In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Today, we were hearing our Lord asking His disciples : “‘Who do you say that I am?’” The Apostle Peter replies : “‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’”. Our Saviour then says to him that flesh and blood had not revealed this to him but the Grace of God sent from the Father revealed it.
This is the essence of our Orthodox Christian way. The Apostle Peter was a man just like everyone else. He was tempted just like anyone else. He denied Christ because he was afraid. Several times he tried to run away from his responsibility because he was afraid. However, every time he repented, he turned about and he went back to Christ. Christ forgave him. Christ strengthened him. Christ made him strong by the Grace of the all-holy Spirit.
It is important for you and for me to remember that the Apostle Peter had his weak moments too. He was not a perfect person. He was a human being like you and I are human beings. He could be afraid. At the time of the Crucifixion and the condemnation of Christ, he was so frightened of what might happen that he pretended that he did not know Christ. We know all this from the Scriptures. Yet with tears he turned again to Christ.
Our way is the same way as his. You and I sometimes forget our way, and sometimes we forget Whom we are serving. Sometimes we fall down. However, when we have turned back to the Lord with tears and asked for His forgiveness, He is waiting to receive us with love. He is waiting just as He was waiting for the Apostle Peter to turn back to Him. He is waiting for us to turn back to Him, to take His hand, and to stand on the waves of the sea with Him, looking at Him, confident in His love. On that particular occasion when the Lord is walking on the water towards the boat on the Sea of Galilee, and the sea is stormy, and they are afraid, still the Apostle Peter says : “‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water’” (Matthew 14:28). The Lord does, and this apostle walks on the water (until he takes his eyes off Christ, and notices all the wind and the waves). He begins to be afraid, and to sink. However, as soon as he begins to sink he cries out : “‘Lord, save me’” (Matthew 14:30). The Lord takes him by the hand and says to him : “‘Why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:31) He pulls him up, and the Apostle Peter stands again on the water with our Saviour.
You and I, in the midst of the turmoil of life in the middle of the waves and disturbance of life, must be like the Apostle Peter and look at our Lord, and not at the trouble around us. We must look at the Saviour, and trust Him. When the Apostle Peter looked at the Saviour and trusted Him, not only did he stand on the water, but the storm was stilled.
Brothers and sisters, we are living in a very difficult time in human history. There are more wars than we could ever have imagined would be happening at the same time. People are feeling afraid everywhere. We, who are Orthodox Christians, must show them the way : the way of love and trust in Jesus Christ. It does not matter what happens to us as long as our eyes and our hearts are focussed on Him. He is our Saviour. There is no other. He will protect us. If the time comes for our lives to end, He still will protect us and draw us to Himself, and in love He will give us eternal life. That is how we live our Orthodox life – loving Jesus Christ, knowing Jesus Christ, and serving Him.
Our whole Orthodox history has been focussed on nothing else but knowing and loving the one, true Jesus Christ, and living in accordance with that love. He is the one, the only Truth. We live in that Truth, the Truth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who took flesh because of love for us. He was crucified, died, was buried, rose again from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father, and sends upon us the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father (see John 15:26). We do not, as Orthodox Christians, have philosophical ideas about who that one, true, same Lord Jesus Christ is. We only explain our love. We only explain our personal encounter with Jesus Christ, and how that affects our lives, and how we live our life because we love Jesus Christ. Everything about us is concerned with that.
Today, when the Apostle Peter confesses Jesus Christ, our Saviour says to him : “‘You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church’”. Peter in Greek means “rock”. It is not only on the Apostle Peter himself, by the way. The rock is also the rock of his faith in Jesus Christ, and the Rock Himself, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is the foundation of our Church.
When times are difficult, when times are troubling, when we are feeling afraid like the Apostle Peter, when we have doubts like the Apostle Peter, when we are afraid enough even to betray and deny Christ like the Apostle Peter, nevertheless, let us recall the Saviour’s love. Let us turn about, take His hand, and stand in His love. Our life of love affects people everywhere around us. The Lord is using us as His missionaries of love. A person does not have to have a degree to be a missionary of Christ’s love. We just have to know Jesus Christ, love Him, and be willing to serve Him.
Brothers and sisters, like the Apostle Peter let us hold on to the hand of Jesus Christ. Let us look into His eyes and His heart, and allow Him to give us strength, hope, peace and the Grace to follow Him, and to convey His love to those who are hungry, thirsty, and searching. In this way He will draw them to Himself through us. Together, we will more and more glorify our Saviour, and God willing, enable this city to become an Orthodox Christian city.
This has to be the aim of our lives : to be yeast and salt in this city (see Matthew 5:13 ; 13:33) so that the Lord may bring this city to Himself. May we, together with this whole city, glorify our Saviour, Jesus Christ, in eternity as well as here, together with the unoriginate Father, and the all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages.