You Are Kepha or Petros?

Dear Diary,

It was not too long ago when I wore a Chinese-fashioned “qipao” to work on the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year on Tuesday. I thought it would give me some “festive” mood since I had to work on a public holiday, hahaha =) Then on Wednesday, it was Ash Wednesday… the first day of the period of Lent on the Christian liturgical calendar. In Church history, Ash Wednesday is a day of penance as in the Old Testament when people who repented of their sins bestrewed themselves with ashes. Traditionally, the ashes are made by the burning of the palms blessed on Palm Sunday from the previous years.

Ash Wednesday marked the start of the Lenten fast. As for me, I just fasted lunch for that Wednesday… hoping to remind me that despite me being in a world where everyone seems so busy attaining wealth and status… God must still be a priority in our lives. As the Latin phrase “Memento homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris” which means “Remember, man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19), we should constantly be in penitence that Christ died for the forgiveness of our sins.

Frankly, in this period of Lent… I am still grappling with some theological issues. I just cannot see how my clergy understands the verse of Matthew 16:18… it is obvious to me that Peter is the “Rock” which Jesus referred to because this conversation was in Aramaic and Simon was renamed “Peter”. A glance through the bible will obvious yield that anyone whose name was changed by God (eg. Jacob to Israel) had a purpose. God doesn’t change people’s name for nothing and then go on to talk about their faith or their confession… Don’t talk about the feminine (Petros) or masculine (Petra), the pebble (Petros) or the rock (Petra) ambiguities… because Jesus spoke in Aramaic and not in Greek! In Aramaic, only the word “Kepha” was used and Peter is obviously the rock. Besides… traditionally… before the Reformation, the Church (Greek Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism) always had the interpretation that the apostles (in the case of Orthodoxy) or Peter (in the case of Catholicism) were given the apostolic authority by Christ himself.

As Peter confessed, “You are Christ, the Son of the living God!”, it almost seems like Jesus was thinking “Since you can tell me who I am, I am going to tell you who you are!” Well… Jesus then proceeded to say that famous words “You are Peter (rock), and on this rock I will build my church….”

Believing that the rock is Peter, is not going to make me a Catholic or a person subscribing to the doctrine of papal infallibility. It just makes me wonder how some Christians are interpreting the scriptures with pre-conceived prejudice and then claiming to interpret with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Sad to say, the “Holy Spirit”-inspired interpretations have led to numerous contradicting scriptural understanding, resulting in thousands of Christian denominations worldwide.

The Gospel is very important to the salvation of those who have yet to hear and accept it. I pray for the unity of the Christian faith and that we may be effective witnesses for Christ regardless of our denominations. May this period of Lent be a reflection of God’s word and sacrifice for us. May we read the gospel and interpret them truthfully. Amen.

I look forward to Good Friday which is the day right after the last day (Maundy Thursday) of the period of Lent. It is a day which we commemorate the death of Jesus, knowing that He rose from the dead 3 days later on Easter Sunday. Believe this or not… but not many churches observe Good Friday… They want to talk about His resurrection but not His death. How grateful I am to be an Anglican. A traditional one.

God Bless,

Andrew