Here is a story from the Bible:
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16: 13-19)
Today’s reading says, “You are Peter,” so let’s look at Peter in relation to the story told above and see what “You are Peter” means.
When Jesus asked the apostles who they thought he was, Peter said that Jesus was the Messiah. What does that mean? According to Dr. Leila Leah Bronner, a scholar of Jewish and Biblical studies, “the term referred to an ‘anointed one,’ a divinely chosen figure who would bring to fruition God’s plan for his people and for all humankind. The term also conjured up images of a future world filled with peace and divine tranquility. These two biblical ideas were elaborated upon in the post-biblical era.”
With that definition of Messiah, let’s imagine Peter’s answer to Jesus’ question in this way:
You are one in whom God’s plan for humankind is being fulfilled. Through you, peace and divine tranquility will be brought to all of the world.
Now, let’s imagine that the one listening to Peter is not identified with a body-personality-mind; it is unity consciousness. Unity consciousness responds:
Blessed are you, for this was not revealed to you by your body-personality-mind, but by inner spiritual knowing. And I tell you that you are a rock of faith to have trusted this knowing. On this rock I will build my assembly, and the ego will not overcome it. I now anoint you. I give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Follow your inner knowing, and it will lead you to know heaven, which is here now. But be aware that whatever you believe on earth is believed in heaven, because heaven is here now. And whatever you let go of on earth will be let go in heaven, because heaven is here now.
Jesus is often seen as The Messiah, the only anointed or chosen one. However, as soon as Jesus saw an inkling of inner intuition in another, and he saw that one trusting inner intuition enough to speak it, he anointed that one.
What does this mean?
It means that as soon as genuine spiritual intuition awakens in us, and as soon as we trust it enough to begin following it over the personality-mind, we are the Messiah, the one in whom God’s plan of awakening is being fulfilled.
This isn’t said to make anyone feel special. This is a great responsibility of humility, because it means we have awakened to the point of choice. We are no longer limited to only the personality-mind, a slave to its thoughts. We have awakened to spiritual intuition, so we are able to choose what we will trust and follow.
