St. Peter and St. Paul [transferred]
On Tuesday, holy Church remembers two of our Lord’s apostles--Sts. Peter and Paul--and we transferred the celebration to today. This is actually one of the oldest saints’ days, beginning early in the fourth century when Christianity became a legalized religion. The mission work of these two apostles-- Peter to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles-- points to the Church embracing all people. There is a tradition that both Peter and Paul were killed for their faith on the same day, except in different years. Tradition says that Peter went to Rome and was martyred there around the year 64 by being crucified upside down. When Scripture leaves Paul in Rome, tradition picks it up and tells us Paul made it to Spain, like he was planning to do [Rm 15.24] and came back to Rome where he was beheaded--a Roman citizen like St. Paul could not be crucified. But the 29 June date is the date their bodies were removed to the catacombs in 258 during the time of Roman Emperor Valerian's persecution. Whatever the exact history is, it does us well to remember and reflect on these two great apostles.
Today’s Gospel confronts us with that most vital of questions; it is a question that Jesus asks you and me today: But who do you say that I am? When we hear Jesus ask us that question, He is asking us to evaluate His claims and the evidence for those claims. And, as has been famously said, the response is that Jesus is either a liar, or a lunatic or Lord. The answer to that question determines what we consider important in life and what we don’t; the answer to that question gives form and focus to our lives; our answer to that question determines our eternal fate: heaven or hell. We have heard Jesus’ word in Scripture; we have heard His miracles; we have heard His death and resurrection. Jesus is again asking you and me: But who do you say that I am? If we answer as St. Peter did that day for the 12 and for Christians down through the ages: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, how can our lives be the same? How can they be the same as the unbelieving world? How can our lives not be marked by faith in and love of Christ and the desire to do His will--strive to live a life of holiness?
Jesus then declares that Peter has been blessed by God who brought him to this knowledge and faith and then makes that beautiful statement and promise: You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Jesus builds His Church not on a man, St. Peter, but on the rock of the confession of St. Peter, on the rock of a solid and true proclamation of Jesus, of who He said and showed Himself to be: the Christ, the Son of the living God.
But notice Jesus’ words of great comfort: I will build My Church. Jesus is the One who builds His Church. Yes, He used great instruments like Sts. Peter and Paul to go out and proclaim the precious saving Gospel: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and so the Savior of the world--your Savior and my Savior-- from sin, death, devil and hell. Yes, we get the word out, we get to tell them, but it is Jesus who builds His Church. This is extremely comforting because it is so easy to get discouraged when we look out and don’t see our churches overflowing with people; when we are struggling as a parish; when even those close to us just don’t seem to care: it’s not we who build the Church, but Jesus. But this is not an excuse/ reason for us to be lazy and not tell others the good news about Jesus. Instead, remember Jesus’ words: you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church--on the rock of the confession/ proclamation of the faith on this rock I will build My Church. Here is Jesus’ grace to us: although He is the one building His Church, He lets us share in it; He works through the word we share. That’s why our text is such a lovely commentary on Jesus’ words: I will build My Church.
Our text comes from the OT prophet Zechariah and it is a prophecy of Jesus: Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the Lord. We again hear Jesus, the promised Savior, called/ named “Branch.” We probably know it best from the Christmas carol: Behold, A Branch is Growing, which is based on Isaiah’s [11.1] prophecy: There shall come forth a Shoot from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. And then later on through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord gives the prophecy: I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. And now again in our text, Jesus, the long awaited Messiah is called “Branch.”
So what is this image of Jesus as a Branch all about? For one thing, it points out Jesus’ human descent from David--even though there were no more kings coming from David, Jesus would still come/ be descended from him just as God promised David and Jesus would be king forever. And it also points out Jesus’ humble and despised beginnings. Although He is true God, Jesus didn’t come down from heaven in all His glory. Instead, He came in all lowliness and humility born of the virgin in Bethlehem and grew up in despised Nazareth. So Jesus, like a branch, slowly arose and by His teaching, His miracles, His death and resurrection, He showed His glory/ who He really is--the Son of God and Savior of the world; He went from lowliness to eminence.
So, yes, Jesus lived and carried out His saving work in one small corner of the earth, Palestine. There He brought about the salvation of the world. Hear again the prophecy from Zechariah: From His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the Lord. What does Jesus do? He builds the Church/ the temple of the Lord. From His saving work in Jerusalem He branches out and brings people from all places and from throughout history into the Church: I will build My Church.
From His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the Lord. The temple that Jesus is building is not a temple made out of wood and cold dead stones. Instead, the temple of the Lord/ the Church that Jesus is building is a spiritual temple/ Church made out of living stones. St. Peter writes in his epistle about us Christians [1 2.5]: you also as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. We, dear Christian, are the living stones. We are living because the Holy Spirit has come to us and brought us to spiritual life; He has worked faith in Jesus in our hearts by the word and water of Holy Baptism; He, in fact, the holy Triune God Himself dwells in us. We are living and we are united one to another in the building of the Church.
Right now, to be sure, the Church has all kinds of scaffolding and the scene may look a bit chaotic but From His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the Lord; and I will build My Church. Jesus is building His Church even when it seems the Church is sputtering along, far from being the glory one would expect of the temple of the Lord. And that’s a comfort to us! Look at today’s reading from Acts--St. James was killed and Peter imprisoned; look at the end of Sts. Peter and Paul--martyrdom. But in and through that Jesus was still building His Church. And the same thing today--through the various triumphs, but also--and especially-- the trials, set-backs Jesus is still building His Church. This is seen by faith! Just as Jesus is that Branch that went from lowliness to greatness, so Jesus builds His Church from lowliness to greatness--but the true glory and beauty of the Church will only be seen in heaven on the Last Day and into all eternity!
Our prophecy from Zechariah describes Jesus even more. In spite of the lowliness of His origins, Jesus would accomplish a great work: Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne; so He shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. It is such a glorious work that Jesus would do--build the Church/ temple of the Lord--that He repeats it: Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. Almost as if it’s so unbelievable! Because it is such an excellent and unbelievable work, Jesus, the Branch is described this way: He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne. How is He described? --As a king! The Branch--the Savior/ Messiah from the line of David the king--is here described as having kingly majesty and splendor and adorned with kingly glory and honor. So, who is building His Church--Jesus, the almighty King who is bearing the glory, and [sitting and ruling] on His throne. This is our risen and ascended Jesus! Jesus who died for the sins of the world, offering up the perfect, once for all sacrifice for sin, Him, as St. Paul writes [Ph 2.9]: God also has highly exalted ... and given Him the name which is above every name; and in another place [Eph 1.20,22]: [God] raised [Christ] from the dead and seated Him at HIs right hand in the heavenly places...And put all things under His feet and gave Him to be head over all things. The Branch/ Jesus is the divine king who is ruling all things and He is the One who says: I will build My Church. Who can deny it? This means that as King over everything, whose rule has no end, He uses His divine, royal dignity and power for the good of His Church and for His people, His dear Christians. He rules over us; He guards us; He protects us from our physical and spiritual enemies. He protects us and lets us partake of God’s blessings. So not only is Jesus, in general, building His Church; He is working on and for and with each one of us--His dear Christians--to keep and preserve us in the faith. As the divine King over everything, who can stop and hinder His good and gracious plans and working for His Church and His dear Christians? No one! That means that even the bad that He allows must serve His good and gracious purposes and His love for us and be part of His promise: I will build My Church.
And then we come to something interesting in this prophecy: so He shall be a priest on His throne. Notice that imagery--a priest on a throne? That would sound strange to any Israelite--the priests came from the tribe of Levi and the kings from the tribe of Judah. But in the Branch/ Jesus the office of priest and king are united. And Jesus will be and remain both King and Great High Priest into all eternity. What an interesting priest Jesus is! A priest makes sacrifices and Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice for the sins of the world. He took the sins of the world with Him, where He as Priest, offered Himself as the Victim/ sacrifice for our sins. Only the death of Jesus, the very God Himself is enough to pay for the sins of all people. And that’s exactly what Jesus did! And by that death He brought us the forgiveness of sins; He reconciled us sinners to the holy God; He brought us eternal life and peace with God.
And that’s precisely how Jesus builds His Church! He gives and offers that forgiveness of sin, peace with God, eternal life to people. And by the work of the Holy Spirit He works faith in the hearts of people to believe and to receive these gifts and blessings. Where faith is worked, there Jesus has built His Church; there a living stone has been added to the grand structure of the holy Christian Church. And the way that Jesus builds His Church, giving and offering the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life, is through His holy word and Sacraments. That’s why Jesus sent Sts. Peter and Paul into the world to preach and write and firmly ground the Church; that’s why He has preserved His holy word and sacraments down to us so that through them He might work faith in us; that’s why He has blessed us with our congregation so that He might continue to come and make our faith stronger and give us His peace in these trying times.
Today as we remember Sts. Peter and Paul, Jesus’ great missionaries and apostles, let us remember Jesus’ promise: I will build My Church. Jesus, the Branch, our King and Priest is even now in and among us with grace building His Church by His word and Sacrament. He will never fail us; let us hold fast to Him. INJ