The Rev. Dr. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Greeneville, TN
The 13th Sunday after Pentecost
August 23, 2026
Isaiah 51:1-6
Psalm 138
Romans 12:1-8
Matthew 16:13-20
There is a distinct difference between knowing what people say about you and knowing who you are. In today’s world, our reputation can seem almost as important as our identity. We wonder what people think of us, how they will perceive our decisions… whether they understand our intentions… and, of course, whether we are living up to the expectations they have placed on us.
Sometimes we can be so focused on how we are perceived by others that we forget to ask the deeper question: Who are we, really? That’s the sort of question we hear today in our Gospel lesson. Jesus begins with the question, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The disciples have several answers. “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
The public has an opinion about Jesus. The public recognizes that Jesus is important. They recognize that he is a teacher, a prophet, someone who speaks with authority… and someone who seems to have this interesting and unique relationship with God.
But then Jesus makes the question personal to disciples… He turns to them and asks… “But you… who do YOU say that I am?” And that question changes things. Turning from a question about his public reputation, Jesus asks his disciples to look beyond the humble, dusty, itinerant preacher standing before them and recognize the divine mystery underneath.
He isn't asking any longer what the crowds think of him. He isn't asking what the religious authorities think. He isn't even asking what the disciples have heard. He is asking his small, close group of direct followers what they have come to believe because they have walked with him… they have learned from him… And then Simon answers, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Simon recognizes something deeper about Jesus. He recognizes the divine mystery within… And then Jesus tells him that this understanding has come from God. Jesus gives Simon a new name: Peter – or Petros — the rock. A nickname… a term of endearment and love… A descriptive loving name that Jesus uses to describe Simon’s character.
Jesus says, you are Rock and “On this rock I will build my ecclesia...” (my community of ones who are called out for a specific purpose) … translated here as church. And then Jesus gives Peter the keys of the kingdom. I love that image because keys are meant to open doors. Jesus doesn't give Peter the keys so that he can decide who is worthy to enter. He gives him keys so that the doors can be opened.
And that is where Isaiah speaks so powerfully to us today. “Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn.” Look to the rock. Remember where you came from. Remember the faith that shaped you. Remember Abraham and Sarah. Remember that God's work often begins with something small, something seemingly insignificant, and then grows into something far greater than anyone could ask or imagine.
Isaiah is speaking to people who have every reason to be discouraged. Their circumstances make it difficult to imagine any kind of future. And then God says, Look back... Look back and remember. You have not come this far by yourselves. Your story began with God. And God is not finished with you yet.
That is important for us to hear again today. Because we can spend an enormous amount of energy worrying about ourselves or worrying about what other people think about us. We worry about all kinds of things… We worry about numbers... Budgets and Buildings... We worry about relevance, politics, attendance.
We worry about whether or not the church has a future… And then Isaiah says to us: “Look to the rock from which you were hewn.” Remember who you are... Remember to whom you belong... Remember the God who called you out... Remember the God who carries you... Remember the God who is still at work in you.
And then Isaiah gives us this beautiful promise: “For the Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord.” Only God can transform wilderness into paradise. Only God can bring forth life out of places that seem deserted. Only God can take what looks like the end of the story and begin something brand new.
That is the kind of community (or ecclesia) Jesus is creating. A community that opens doors... A community that carries hope... A community that makes the love of God visible... And that brings us back to Jesus questioning the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”
I’ve got to admit, it is tempting to answer that question with words. Especially if we consider ourselves well informed… We can recite the creed... We can write a theological treatise on how we can say with confidence, “Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” But I think Jesus is asking for more than just the correct answer on a theology exam. He is asking for a life that reflects that answer.
Because if Jesus is who Peter says he is, then our lives should look different. Our lives should be different... If Jesus is the Messiah, we should be a community (a people) who bring hope and restoration. If Jesus is love, we should be people who love. If Jesus welcomes strangers, we should be people who make room for others. If Jesus forgives, we should be people who model and practice forgiveness. If Jesus serves, we should be people who serve others. If Jesus breaks down barriers, we should be people who build unifying connections and strive for justice and equity.
The world is constantly asking what Christianity is about. And sadly, sometimes the church doesn’t give very good answers… Because the answers they do give usually don’t look anything like the Jesus they claim to serve. Over the years, the church has sometimes become known more for what we oppose than for what we proclaim. The church has become associated with Judgment, fear, and exclusion... That ought to bother us. I know it bothers me...
It bothers me because Jesus gave Peter keys, not locks. He called the church to open doors, not build walls. He called us to be an ecclesia, a called-out community through which God's love enters the world.
My friend, Jonathan Tobias, reminded me, "Death imprisons. Christ liberates." Hades locks, but Christ opens. Christ only opens." And when Christ comes to open the doors to rescue those trapped in sin
even the gates of Hell cannot prevail.
So perhaps the question for us today is not only, “Who do you say Jesus is?” It is also, “What does the way you live tell the world about Jesus?” Isaiah says, “Look to the rock from which you were hewn.” Peter tells us that Christ is the foundation, and Jesus gives us the keys. We are here to open doors... To make God's love visible... To bring hope into places of despair... To bring life into places of death... To help make the wilderness bloom.
And perhaps most importantly, to remember who we are and to whom we belong… The world may tell us there is no hope. The world may tell us that division is inevitable. The world may even tell us that there
isn't enough grace, enough forgiveness, enough love, or enough possibility to go around. But Isaiah reminds us, "Look to the rock."
Remember the God who brought you this far. Remember the God who can make a wilderness into a garden. Remember the God whose salvation reaches beyond our boundaries. And then hear Jesus ask once again, “Who do you say that I am?”
Peter answers, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” May that be our answer. But more importantly, may that be the answer our lives give. Because every day, in the way we love, forgive, serve, welcome, and care for one another, we are answering Jesus' question. Who do you say that I am?
May our lives say, "Jesus is the Christ; Jesus is the Son of the living God; Jesus is hope; Jesus is life; Jesus is Salvation, and Jesus is love. And may the world encounter the living Christ not simply because we tell people who Jesus is, but because they can see Jesus in the way we live.
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