There are two kinds of confession. The first confession is when we confess our sins at the beginning of the worship service. Peter made a confession of sins after he denied Jesus. Peter’s denial was included in our High Priest’s prayer to his Father from the cross, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” This forgiveness was affirmed after the resurrection when Jesus asked Peter three times, if he loved him. Three times Peter answered, “Yes.” Three times Jesus told him that he had been restored to his calling to feed His sheep.
(I have a confession of a third kind to make, neither of sin nor of faith. It is a confession of forgetting, that yesterday, January 18th, was the day to commemorate Peter’s confession.)
The Confession of Peter remembers the confession of faith. Peter made a confession faith as recorded in Matthew 16:13-19. Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Our confession of faith is not dead words. They speak of the God who is active in creation, in history and in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Yes, our confession of faith is based on words handed down through the centuries. But they are no less the revealing work of the Father than the confession that Peter made.
Jesus said to Peter, “You are Peter (petros) and upon this Rock (petra) I will build my church.” This is foundation on which God builds his church, the apostles and prophets, which includes Peter. But the Rock that holds it all together is the Stone which has been rejected by many, but God has made the cornerstone, even Christ Jesus.
Prayer:
We give thanks Lord, that You have fitted us into the Your household in which we live in a temple solidly built on the Rock who is our Savior, a place where we find solid footing even when temples built of stone are shaking.
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