The Rock That Moved

Do you remember the Gospel episode in which Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” and “Who do you say that I am?” (Mt.16:13,15). It is then that Simon Peter has one of his finest hours, and one of his worst. At this point in the Gospel no one has openly acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah. It is Simon Peter who blurts out the answer first: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” The power and the strength of the faith this revelation from God has given Him evokes high praise from Jesus. Peter reminds him of hard rock. “You are Rock…I will entrust to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven,” Jesus tells Simon Peter. (Mt.16:18,19). It is the apostle’s finest hour. But, as someone else has said, Peter was not yet a very stable rock. He was a rock that moved. He fell, he faltered, he failed, he shifted. He made mistakes.…