I think it’s fair to say that for most of us, we imagine the disciples as pretty much an amorphous group of poor, skinny First Century Palestinians, with a couple of exceptions: we may have a stronger impression of who Judas Iscariot was; and who Peter was. Because the Scripture stories we have tell us more about those two than the others. Judas we know from the Gospel of John’s telling about the woman who anointed Jesus with costly perfume, and Judas asked, “Why wasn’t this expensive perfume sold and the money given to the poor?” (John 12) And the writer of John is quick to tell us that Judas only asked because he held the group’s purse and he pilfered from it, he was a thief. (The other Gospels do not tell that story.) We also know that Judas is the one who betrayed Jesus to the authorities. Peter we know because he features in so many of the stories. He was the one who was willing to try walking on water....and then fell beneath the waves. He was the one who suggested making booths during the vision of the Transfiguration. He was the one who, when Jesus told him to go back out and try to get some fish just one more time, he was the one who argued with Jesus. (He said, “Lord, we’ve been out here all night...” Luke 5:5) And, in today’s reading, Peter was the one who got the answer right: He said to Jesus, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (v. 16) And what a response Jesus gave him! “On you I will build my church.” (v. 18) “What you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (v. 19) Wow. What a powerful thing to be told. Makes you think that Peter must have been the best of the disciples, or the wisest, right? If Jesus was willing to so invest in him, Peter must have been the exemplar, the crème de la crème, yes? No. Peter was not perfect, he wasn’t the smartest, he wasn’t the most capable. And we see that as today’s story continues. Jesus just said, “On you I will build...” and the very next thing we’re told is that Peter got it wrong. Jesus said he was going to suffer and die and be raised, and Peter said, “No, Lord, this must never happen!” And in response, Jesus called Peter Satan. “Get behind me.” “You’re thinking about this all wrong: you’re thinking in terms of human pain and human want, and I need to think about this as necessary for human need. This is what I need to do, for all humanity. This is what I need to do, and you are making it hard for me.” Oops. Being called Satan is not a sign of approval. Peter messed up once again. And he wasn’t done yet, because we know later that he is the one who denied Jesus three times to the gathered folk in the courtyard outside Pilate’s. What we know for sure about Simon Peter is that he messed up. More than once. Plenty of times, in fact. So why would Jesus name Peter as the rock upon which Jesus would build? Well, to take a bit of wind out of our story sails, we know that this is in part looking back and adding in a story to explain a then-current reality. If you read the book of Acts, you will witness a kind of power struggle between those who leaned toward following Peter’s lead, and those who leaned toward following Paul’s lead, in the early days of following Jesus’ way after Jesus’ death. And, you could say that, in many ways, Peter won that struggle. So this passage reflects that shift. But I think there is more of a message for the modern day church in this section of Scripture than may be obvious. And that lesson lies in the choice of Simon Peter. Because he wasn’t necessarily the smartest, or the most perceptive, of the disciples. He didn’t bring a whole host of skills to the work. He was just a simple fisherman. He made mistakes. He said the wrong thing. But...he brought his whole self to following Jesus. He held nothing back. He tried stuff, like walking on water. He asked questions. He suggested things. He showed up. And when he messed up, and fell in the water, or said the wrong thing, or was corrected by Jesus yet one more time...Peter never gave up. He never quit. Peter never said, “Oh, I just can’t get the hang of this” or “Jesus is never going to forgive me for making that mistake.” Simon Peter accepted that God loved him, warts and all; and that as he was, he was enough. He mattered. He could do some good. Was he embarrassed at his mistakes? Well, according to John’s Gospel, he was heavily ashamed for having denied Jesus, and when Jesus appeared after his resurrection, Peter jumped into the waters rather than having to encounter him...but yet, we then find Jesus and Peter sitting by the fire, talking...and Jesus giving him new work to do. He told Peter: “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:17) Even after denying his Jesus, Simon Peter learned he was forgiven – and that he had work to do. What lessons can we, the church, take from this? I think they are pretty straightforward. I think we are called, as the church, to be bold. To risk making the mistake in order to follow where Jesus leads us. To risk sounding stupid, or making a poor choice, rather than sitting back and risking nothing at all. I think we’re called to be enthusiastic. To give what we attempt our full attention, and our full energies. And I think we’re called to be resilient. To accept that sometimes, what we try will not work, or worse, it’ll backfire – and yet...and YET....we keep on trying. Sounds do-able, doesn’t it? To accept that we are worthy of being Jesus’s church, that we matter, that we can do some good for God’s sake? And yet, how often do we shrink from it? How often do we not try something because we’re afraid no one will come, or no one will support our efforts, or that it won’t make enough of a dent in whatever problem we’re trying to address? How often do we judge the work we might do for God, in the same way we judge, or we have our work judged, by the world’s standards? Our bosses may not forgive our mistakes, or our mis-spoken sentences, or the ill-timed question in a meeting. Our work bosses may demand high performance at all times. Our work bosses, even our family members and friends, may, either in their words or in their actions, let us know that, as the old bromide goes, “Failure is not an option.” We’re supposed to strive for excellence. We are supposed to live in superlatives. That’s how the world runs. Do it right, or don’t do it at all. Make sure you always look good. Keep your nose clean. Don’t mess up. But that is not how the church works, and it’s not how God works. After all, as the story goes, Jesus chose the fellow who messed up most often to become the rock upon which “I will build my church.” In the weeks and months ahead, we will be trying some new things – because we are the church, and there is work for us to do. We will begin doing Sunday School with a rotating cast of teachers instead of just one or two teachers. We may try a new way to raise funds for Take the Next Step or the food banks. We’ll have our Mystery Dinner, and we’ll celebrate the International Day of Peace, and at some point – whether sooner or later – you all will welcome in a new pastor. None of this will necessarily go smoothly, without a bump or a hassle. We aren’t guaranteed any level of success. But, if we go in with our energies and our dreams and our desire to serve God, we will be doing what God asks of all of us. To love and to serve with our whole hearts. Warts and all. Let’s be bold. Let’s be the church God calls us to be.