Matthew 16:13-20 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 16:13-20 on biblegateway.com
Verse 13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" Verse 14And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." Verse 15He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Verse 16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Verse 17And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. Verse 18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. Verse 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Verse 20Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Devotion
We’ve all heard our share of jokes about St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. Some of them are pretty funny. Most of them perpetuate the theology that heaven is a reward to be earned by living a good life: plenty of law and no gospel.
But our Lutheran teaching holds that the key that unlocks the figurative gate to heaven isn’t anything we do -- clean living, for example, or a life of sacrificial service. It comes from God. Grace -- God’s unconditional, cross-shaped love -- blows the doors open from the inside where nothing is locked. Freely given, grace comes to us even though we don’t deserve it and can’t earn it. Pure gift.
Prayer
All I can do is hold out my cupped hands and say, “Thank you, Lord.” Amen.