Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:17)

Today is St Peter and St Paul’s Day, probably linked together to celebrate these two great preachers on the same day. As Paul wrote: “I, Paul, had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews.” (Galatians 2:7)

Paul has the extra festival of his conversion on 25th January, and Peter sometimes has the feast of his miraculous deliverance from the chains of Herod’s prison celebrated on 1st August – St Peter’s Chains.

Many Churches simple remember St Peter on this day, which is what I intend to do now.

This text is probably the most important thing Peter ever said. It is also probably the most important thing we can say.

The geographical area where Peter spoke these words is Caesarea Philippi. That says two things to me.

First it is outside Israel, to the north. That meant that Jesus should have been away from the religious and political crowds, and have time to be close to His disciples. Then they could really come to know who Jesus was, and what God’s will was for both Jesus and for them.

Today, we all need that time away to be with God, with Jesus. If nothing else, at least our Church buildings should be separate from the distractions of the world. Jesus’ mission and our mission is to the world, but we all need time away from the world for undivided attention to what God is saying to us.

Secondly, I find it interesting, that Caesarea Philippi was roughly the source of the River Jordan. The ancient Jewish historian Josephus wrote about a great cavern of still water from where the Jordon River flowed. I like to think that just as the River Jordon physically watered and refreshed Israel, so the episode at Caesarea Philippi was a source of life and refreshment to the Church.

As Jesus asked who people said He was, the top three options seemed to have been John the Baptist, Elijah or Jeremiah. Had John the Baptist been raised from the dead? Rumours can easily spread when there is awe and wonder. A return of Elijah had been prophesied by Malachi in the Old Testament, “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” People knew that something different was happening. There was also a legend that Jeremiah had taken away and hidden the Ark of Covenant of the Lord so it would not be destroyed with the rest of the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar. A return of Jeremiah might mean a return of the earthly kingdom centred at the Temple in Jerusalem.

As at the time at Caesarea Philippi, so also today: beware of basing faith on jumping to false conclusions. Better to be patience and waiting upon God, rather than leaping to a human explanation – whether during Jesus’ earthly ministry or the work of the Holy Spirit today.

What Jesus really wanted to know … What Jesus was really looking for was an honest and personal answer from the heart.

Peter gave just that: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”.

I ask you to look at this answer as to how it affects you.

First, it was God the Father who inspired Peter’s belief and answer. Truth comes only from the source of trust – God Himself.

So if you want the truth, spend time seeking God. He will reveal in His time. We cannot force Him, but we can at least be ready to receive, as opposed to being so busy with our own agenda, that we miss what might be the whisper of God.

[I discussed this with an atheist at the Flower Festival yesterday. Going through all the arguments as to whether God is real or human imagination, we agreed that only if True God revealed His truth, could either of us know if God were true. Words failed, but the beauty and the atmosphere of a decorated House of God were our combined hope for receiving revelation. I prayed as well!]

Secondly, Peter’s answer affected the whole mission of Jesus and the Church. Once Peter, and I presume the other disciples as well, knew and declared that Jesus was and is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God; then Jesus was ready to complete His mission and work by dying on the cross, and leaving a Church to be the living witness to the world.

This is why Jesus spoke about building His Church.

A Church meant the gathering of God’s people. The rock or foundation is that same belief that Peter expressed, that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, and the Son of God. It is by and through Jesus that God’s love is revealed to us [that is by the words of Jesus]. It is then by the mission of Jesus [the work of dying on the cross] that God’s love changes us.

Jesus is the bedrock or foundation. Peter, Paul and other apostles are the historic foundation, so that each of us may become a stone built into the structure of the gathering of God’s people.

So Paul wrote in Ephesians 2: 20 “You are members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.”

And Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2: 4 “You come to Him, the living Stone. You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house.”

At Caesarea Philippi, Peter’s reply was personal. He didn’t just have the chapter and verse, or the website, for Jesus. He knew Jesus.

The same is what God wants of us.

Note that Peter wasn’t perfect and he got his ideas so wrong a few verses later so that Jesus had to say: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me” (Mt 16:23). So don’t think that we have to get it perfectly right all the time.

Note also that Peter didn’t do it by his own efforts. Jesus said: “this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven” (Mt 16:17). We can seek faith, but in the end it is given to us freely and not earned. What’s more, a mustard seed size is declared sufficient by Jesus.

Note also that this simple choice of Peter – to speak out his love for and his belief in Jesus - was the beginning for countless people benefitting from Jesus’ life for generations to come.

Now it is our turn in our generation in this area. The Church in this Benefice needs the firm foundation of Jesus Himself – Lord and Messiah – for the mission and ministry of Jesus to continue and to grow – to water and refresh the dry ground of God’s Holy Land in which we live.