"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16.15-16)
People were wondering about Jesus. He was not fitting into their preferences and prejudices. His way of life, His attitudes and His actions didn’t conform to categories that people were used to or even wanted. He not only brought relief to people who suffered, but spoke of justice and the need to care for the poor. He didn’t play ‘power politics’ or side with the right people. He was different.
What was special in Peter’s declaration, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of God’? We’ve got used to speaking about Jesus as ‘the Son of God’ as if it were an admission of His status. This is because divine status became a big issue in the 4th - 5th centuries AD, when Christianity was being explained in terms of pagan philosophy. It came to mean, ‘Jesus is really God’. But what we read here is from the 1st century AD. So what did it mean for Peter?
The Expression, ‘son of God’, is not one we find in the Old Testament. But the expression ‘sons of God’ appears in Genesis 6.2-4, where it refers to a time when people were remembered as special in the abilities they had. And here is the key. Peter is recognising there’s something different about Jesus, something that defines Him in terms of God and God’s agenda. Yes, He is different. But He’s different in a way that reflects what God is about.
If you and I are different, what makes us so? Is it because we’re religious or pious? Is it because of peculiar opinions? Or is there something about us that speaks of God and His agenda, His purpose, His presence? This is what marks people as the Sons of God: followers of the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. Something of the smell of God.
Dear Father, today help me to keep my eye on the ball. Not to be obsessed about my savings. Not to be preoccupied with my preferences. Help me to look on others with your love. Let me carry hope and healing to them, through your presence in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
