Koonung Heights Uniting Church
Sunday August 23, 2026
Saints of all time. Words and music Adrian Kitson.
Saints of all time take their seats,
prophets and martyrs gather around.
Angels prepare the things they must
Heaven meets earth: we gather in trust.
The God of the world will serve us this day.
We gather around, we wait on God’s word.
Jesus, our lord, is here with us.
In joy, peace and love we worship our God.
Welcome
Lighting of Christ Candle
Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians
Intro of theme and Call to worship
Leader: The world asks, “Who is this Jesus?” Some say a prophet, some say a good teacher, some say a disruptor. But Jesus turns to us today and asks, “Who do you say that I am?”
People: With Peter, we declare: You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!
Leader: This is the bedrock of our faith. This is the truth upon which Christ builds the church.
People: The gates of hell will not overcome it!
Leader: Come, let us worship the living God, revealed to us in Jesus Christ our Lord!
People: Let us praise His holy name!
Hymn 152 Joyful Joyful
Prayer of Praise and Confession
Eternal and Gracious God, we praise You for revealing Your Son to us. With the apostle Peter, we declare that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are our Savior and the foundation of our lives. We give You all glory and honour for Your grace and truth.”
But we confess that just as Peter later stumbled and denied You, we too often fail to live up to our faith. We confess our doubts, our moments of pride, and the times our actions do not match our words. Forgive us for when we rely on our own understanding instead of Your kingdom. Lord, have mercy on us and cleanse us.”
“We thank You, Jesus, that upon this rock You build Your church, and Your grace is greater than our mistakes. Thank You for Your forgiveness and for continually shaping us to be more like You. In Your holy name, we pray. Amen.”
Hear the Good News!
THANKS BE TO GOD!
Passing the Peace
Bible Readings
Genesis Romans 12:1-8
Matthew 16:13-20
Early Word
Anthem from Choir: God Has Chosen Us
God has chosen us. Words and music by Bernadette Farrell.
God has chosen us, God has chosen us,
to bring good news to the poor.
God has chosen us, God has chosen us,
to bring new sight to those searching for light.
God has chosen us, chosen us.
And to tell the world that God’s kingdom is near,
to remove oppression and break down fear,
yes, God’s time is near, God’s time is near.
God’s time is near, God’s time is near.
God has chosen us, God has chosen us
to set alight a new fire.
God had chosen us, God had chosen us
to bring to birth a new kingdom on earth:
God has chosen us, chose us.
God is calling us, God is calling us
in all whose cry is unheard.
God is calling us, God is calling us
to raise u the voice with no power or choice:
God is calling us, calling us.
And to tell the world that God’s kingdom is near,
to remove oppression and break down fear,
yes, God’s time is near, God’s time is near.
God’s time is near, God’s time is near.
Hymn 473 Community of Christ
Sermon
Matthew 16:13-20
This was a favourite passage of scripture in my fervent early years after becoming a Christian around 18 years of age. With the arrogance of youth me and my buddies would use it to searingly challenge the flabby and luke warm pew sitters…. Or as we put it skewer them to the back wall of the church. Yes but who do YOU say Jesus is? Not parents, church, family, friends… As Paul put it in the Romans 12 reading Go now, strong in the mercies of God.
Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your minds,
so that knowing the will of God
your whole lives may become a sacrifice of praise,
holy and acceptable to God.
We did not know who Dietrich Bonhoeffer was but we used his quote that every individual and every generation must afresh answer that question of Jesus, “Who do you say I am”? Looking back from 50 years later it was extraordinary that in a suburban church in a youth service run by fresh faced recent converts a confession of faith in Jesus can become so weaponised.
But it unfortunately is true to form when the church has a fairly major dispute on the interpretation of the verse about “on this rock I will build my church. Peter the person, (Roman Catholic)or the confession of faith Peter makes (Protestant).
In the Synoptics gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke), Peter’s confession of faith in Jesus is a clear turning point Until now Jesus is in control, a dynamic actor striding across the stage of history, working miracles, dazzling the crowds. Now he has ventured to the border, in the far north, to Caesarea Philippi, which in those days was a warren of pagan temples on a trade route; imperial altars all affixed to the ancient cave dedicated to the nature god, Pan. Caesarea Philipi is the bad lands, Way up north and in pagan territory – not to be confused with the other Caesarea in Samaria and on the coast.
As always context matters; it’s one thing simply to say that “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God“, and another thing to do so in a location carrying the marks of three of the greatest forces or powers that dominate human interactions
Empire – as the seat of political power in the area, Caesarea was as much the emblem of Rome as any city in Palestine.
Idolatry – both the shrine to Caesar and the older shrine to Pan make the location an excellent stand-in for a whole host of “idols” of whatever form it may take
Money – as a center on a trade route.
After this haunting conversation in such a place, Jesus turns his face toward Jerusalem. No more miracles really. he is to be “handed over.” He gives himself over and is acted upon.
Jesus asks what the word out on the street about him is. The answer goes through the options, citing Tradition/family/popular opinion.
It would be an interesting exercise to go into the CBD and ask the bustling lunchtime or shopping crowds the same question. First, who do you think most people would say Jesus was/is and what about yourself.
Jesus does not seem to think all this is simply a matter of human logic or rationality. He sees another dimension in his comment that flesh and blood did not lead you, Simon, to this answer but the one he called, Heavenly Father. Faith needs the human logical process but there will always be this extra dimension. Why do some arrive at faith and others not? Why are some -“blessed” is the word used – Blessed are you Peter, the rock and further, here are the keys to the kingdom.
Peter at this point is a corporate figure representing the church. Peter’s confession appears in all 4 gospels but in Matthew especially the incident is linked to the establishment of the church, for this is particularly important in Matthew.
Peter is entrusted with the Keys of the Kingdom. If you have been entrusted with the “keys” to something, it is yours to exercise authority in the name of the one who entrusted the keys to you. Because of course it is Jesus who owns the key. Revelation 1:18 “And I have the keys of Hades and of Death”
And for its relative cheapness a key is just extraordinary. You have the owner’s authority given to you to open something or close it. You have their authority entrusted to you to let someone in, or to lock someone out. I was doing my shift at the Op shop at Williamstown Uniting during the week and one of the volunteers came into the shop saying there is a guy out there asking about getting into the church. We watched him and he pulled out a set of keys from his pocket and entered the church. The volunteer turned to me and said, we’ll he has keys so I suppose it is all right. Keys give authority. Well, we assume. They could be stolen but we won’t go there for now.
I am amazed that you can go to one of those little kiosks in a shopping centre; hand over a key and 7 bucks and get a house key copied no questions asked.
Peter as representative of the church is given the keys. Sometimes we say too little about church, thinking it is just the means by which we organise ourselves and forget it is God’s chosen means of bringing the good news to the world. I am not a big fan of the “Spiritual but not religious” group when that means a rejection of any sense of so called organised religion. But equally we sometimes say too much and make the church only a revered divine instrument forgetting the appalling behaviour and betrayals of trust and then cover ups conducted by church.
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives the Keys of the Kingdom to the church, to “bind and loose.” That is, the church must discern, in unique times and places, what is moral and what is not. In light of human experience, the church must “bind” currently permitted behavior that is now experienced as “unjust.” Further, she must “loosen” old restrictions deemed to be unjust. We have seen this “binding and loosing” in relations to issues such as slavery, women’s role, LGBTQ The church now “binds” slavery and has begun to “loose” women and LGBTQ and people with disabilities.
And what is critical is that these bindings and loosings on Earth are bound and loosed “in Heaven.”
Franciscan priest and spiritual writer Richard Rohr says, “Why do we not use Peter’s power of the keys to unbind the world … and to offer it the full victory of God’s love? Why do we prefer binding to unbinding when Jesus clearly gave us both (Matthew 16:19)?” Was not Jesus’ mission all about unbinding, forgiving, and setting free?
Again, for Protestants the ordering here seems all wrong. Our impulse isn’t to take the lead, but to follow the dictates of heaven. In our discernment we generally ask, “What does the Bible say? What does God bind? What does heaven forgive?”
But in the gospel accounts this order is reversed. Heaven follows our choices. Whatever we forgive on earth will be forgiven in heaven. Whatever we loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Catholics get these texts, believing that the church does, in fact, have both this power and responsibility. Protestants, by contrast, have no idea what to do when handed Peter’s keys.
It seems that heaven hasn’t given us a strict rulebook to follow. We have to make decisions as we go, making choices about what is or isn’t a sin, what should be bound or loosed. Heaven then follows our choices.
That seems crazy to us, God waiting on us to make a call. But that seems to be the situation we’re in.
Hymn 609 May the Mind (and offering)
Prayers of the People
Lord’s Prayer
Hymn 626 Lord of Creation
Words of Mission and Blessing
Go now, strong in the mercies of God.
Do not be conformed to this world,
but we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds,
so that knowing the will of God
our whole lives may become a sacrifice of praise,
holy and acceptable to God.
And may God, the Creator of earth and sky, be your help;
May the Son of the Living God ground you on solid rock;
And may the Holy Spirit equip you with all the gifts and graces of Christ.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen.
Postlude – We Are Walking in the Light of God
