Father Bill’s Sermon, June 29th, 2008

Feast of St Peter and St Paul

I wish we could have seen Caesaria Philippi in Jesus’ Day...that’s where the Gospel took place, and for once, archaeology is important to understanding the Gospel. Normally it isn’t. Archaeology unearths interesting details of life in an ancient period, but it does little for casting a fresh light on most texts. Not so, today.

When Christ walked His disciples into that place, they were entering a living museum of not only Israel’s history, but the history of all the peoples of the Middle East. This was Dan, one of the religious centers of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, where King Jeroboam had set up a temple to rival the one in Jerusalem.

Do you remember that action from your Bible study in religion classes? David and Solomon, came toward the “beginning” of Israel’s history as a “political entity”–not an ethnic group, but as a “political entity,” with the founding of a Kingdom. Between the two of them, they created a unified people, conquered or made peace with all the surrounding peoples, and the entire area knew a short century of relative peace and prosperity. Upon the death of Solomon, it all fell apart. And the nation was divided in two–along ancient fault lines–the 10 northern tribes made up Israel, and the two southern tribes made up Judah, and we had “Israel,” and “Judah” for the next several hundred years–no longer ONE PEOPLE, what the Bible calls the am echad, the one people, but TWO people! (Those 10 northern tribes, by the way, were conquered, eventually, by Assyria, and scattered throughout the world. They are what we refer to as “the 10 lost tribes of Israel.”) Anyway, those 10 tribes had a rival kingdom until they were destroyed–with a king and a capital and not one, but TWO temples, one was in Bethel toward the south end of the kingdom, and one at DAN, the norther-most outpost of the kingdom, and this is where today’s Gospel unfolds.

Dan had been the seat of the rival temple to Jerusalem. Dan is the spot of what today’s Gospel knows as Caeserea Philippi. So, we, of course, would expect to see the remnants of that rival temple as Christ and His disciples walk along. But, there was much more there! This had been an ancient, ancient sacred spot, occupied since the Neolithic period. We’ve found, in archaeology, the sacred pillars of different Canaanite religions that stretch back to 4500 BC! So, when Jeroboam I, the first king of N. Israel put his rival temple there, the site was already a “sacred spot,” and had been so for 3600 years!

Why was it so special? Well, it’s the very place where the headwaters of the Jordan River begin, born from local springs which are numerous, and the melting snows cascading down from Mt. Hermon in southern Lebanon. This is a lush, rich, green spot...my memory of the place is the sound of gushing water—everywhere!!! Every people who entered this land, were enchanted with this spot, and they made it a place of sanctity, building a city of sanctuaries there.

So...so far, we have 3600 years of pagan worship, honoring the “mystical powers” that seem to control life and destiny, and their artifacts–the sacred pillars lining the road that Christ would have walked. Then we have the remains of the temple that Jeroboam had set up to rival the one in Jerusalem–a sort of heretical Judaism, and then, when the Greeks had come under Alexander the Great, they loved the place so much, largely because it reminded them of home, that they dedicated it as a center to the god PAN, who was recognized as the god of the fields, groves, and wooded glens, and because of this, he was connected to fertility and the season of spring. The name of “Pan,” comes from the Gk. verb: Paein, meaning “to pasture,” and the noun, “pa-on” which means “herdsman,” and may be related to peon, an unskilled, outdoor worker in modern English. Because he was the god of fertility, he was associated with sexuality, and often phallic symbols were used in his worship. Since he was a god of “union,” as it were, he despised loneliness, and he was thought to cause “terror” in lonely places–which is where we get the word “panic.” Have you had a “panic attack?” Well, that comes from feeling “cut off” from life sources, whether you’re in a crowd or alone. So.........imagine Christ walking his disciples through a series of phallic monuments and an altar to the god Pan, as well as the “sacred pillars” to the ancient gods of “mystical powers.” AND, there was more, yet, for Philip the tetrarch, trying to ingratiate himself with Rome, had built the trappings of a modern city there, and dedicated it to Caesar–hence the name, Caesarea Philippi (Philip’s gift to Caesar.) So that statue of the Caesar as a god was also along the route.

Now it’s with this backdrop–as they walk along–the ancient superstitions, the competing claims of heresy and the temptation to find an easier path, the powerful sexual energy deified, and the will to power and the deification of power and authority blessed–it’s with THIS backdrop–every single thing that humanity has ever deified and worshiped–it’s with this background, right behind them(!) that Christ asks his disciples “who do you think I am?” And, remember, “I am” is also the Name of God in Exodus–the Great “I Am.” So, the question placed before the disciples was “what do you think religion is about?” “What do you think God is about?” “And what do you think I’m doing with you?”

This is the Gospel chosen to celebrate the Feasts of Sts. Peter and Paul–two great names of the early years of our faith. This is the Church’s way of placing those questions before each of us:

So, today: How much of my worship of God is all about creating and keeping my own power? At Caesarea Philippi, if this was what you wanted, Christ would have sent you off to the temple to Caesar, and said, “then you really belong over there...not with me.” If my worship is all about my own emotions, and feeling loved and cared for (NOT THAT we don’t want to feel loved, but to make THAT your religion?), Christ would have politely pointed you to Pan, and said, “go over there!” Is my religion all about “having the right answer about metaphysics and theology? –knowing the Truth with a capital “T” (again, not that correct thinking isn’t important in life, but to make THAT your religion?), Christ would have waved you to the source of doctrinal difficulties–the rival temple of Jeroboam, and said, “go to those who fight over these things!”

So what IS religion all about? Ah, THAT’s the point of this Gospel passage. Peter answers Jesus with the phrase: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” But THIS time, he doesn’t suggest we “build a tent” to Christ. (Remember, at the Transfiguration, he had wanted to build “tents” (tents of meeting, proto-temples, MONUMENTS, if you will). He doesn’t say that now. Why? We suppose he’s grown a bit. For what does his answer mean? It means that the Living God is NOT about power, and “largeness” which is what fertility was about in Jesus’ day–having large herds, large families–so you’d have more wealth–no, the Living God is not about wealth and power, rather the Living God is all about what Christ has shown throughout His life: lifting up the broken, bringing in the leper and sitting him at table, forgiving the betrayer and crucifier, and becoming small, so another can rise.

God is about making greatness from smallness. Rising through humility to one’s destiny and full stature, and one rises to that stature through serving others. Binding and loosing are all about service of another....giving freedom to one because he needs it, and not to another, because it would be his downfall. Caring enough about an individual to know what he or she needs–this is at the heart of who we are, and what the power of the keys is all about.

This we read as we celebrate the feast of our founding fathers, Peter and Paul. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t often “feel” that “freedom,” and that “care,” and that “service” when I watch Church authority in action. But that is NOT the point; don’t you see? We can’t “fix” other people..............we can only “fix” ourselves. And the model is there. If we would rise to our true greatness, then we must become small enough to pay attention to those around us and what they really need, and as we help them achieve, we, ourselves are lifted, as we lift them a little higher, and it is in THAT very work that we, too, participate in the power of the keys of the kingdom. For the kingdom of God is indeed among us....the power to rise to our greatness...all it asks is that we “do” as “Christ did.” When we do that, the mustard grows into a shade for others, veritable “treasures” are unearthed, pearls of great price are discovered, and the lost are found.

So, as we come to the Table of Gifts, today, let us pray for that sort of “smallness” that allows us to truly listen to others and help them find their path, for as we do that, we become the peace we pray for.........and may God bless you all. +

-Father Bill Axe, O.SS.T.