Thoughts on Matthew 16:13-19

Who does the world say you are? A good teacher, a religious leader, a whack job.

Who do I say you are? Only the Father can tell me who you are. Father, I sit in the quiet, ready to hear you whisper. Jesus, you are invariably variable. You are to me what I need, all I need.

When I first came to know you, you were Peace. My soul was so unsettled, my identity so fragile and tossed about, I needed the peace that the world cannot give to allow me to get my bearings. Thank you for that.

When I was about to commit spiritual suicide you were Fierce Love, ready to bear my anger so that trust could rise from the ashes.

Who are you today? Companion, friend, enjoyable presence. I feel disrespectful naming you thus. But that is what is whispered and I receive it gladly. I do not know what tomorrow will bring, I do know you will be for me what I need when it appears. Thank you for that.

Simon Peter called you Christ and you blessed him.

You use a play on words in this blessing. There are two variations of the word Peter/Rock in the Greek language. Petros – the masculine form and Petra, the feminine form. Petros is always used to indicate a small piece of a rock such as a person might throw. While Petra is a mass of rock.

“You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church. 

In the Greek it reads “You are Petros (a small wobbly, easily movable stone) and on this Petra (the unmovable, solid mass of rock) I will build my church.”

Simon Peter called you Christ, today I call you friend. Will you change my small, wobbly, easily movable heart into a solid heart, one capable of building up and encouraging the people you have given me to love? Thank you and amen.

Who is Jesus to you today? Jesus will be who you need/what you need as your day unfolds. Look for him and listen to the Father’s whisper in your heart. 

With you on the journey,

Debby