A WORD FOR TODAY, January 20, 2026
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, January 20, 2026
“Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ They said, ‘Some say John the Baptizer, some, Elijah, and 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 Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven; and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.’” Matthew 16:13-19, WEB
The transcontinental railroad was built in the mid nineteenth century to bring the east and the west of the United States together. It was a difficult project. A great deal of money, time, and labor were used to make this extraordinary achievement. The builders started two sets of workers, one in the east working toward the west and another in the west working toward the east. Golden Spike National Historic Park celebrates this great achievement at the place where it was completed, Promontory Point, Utah. There, on May 10th, 1969, Leland Stanford had the honor of placing the ceremonial spike, a golden nail with the engraving “May God continue the unity of our Country as this Railroad unites the two great Oceans of the world.”
Unfortunately, we no longer seem to have any real sense of unity. Too many people disagree about too many things. We disagree in our homes, neighborhoods, cities, and even our churches. I read an article that talked about the difference between now and past conversations. There are definite differences between people who are on both ends of any spectrum. It used to be that those who stood on principle could concede to exceptions and those who stood on exceptions could agree that there are core principles, dwelling in one “big tent.” Now it seems like there are two tents, and the two shall never meet. Neither can concede, or even understand, the opinion of the other.
We used to try to come together, discussing the issues that divide, sharing our opinions, and trying to find common ground. Now we can’t even seem to discuss the issues without attacking one another. Unfortunately, we tend to hold on to our ideology like it is a treasure. We refuse to compromise because it is seen as weakness. We can’t find the middle ground. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened with the railroad if one side or the other deviated even a few feet from the planned route. The two sides might not have ever met in the middle and the whole project would have been a failure.
Though the work began in the east and the west, both sides knew where they were headed. They may not have known the exact place where they would meet, but they had a line on which both had to travel to be whole.
I think one of the difficulties with the church is that we are trying very hard to find a common agreement between two ideas, but we do not come to our disagreements from our true common bond. We don’t start at the cross, where our unity is truly found, we don’t begin at our confession of faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God where we are bound by the Holy Spirit. It is like we are each beginning at one side or another and we discuss ways in which we might find unity. Yet, as we move toward one another, we never really are in the same line. There is only one way to be united, it is to begin at the foundation of our faith and move out from there.
The transcontinental railroad certainly changed the way America was able to do things. Since the coasts were connected by a much easier form of travel, communication was quicker, and goods were transferred more easily. It connected the people in the east with the people in the west in a way that was not possible without the trains.
The ways of God work much differently than the ways of men. God does not ask us to come together from different sides to find our common bond. Rather, He has given us our common bond, and He sends us forth together to live out our confession in faith. We don’t start at different ends of an issue to find where we might meet in the middle. We start at our foundation, at our Lord Jesus Christ, and together we live out His mission and purpose in the world. If only we would start at Christ, we would stop working so hard to find a way to get along, and we would work at what He has called us to do.
This week remember the confession of St. Peter. In today’s text, Jesus commends Peter for making a bold confession of faith in Jesus who is who He is. The disciples had just shared how the rest of the world sees Him, but Peter saw Him through a different lens. Jesus reminded the disciples that the confession could only be made by God’s grace. God put the words into Peter’s mouth. If we are ever to truly have unity, we have to see our fellow Christians through this confession, which should always be the starting place for everything we do.
Jesus answered Peter’s confession, “On this rock I will build my church.” Centuries of argument revolve around the meaning of this statement. Who, or what, is the rock? Is it Peter? Or is it the confession that he made. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter is important, but the foundation of God’s church is something much firmer than an imperfect human being. Peter, just moments later, rebuked Jesus for doing what He had to do, but the Word God gave to Peter that day in Jesus is the fullness of the humanity He came to save as well as the fullness of the God who would accomplish the task. It is in the confession that comes not by our will but by the Spirit of God that we will find unity in the fellowship of believers, from everywhere on the spectrum, so that we can do God’s word and share God’s Word with the world.
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