Brief synopsis of the readings: In Isaiah we see God speaking to Shebna and warning him that he (Shebna) will be removed from his office and replaced by Eliakim. Eliakim will be given all Shebna’s authority and all will obey him. In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus asked his disciples “[w]ho do people say the Son of Man is?” While some suggested John the Baptist or Elijah or Jeremiah or a prophet, Jesus asked: “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied: “Blessed are you, Simon of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” Jesus went on to say that Peter is the rock on which he (Jesus) will build his church. Jesus will give Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven and whatever Peter binds on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever he declares loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then Jesus told them not to tell anyone he is the Christ.
If you’re not sure who Shebna is, and if you’ve found your AI search unsatisfying, don’t despair. He’s a pretty obscure figure who served under King Hezekiah and, as we can see from today’s reading, he didn’t do a very good job. His job came with a great deal of power and authority; he’s described as “master of the palace” which made him essentially the chief of staff. Unlike the king he served he was only out for himself, even demanding the construction of a fancy tomb. Very few things are as clear as this in the Old Testament: don’t build things that will magnify your own glory at the expense of worshiping God. And our reading shows that Shebna’s successor (Eliakim) really did what he was supposed to do.
The idea of being chosen for a position of authority and letting that authority go to your head is as old as humanity itself. Whatever Shebna did previously to deserve his position quickly disappeared and the fact that we don’t know his name should be a reminder. He may have worked hard to get to where he was and perhaps he even deserved it. But without some level of humility and gratitude he was doomed to fail.
And it’s too much of a cliche to say that Shebna was bad and Jesus was good. I think the real focus of today’s Gospel isn’t Jesus but Peter. Jesus didn’t begin by asking who people say he is, but who the “Son of Man” is. The title “Son of Man” has strong connotations of deity and Jesus clearly wasn’t looking for “You’re the son of Joseph and Mary.” The answers that were given were good guesses, but missed the point. John the Baptist, Elijah and the prophets were good people and we revere them but they were all too human and nothing more.
When Peter recognized Jesus as the “Christ, the Son of the Living God” it wasn’t just a good guess, it was a divinely inspired response. It wasn’t a sign to Jesus that Peter was smart enough to come up with the right answer, it was a sign that God had chosen Peter to be the foundation, the cornerstone..
Of Jesus’ first disciples we probably know the most about Peter. If this is Peter at his best in the Gospels we’re also aware of his lowest point, after Jesus’ arrest when Peter denied knowing him. I’ve always found Peter a little amusing for his enthusiasm and desire to always give the right answer and I’ve described him as “more gas pedal than steering wheel.” But let’s give Peter his due: he never tried to claim more authority than he was given and he never tried to build himself up by putting others down.
But ultimately what made Peter the rock with the keys wasn’t what we see in him or even what Jesus saw in him but what God saw in him. Frankly God’s choices can sometimes confuse and confound us but when that happens it doesn’t call God to reconsider his choice but should call us to reconsider our reaction. I don’t wish to push this point too far and this is by no means a divinely inspired choice but ever year the Heisman Trophy is awarded to the most outstanding college football player with the expectation that he will go on to greatness in the National Football League. Even a cursory reading of the list of winners shows how few lived up to expectations.
On the other hand the winner of the 1860 Presidential election was man from a newly formed political party who garnered less than 40% of the popular vote. He was a one term congressman who often suffered from debilitating depression and came into office on the eve of our nation’s greatest existential threat. In his darkest hours he relied on God’s strength but during his greatest victories he always believed the source of his blessings was not himself but God. Today we see him whenever we hold a $5 bill or a penny. I don’t think any of us can imagine him planning his own tomb.
Gratitude in the face of blessings and humility in the face of promotion can be a heavy lift and even on our best days we accomplish this with mixed results. But God’s gift of free will gives us the ability to waste our gifts if we choose.
We call remember times when we didn’t get an award or the recognition we thought we deserved and the grudge/victim industry is built on that. But we can also recognize times when we did get and it’s there’s nothing wrong with feeling good about the work we put in. But we will be respected only if we recognize that we were chosen to continue to serve.
Our readings today give us a stark contrast. If Shebna had been given the keys to the kingdom of heaven we still wouldn’t know who he was. But we also likely wouldn’t be the church we see today and we wouldn’t know each other as fellow disciples of Jesus. So let’s be Peter instead of Shebna.