Isaiah 22:19-23 / Romans 11:33-35 / Matthew 16:13-20
There are many reasons why people come to church.
For some, it is a place for social interaction as there are friends in church.
For some, it is because they are in a ministry and so they come to church to serve.
For some, it is a religious obligation to be observed.
And for others, it is a religious ritual or habit.
But with the COVID pandemic in 2020, that brought about drastic changes.
One of the most glaring was the drop in church attendance, meaning that people stopped coming to church.
At the height of it, the drop in attendance was between 30 to 40%.
But for those of us who are still coming to church week after week, there is a deeper reason.
We come to church because we have experienced the trials and tribulations of life.
We have tried to save ourselves with our abilities and resources, but we have failed.
And when we are down to nothing, we turn to God as our last resort, and then there came up something.
The long and short of it is that in our nothingness, we experience God in His goodness.
So it can be said that we have experienced who God is.
In the Gospel, Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do people say I am?"
And then He also asked them, "Who do you say I am?"
Jesus asked them that question when they came to the region of Caesarea Philippi.
The significance of the region of Caesarea Philippi is that it was heavily saturated with idolatry with shrines dedicated to the Greek gods Pan and Zeus, as well as a marble temple dedicated to Caesar Augustus.
There was also a deep cave spring which was viewed as a literal gateway to the underworld, or nicknamed the “Gates of Hell”.
So, standing in the midst of the physical stronghold of idol worship and imperial power, there were two divine revelations.
The first revelation was to Peter, and he declared Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God.
The second revelation was from Jesus, when He said to Peter, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it."
In short, Jesus declared that His church and His kingdom will overcome the powers of death and darkness and evil.
And there is also another revelation with regards to the name Peter.
The name Peter in Greek is “Petros”, which means a single stone or a pebble or a small detached rock.
So, it is contrary to what we would have imagined to be a huge, immovable rock.
Jesus built His church and kingdom on that small stone or pebble to tell us the mysterious power of God.
That God can build His church and kingdom on the lowly, the little, and the humble.
So, the strength and power is from God and not from man.
And that is what we have experienced from God in church.
In our weakness and frailty, God raises up the lowly from the dust heap.
So, it is in the lowly, the little, and the humble that God reveals His glory and power.
And it is in our weakness and failures that God gives us strength.
As Jesus declared, the gates of the underworld and the powers of darkness can never hold out against God's church and His kingdom.
Yes, God protects us from evil, but we also need to be aware and beware.
Because the most dangerous enemy is not out there, but from within.
We can become the tools of the devil when we give in to sin and cause division from within.
By our pride and ego, our resentment and anger, our jealousy and envy, our unforgiveness and urge for revenge, we bring darkness and division into the church.
But let us remember what binds us and unites us as church.
Jesus binds us together and unites us with His love so that we too can bind ourselves with one another.
And let us also cast aside what is not pleasing to God.
With humility and charity, we will receive the blessings from God to be a church that is a sign of salvation to the world.