I have told this story of my nephew Peter before.  When Pete was about 2 ½ it was discovered that he was going to have a baby sister.  So, that summer, his mom and dad paid a visit to the camp I was working at and brought Pete along.  As mom and dad were saying their goodbyes, Pete was strapped inside the car seat.  So I stuck my head in the window.  Hey Pete, I hear you have a sister coming.  How does that make you feel?  “Great! Uncle Bill”.  What’s so great about it?  “Now I’ll have someone to share my life with…”  Wow.  I am not sure how many 2 ½ year olds would have responded like that.  And I am not completely sure what those words meant to Pete at the time.  But looking back, some 11 years after this event, it becomes pretty clear.  Pete is a great older brother.  Though different in temperament and style from Gracie, he really does watch over her and invite her, as much as he invites anyone, to be a part of his inner world.  He has learned to share with her in the small things and big things and every thing in between.  He grew into the words that he proclaimed that day. 

   Today’s gospel is also another experience of ‘growing into the words’.  Matthew tells us that Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi.  Like last Sunday’ excursion into Tyre and Sidon, Jesus did not go there by accident.  And there are a few things you need to know about Caesarea Philippi: First, it is a 4-5 day walk from the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  And secondly, there is a natural spring there emerging at the base of these cliff walls, with a huge natural grotto there.  Third, being on the Via Mare, it was a center where all kinds of people passed.  The more wealthy of them would pay artisans to carve these ‘niches’ into this cliff, and there put the statues of their Gods.  At the time of Jesus there was at least one Temple there, dedicated to Zeus and perhaps two others dedicated to Roman gods.  So, by the time Jesus journeys to this town, the area around the springs had a kind of nickname among the Jews – the “gates of the Netherworld”, or the “Gates of Hell”.  It was called that because of the Jewish belief in the ONE God and here was a place where MANY gods were worshiped, so for them, it was a place of ‘spiritual death’ – aka – the gates of Hell/the Netherworld.

   Jesus GOES to Caesarea Philippi because he knows that he is about to ask that MOST important question of his disciples.  Not the “Who do others say that I am?” – but the one that makes it real – “Who do YOU say I am?”  And when Simon Peter says in reply: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” –watch what Jesus does. (and see it visually in terms of the place he is saying these words.)  “Blest are you…  And so I say to you – YOU are ROCK!– not the stone rock that surrounds the spring at Caesarea Philippi into which they would carve their altars and niches.  You can see the eyes of the disciples shifting from the face of Jesus to the cliff wall behind him and back to Jesus.  Upon THIS ROCK – upon your confession of faith I build my church – and the GATES OF THE NETHERWORLD shall not prevail against it.  All these pagan niches, all these pagan gods – they stand no chance against one who trusts and believes that I am who I am. 

   Here’s the interesting part!  “Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.”  Why?  Why was that so important?  Why the gag order?  Because, like my nephew Peter’s comment in the car – sometimes is takes a while to ‘grow into the words.’  Peter, having seen the great miracles of Jesus was able to proclaim him messiah – anointed one.  He was able to say the words that carry profound implications in his life.  But as we will see next Sunday – he did not have a clear picture of what that really meant.  It wouldn’t be until the other side of his denial of Jesus and the other side of Calvary – it wouldn’t be till after the death of Jesus and his resurrection – that he would understand what it means to call Jesus messiah.  It took time for Simon Peter to grow into the words.

   So, too, for us who gather on a college campus on a Sunday night to celebrate our faith – it takes a while to ‘grow into the words.’  That is what the journey of college life is all about – the process of growing into the words that we pray Sunday after Sunday.  In a few moments we’ll pray again the words that shape our belief – in God who is Father, Son and Spirit. It is part of the ROCK of my life to continue to pray those words until I understand all they mean for me.  This Sunday, you and I have the chance again to ‘grow into our own answer to Jesus’ question of us: “Who do YOU say I am?”  Like Peter – may we say the words with confidence – ‘You are the Messiah.’  Like Peter, may the Lord whom we profess and whom we receive at this altar, give us the strength to become what we receive and live what we profess.  Amen. Amen.