The Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle
The Collect:
Almighty Father, who inspired Simon Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of the living God: Keep your Church steadfast upon the rock of this faith, so that in unity and peace we may proclaim the one truth and follow the one Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
On January, each year, the Church remembers how the Apostle Peter was led by God's grace to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ (Matthew 16:13-20 - see below), and we join with Peter, and with all Christians everywhere, in hailing Jesus as our Lord, God, and Savior. *
The Lectionary (modified), James Kiefer, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Confession_Peter.htm
Matthew 16:13-19
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.”
Art Note: This is a detailed portion of a marvelous painting - The Sacrament of Ordination is a portrait of Jesus handing the keys of the kingdom to St. Peter and the Apostles. It was one of an ambitious set of masterpieces Nicolas Poussin painted in the 1630s. It is housed at the Kimbell Art Museum.
