Secrets
Imagine someone you know, someone you are close to, having a secret identity and you can't tell anyone about it.
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. - Matthew 16:13-20
It is a secret identity because it remains secret.
I am sure we all know someone who would die to let us in on a secret like that. You have to promise not to tell anyone, they would say, and then they would dump the burden on us.
It would now be our secret to keep. The temptation would be ours to hold forever.
Peter was not always the most clever of the apostles but it did manage to see what many of the others failed to see, and it might have made him something of a joke to them.
He started walking on the water to come to Jesus only to falter and nearly drown.
He wanted to built huts on the mountain for Jesus, Moses and Elijah, and then he denied even knowing Jesus.
So, for Peter, and for us, the burden of knowing what others don't know was tough.
It led him into awkward situations. It weighed on his mind.
If Jesus had said, go and tell everyone who I am, there would have been less of a burden, but who would have believed? And it might have gotten Peter in trouble.
The lesson for us is unclear.
Do we want to know what we cannot share?
I am not sure I do.
It is easier to say I believe this to be true because of my faith, than to say I know.
Maybe that is why we live by faith and continue to seek knowledge.
More to come...