CMLC 2026-08-23 Sermon

Howdy. Bill Murray has developed something of

a reputation for showing up in places where Bill

Murray is not necessarily expected. Yes, the

star from Ghostbusters and What About Bob and

Lost in Translation, that wild kooky guy. Yeah.

In Scotland, Bill Murray met some college students

at a bar. accepted an invitation to their house

party, and eventually ended up in the kitchen

washing their dishes. In Charleston, a couple

was having engagement photos taken when they

noticed a strange man behind the photographer

lifting his shirt over his face and rubbing his

belly. Yes, that was Bill Murray. It wasn't me.

And at South by Southwest in Austin, he walked

into a crowded bar and decided he would rather

be working than drinking, so he went behind the

bar and started serving drinks. He has played

kickball with strangers, read Emily Dickinson

to construction workers, and crashed bachelor

parties. There's a pattern here. Bill Murray

doesn't necessarily announce himself. You don't

always recognize him because he walks into the

room and says, hi, I'm Bill Murray, the star

of Ghostbusters, and what about Bob? Sometimes

you recognize him because of the way he behaves.

You see him and you think, wait a minute, isn't

that Bill Murray? And then he does something,

and you think, yep, that is absolutely Bill Murray.

And that is so Bill Murray of him. And in today's

Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples a question about

his identity. Who do people say that the Son

of Man is? Isn't that always funny whenever people

refer to themselves in the third person? I mean,

we're not all Bob Dole or anything over here.

But you know, he's over there trying to say if

the Son of Man is being sent out for God, What

is it that you believe about him? And by the

way, we all know I'm talking about me and they

give him several answers. John the Baptist or

Elijah or Jeremiah, one of the prophets, all

names that people would have known. But then

Jesus asks the more important question, not what

they're saying. Who do you say that I am? And

Peter answers, you are the Christ, the Son of

the living God. Peter recognizes Him, not comparing

Him to everybody else. He sees Him for who He

is. And that is where our readings take us today,

recognizing who Jesus is, understanding who we

are because of Him, and allowing Him to shape

us into the people He has called us to be. because

what you are built upon shapes who you become.

What you are built upon shapes who you become.

Look at the answers that the disciples were giving.

John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, the prophets.

The thing is these were not foolish answers that

made no sense. People saw something very prophetic

in Jesus. they were correct that he was very

much a prophet. Sure, they've heard him speak

with authority, they've watched him heal, they've

seen him confront evil, and they've heard him

call people to repent. And so they're reaching

for categories that they could understand. Maybe

he's John the Baptist come back. Maybe that's

really who he is. Or maybe he's Elijah returned

from the grave. Maybe he's Jeremiah speaking

to the people who felt they were in exile or

one of the other prophets because they were used

to what they had heard from those prophets. But

notice what they all have in common. They're

all looking backward. The prophets were God's

messengers. They pointed forward toward God's

work. They announced what God was going to do,

like someday. But Peter says, you are the Christ.

In other words, you, this is he. This is the

one we've been waiting for. This is the one that

the prophets were all pointing toward. This is,

Jesus is not simply another prophet announcing

God's salvation. He is the Messiah that brings,

that is God's salvation. And Peter goes further.

The son of the living God. It's one thing to

be the son of man, knowing that God will use

a human to do his work, but Jesus isn't merely

another person that God has used. Peter recognizes

something unique. about Him. He realizes this

is God, and this is His presence. Jesus tells

Peter, flesh and blood have not revealed this

to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Peter

doesn't just simply figure it out. It's not like

Peter is some ridiculously wise sage. Faith is

not forcing Jesus into the shape of what we expected.

God revealed who Jesus is to Peter. Because faith

doesn't force Jesus into what we expect. Faith

recognizes Jesus for who He actually is. And

the crowds, they might say, He must be someone

that we would recognize, someone like what we've

seen before. And Peter says, no. This is the

one. This is who we've been waiting for. And

then Jesus, he actually then takes that question

of identity and he turns it around. Isn't that

such a Jesus thing to do? Oh, hey, you asked

a question. I'm actually gonna turn it around

back on you again. Peter says, you are the Christ,

and Jesus says, you are Peter. See, Peter's name

is connected to the Aramaic. Kepha. A lot of

times we see C -E -P -H -A -S and we say Cephas,

but it was actually Kepha. And the thing with

it is it means rock in the Aramaic. You see,

Matthew, Matthew was recording the words though

in Greek. So even though they might have said

Kepha, Peter, this is the rock, Kepha. Matthew

was writing down to show that Petros, the masculine

form for rock, was referring to Peter, and Petra,

the feminine form, was referring to the rock

there. You are Petros, and upon this Petra, I

will build my church. And there's meant to be

a wordplay there. That connection between the

Kepha Peter and the Kepha of what the foundation

is meant to be. You see, this connection, is

meant to show us something about what we're meant

to do, too. See, Peter is being called Rock.

Why? Why is it so important for him to have this

name? Every time I introduce myself to people,

I don't say, hello, I'm the Reverend here, I

am the healer. No, my name's Jason. It's okay.

Why, though, is it important to know this about

Peter? Is Peter naturally strong? Does he always

get everything right? Is Peter alone meant to

lead the church going forward? No, on all accounts.

In fact, Peter, in the gospel, is about to get

something very, very wrong, and he's gonna be

so wrong about it that Jesus is gonna have to

look at him and say, get behind me, Satan. I've

said some dumb things in my life. I don't think

anybody's actually called me Satan in any context.

But you know, Peter, He's even gonna later on

deny Jesus three times. The New Testament does

not present him as the sole leader of the church.

James, the brother of Jesus, is actually the

leader of the Jerusalem church. And Paul presents

Peter and the brothers James and John as pillars,

plural, of the church. Peter, he is a foundational

apostle, but notice what Jesus is actually saying.

Jesus is saying, I will build my church. See,

this isn't Peter will build my church. Jesus

will build it. Peter is the rock, but his significance

cannot be separated from what he just said. Because

look at the timing. You are the Christ, the Son

of the living God. That is what brings the keys

to the kingdom of heaven. That is how it is that

all of us have the opportunity to be part of

the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven is

because of the fact that Jesus is the Christ.

The Son of the living God is the sent one to

come and bring us salvation. Peter matters because

he confesses Christ, because he proclaims Christ,

because Christ has called Peter to bear witness

to Christ. Peter isn't important instead of Jesus.

He's important because he points to Jesus. His

name tells us what Christ is doing with him.

Peter is not rock solid with his own strength.

He has a task, he has a role. And that name points

to Christ. And it reminds us of what we actually

heard and learned in Isaiah, the prophet. Isaiah

says, look to the rock from which you were hewn,

carved, and to the quarry from which you were

dug. You were hewn from the rock. You were dug

from the quarry. In other words, remember where

you came from. What does that mean? Why is that

important? Isaiah explains, look to Abraham your

father and to Sarah who bore you. Isaiah uses

the imagery of a rock and a quarry. to make God's

people remember their origin back to Abraham

and Sarah. Remember Sarah, remember Abraham,

remember where this people came from. Is that

because everything was about the Jewish community

coming from Abraham and Sarah? Not actually.

What we see is what Abraham and Sarah's story

taught about God's grace. Abraham was one person.

and a very old man. Sarah had been barren, never

bore a child. The beginning looked small and

impossible. How could God use these two people

to do what he promised? But God says, I called

him alone and blessed him and increased him.

Because the point was not about Abraham, the

point is what God did through him. The point

was not ultimately Sarah. The point was what

God did through Sarah. And the point is the people

that God created through the promise. See, the

story keeps going. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel,

the prophets, the promises, the Messiah. Christ

Himself and now the Church. The story of Abraham

and Sarah finds its fulfillment in the true Israel

sent to save us from our sins, Christ himself.

The story has reached its fulfillment. So Isaiah

is saying, remember the God who made a people

out of his promise. Matthew takes that story

another step forward. Isaiah was saying, look

to the rock from which he were carved. Jesus

says, upon this rock, I will build my church.

Peter, the rock, is pointing toward Christ, the

foundation. See, Paul would end up saying, no

one can lay a foundation other than that which

is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Christ is the

rock, the foundation. and the builder. And what

you're built upon shapes what you become. Imagine

if you have a sculptor, then again, no, sorry.

But imagine that you've got a sculptor who is

there with a large stone and he ends up turning

it into something beautiful. Michelangelo is

famously associated with the idea that when he

looked at a block of marble, he saw a figure

that could be revealed by removing what did not

belong. His sculpture of David gives us a striking

example, a massive block of marble becoming something

recognizable, beautiful, and purposeful, even

if you do have to cover your eyes for a moment.

But we need to be careful with the metaphor.

Because Christianity, it's not just a self -help

tool where you have to just actualize your real

self. It's not just something simplistic of saying

there's some perfect version of ourselves hidden

and God is just uncovering it. We are sinners.

We sin. We don't just have rough edges to smooth

out. We resist God. We cling to the things that

we're supposed to let go of. We need more than

just improvement. We need redemption. We need

to be saved. We need to be forgiven. We need

to die to the old and be risen to the new. And

that is precisely what Christ gives us. The one

who calls us to be transformed is the one who

first gave Himself for us. He bears our sin.

He dies for us. He rises again. And He reconciles

us to the Father and makes us His own. And He

begins restoring what sin distorted. That's why

being conformed to Christ, it's not about God

giving us a new pile of laws we need to follow

now. It's about restoring His creation, restoring

us to the life for which we were created. And

He does it by conforming us to the likeness of

Christ. Christ is not merely another set of rules

to follow. He's the image of what humanity was

created to be. In Christ, God is restoring us

to life. And that's what we look at when we see

Romans 12. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice,

holy and acceptable to God." Notice where Paul

had begun, by the mercies of God. This is not

Paul saying, sacrifice yourself to God and then

maybe He'll finally love you. This is him saying,

God has shown you mercy out of His love, so now

we offer ourselves to Him. Grace always comes

first. Mercy. forgiveness, love, hope always

comes first. We don't sacrifice to earn God's

grace. We sacrifice because we've already received

it. And so much when we take that term sacrifice,

we keep using it as a word that doesn't matter

in our lives the same way. How often do we say

that we're sacrificing for our family or for

our friends, but it's something we want to do

because we love them. And yet, when we talk about

sacrifice for God, somehow we miss that true

sacrifice is something that brings us closer

to the ones that we love. You see, the sculptor

is standing there, and the hammer. It keeps striking

while the chisel cuts. And frankly, as the pieces

of stone fall away, it hurts. It hurts to be

chiseled away. The sacrifice is real. Following

God costs us something. In reality, it costs

us everything. But you see, the sculptor, he's

not destroying us. He's not destroying the stone.

He's shaping us. You see, the sacrifice, it's

not about sacrificing who God created you to

be. It's about sacrificing the things that keep

us from becoming who God has called us to be.

We surrender our pride, our selfishness, our

bitterness. We surrender our hatred, our need

to control everything, our unwillingness to forgive.

We sacrifice our desire to be praised. The things

that distort the image of God in us. The things

that... destroy us. The chisel is real and it

hurts, but the pain is not evidence that God

has abandoned us. The pain is evidence that the

sculptor is still working on us. God is not giving

a new law. He's not saying, here are 20 more

things that you all need to do. Oh, hey, we got

five more people in late service and three more

in early service to join. I guess we got eight

more people suckered into doing all the stuff

on our to -do list. The transformation is the

life that flows from the grace of God. When God

removes our hatred, He isn't making us less of

ourselves. He's restoring us to love. When God

removes our pride, He's not freeing us from something

that we should identify with. He's freeing us

from having to prove ourselves. When He teaches

us to forgive, He's not letting people off the

hook. He's restoring what sin broke inside of

us. And when He teaches us generosity, He's freeing

us from being possessed by our possessions. The

goal is life. because once that sculpture has

been carved, there the person stands, as they

were always intended. Paul says, we though many,

are one body in Christ. And then he talks about

gifts. Some people serve. Some people teach.

Some people encourage. Some people give. Some

people lead. Some people show mercy. different

people, different gifts, one body, one Christ.

God is not carving every person into the same

statue, as great as the statue David might have

been if the next one was also the statue of David.

After a while, you start to wonder, Michelangelo,

can't you do anything different? Peter does not

have to become Paul. Paul does not have to become

Peter. The goal is not sameness. The goal is

faithfulness. You don't have to become anybody

else to be useful in the kingdom of God. Christ

gives different gifts to different people as

He's building the one body. You are not meant

to be like anybody else. Believe me, I understand.

There is something though that is joyful about

that. when you no longer have to convince God

to love you by being like somebody else. God

is not shaping us for sameness. He's shaping

us because each one of us is meant to be his

unique creation. As we discover that each one

of us is gifted in a way that's unique, we find

opportunities to use those gifts in service to

others. We begin to experience something of joy

of becoming who God made us to be. There's this

particular kind of joy. It comes when you realize,

I was made for this. This is something God gave

me to do. I'm supposed to do this. You get to

do something that you know speaks to who you

are. Doesn't matter if it has more tasks to do.

You're joyful because you realize, this is me.

And I'm truly becoming myself. The sculptor doesn't

only remove what doesn't belong, he also brings

what he has placed there. And Christ shapes us

within his church. And this is where our psalm

gives us an important assurance. The Lord will

fulfill his purpose for me. It's not, I'm gonna

figure out my purpose. Time for some eat, pray,

love. It's not. I'm gonna go manufacture an identity.

Let's go check out the Career Center. It's not

I have to make myself worthy. It is saying the

Lord will fulfill His purpose for me. His purpose

for me. The sculptor knows what He's doing. The

builder knows what He's doing. The God who called

Abraham and Sarah knows what He's doing. The

Christ who called Peter, even knowing everything

He would do, knew what He was doing. and the

God who has called you the flawed, struggling,

frustrated, imperfect person that you are, sorry

to let you know, knows exactly what he's doing.

Sometimes you look at your life and you don't

understand the shape that it's taking. What is

God doing? Why is he shaping me this way? But

the Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. and

the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.

There is the foundation. It's not about our performance.

It's not about our ability to understand what

he's doing. It's not about our ability to get

everything right. It's about his steadfast love.

So we come back to the question, who do you say

that I am? And I'm asking you that today, Christ

Memorial, and all of you on the internet. Who

do you say that Jesus is? Not just with your

words, but with your life. There are so many

answers that could exist. He's a prophet. He's

a teacher. He's a moral example. He's a revolutionary.

He's a great historical figure. Sure, those are

true. Is that truly Christ, when all we say is

what the rest of the world is okay with? Peter

says you are the Christ, the Son of the living

God. The one the prophets pointed to. The one

that God promised. The one who fulfills the story

that began with Abraham and Sarah. The one who

builds us, the church. The one who calls imperfect

Peter and imperfect everyone else. The one who

calls us. The one who gives us identity. Restoring

creation. Giving us life. The one who shapes

us by His grace. so that we can look back to

the rock upon which we are built. So today, I'm

calling you to look to Christ. We may be able

to do some great things as a community here.

And that's wonderful. But it will never, and

it can never be anything other than what we as

the church are doing in Christ. The one who shapes

us. The one that we trust to continue to shape

us. And every time the chisel strikes, we remember

that the sculptor does not destroy us. He forms

us. And when we surrender, we're not surrendering

the identity that we hope for. We're surrendering

what keeps us from living in the identity that

Christ has given us. We surrender all the things

that keep us. From the true identity we have

in Christ So when you don't understand what God

is doing with that chisel in your life remember

the Lord will fulfill his purpose in you and

when you wonder Paul says far from him and through

him and to him are all things Because he is the

Christ and upon him we are built And if Christ

is your rock, then by His grace, He is restoring

you to life, shaping you into His likeness, and

building you together with His people into the

church that He is building. Thanks be to God.