy piety When so many around us are hurting. 2 Christ of the pilgrim mind and of every exploring heart, Illumine our understanding that we may discern your Spirit In the midst of all that is new. 3 Christ of the pilgrim way, Energize your Church to be both risk-taking and prophetic Ignited by the fire of your Spirit. Amen. 4 1 Millar, Peter, An Iona Prayer Book, p. 66. 2 Millar, Peter, op.cit., p. 70. 3 Millar, Peter, op.cit. p. 74. 4 Millar, Peter, op.cit. p. 62. 5