For
Sunday, August 23, 2026, Readings: Isaiah 51:1-6, Psalm 138, Romans
12:1-8,
Matthew 16:13-20
…but my salvation will be for ever, and my deliverance will
never be ended. [Isaiah 51:6b]
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart…your love
endures for ever… [Psalm 138: 1a, 9b]
Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what
is the will of God ~ what is good, acceptable, and perfect.
[Romans
12:2]
And Jesus answered [Peter]..."I
will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth
will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in
heaven." [Matthew
16:17a, 19]
This reading from the Second part of Isaiah, is
a reminder to those in exile and held captive in Babylonia, of God’s Covenant
with Israel, of their heritage, their origin in the call of Abraham and Sarah
that flourished as a nation through their offspring. They are also reminded of
the coming comfort in wasted areas, a renewing act of God that would make their
past sufferings in defeat and exile seem insignificant. Isaiah says to
"Listen to me" so they would hear of the justice and enlightenment
coming from God to all in darkness. While God also promised that deliverance
would come swiftly and until that time God’s Law was to be the pattern for
their life.
This Psalm came after the writing of Deutero/Second
Isaiah at a time when the community had returned to Jerusalem from exile in
Babylon and the new temple had been dedicated. It is an outpouring of
worshipful praise and gratitude with a whole heart, filled with the
faith and trust in God with whom we can all walk through the deepest troubles
and know that God is with us constantly.
Then Paul reminds us that we are one body in
Christ with God-given, grace-filled gifts that we are to learn to identify
~ and accept ~ within ourselves and to offer in service to God and to each
other. He tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God….” He
both admonishes and encourages us to look beyond ourselves to work together for
God's purpose; to be the welcoming all-inclusive community of the many members,
with the many gifts, by the many mercies of God in Christ.
When Jesus asks who others think he is, perhaps the disciples
were wondering themselves if Jesus was some sort of re-incarnation of the
prophets. It is Simon Peter who gets the prize for getting the answer correct.
Peter ~ a name meaning the stone or rock in Greek ~ is then awarded
the keys of the kingdom of
heaven to bind and loose on earth and in heaven. Did
Peter, in that moment, understand and feel the enormous weight of the
responsibility?
Binding and
loosing is a rabbinical concept that, as Jews, the disciples
understood. In very simplistic terms it means a communal judgment to bind one
or a group as in an obligation or to loosen that requirement to a matter of
one’s individual judgment.
Many of us feel either a strong
binding obligation, or at least a personal commitment, to present ourselves for
worship each Sunday ~ in person in the Church or by watching online ~ but of
course we are free to not attend or view. So what does a true
obligation to the work of Christ actually mean? That's
where discernment applies. Discovering what are, and how to use,
our particular gifts, as well as offering them in the sincere attempt to
follow God's will, is the work of a lifetime, as Paul says, our spiritual
worship, our living sacrifice. Our human gifts are the
keys to unlocking our spiritual gifts for our life that is now, the
living and breathing and acting and working through each and every day of the
life we have been given to live here on Earth. All that was, is now, and, all
that is now will come again. It is up to us, individually and collectively, to
recognize the connections we share with the past and the future that
help us to decipher the signs to then be more aware if we are on the right
path or are diverging from it. We
all, each and every one of us, wonder and question and, perhaps worry at times
about what we believe and how we are called and what really are we to do to
live in faith. This helpful, hopeful, and humanly honest prayer by mystic/monk
Thomas Merton that begins with "My Lord God, I have no idea where I am
going...,”* has a regular place in my
and others’ prayer life. If a cloistered monk has had these moments, we’re all
in very good company.
Among
the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, sincerity of purpose is one key to
the binding of trust and the loosening of apprehension. Connecting the lessons
we’ve learned from the past and those in the present is another key. And, the
most important key of faith is in the form of a question and it comes directly
to us from Jesus himself. It is the key to what we each bind or loose in this
life in our own time and the one we must reflect upon, pray about, and ponder
regularly, even as we assume and presume to simply “know.” It is, how will we
each answer when we come face-to-face with Jesus and he asks: Who do you
think that I am? We all have a variety
of the keys of life and living available. It’s our choice of keys that will answer
the ultimate question and lead us to our ultimate destination.
* Thomas Merton's Prayer: "My Lord God, I
have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know
for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I
think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But
I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I
have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything
apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the
right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you
always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not
fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils
alone."
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ O God of Love and Faithfulness,
our whole hearts now give You praise for our spiritual heritage in the roots of
Abraham and Sarah, for Your strength given us when we called, for Your care for
the lowly, and for all Your Holy Ways. Grant us each the continuing awareness of
and deep gratitude for Your ever-enduring love, and for the works of Your
hands.
O Lord, our God
RESPONSE: Transform and Renew us
~ O God of Love and
Faithfulness, empower us to be vigorous in the pursuit of re-forming the
attitudes, agendas, and actions from callous to compassionate on the part of
the political leaders in the small and large areas of this World, this Country,
and this Community. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O
Lord, our God
Transform and Renew us
~ O God of Love and Faithfulness, infuse hope, healing, and
comfort in all who are lost in the grip of serious or life-threatening illness,
in body, mind, or spirit, and to all who give of their strength in support. We now join
our hearts to pray for those in need… add
your own petitions
O Lord, our God
Transform and Renew us
~ O God of Love and Faithfulness, open wide the gates of heaven as
You receive in joy, those we now commend to the bliss of eternal
life. We pray especially for… add your own petitions
O Lord, our God
Transform and Renew us
~ O God of Love and
Faithfulness, we pause in
this moment to offer You our other personal thanksgivings, intercessions,
petitions, and memorials… add your own
petitions
O
Lord, our God
Transform and Renew us
~ O God of Love and
Faithfulness, we offer our special thanksgivings for those who guide us by
their teaching, preaching, and prayers, to discern our own gifts and discover
our path to all that is good and acceptable to You. We pray especially
for: add your own
petitions
O Lord, our God
Transform and Renew us
The Celebrant
adds: Lord of All That Is, awaken us each
morning with eagerness to offer ourselves in service to Your Holy Will, to
escape the snares of conforming to what is of this world, to transform our
thoughts and actions through continuous renewal, and to bind ourselves only to
Your Kingdom in each and every day. We ask through Jesus, our Blessed Messiah;
and the Holy Spirit, our Counselor and Advocate; who together with You are one
God, loving, eternal, and everlasting. Amen.
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