May 6 – “Meeting Rocky”

Now that was an interesting day at church, to be sure.  Cindy, my secretary, started the morning off by handing me a letter and saying, “I think you should read this.”  That could certainly mean pretty much anything.  It might be someone complaining about some song we sang or how the building blocks their view of the ocean.  Or it might be that they were happy to have worshipped with us and experienced the unique Seaside style of ministry.  This one, as it happened, was quite positive.  The folks indicated that they have a second home in Sea Isle and have been to our sunrise service for the past six years.  As they prayed about it, God led them to send us their tithe for the last few months.  Wow.  What a novel idea.  Seeking God’s will and doing what he says.  May God bless them for that. 

The kids’ sermon was a lot of fun.  I asked them if they had ever tried to look at one thing and try to see another shape in it.  I do that with clouds sometimes.  They can look like boats and bunny rabbits and chocolate chip cookies!  I couldn’t figure out a way to bring clouds into the church, so I brought a bag full of rocks instead.  We looked at each rock and tried to decide if we could see any shapes in them.  One kind of looked like my dachshund Heidi.  One young scientist insisted he could see the core of the earth in one rock.  My favorite response, though was the little guy who was certain one of the rocks was actually a sculpture of … are you ready for this? … a giraffe.  He won my personal award for creativity, that’s for sure. 

We then talked about what the rocks had in common.  Pretty simple one there.  The first answer from the kids seemed to encompass it all: “They’re all rocks.”  Good point.  All one nature.  All strong.  All sturdy. 

Then I transitioned into the story.  Here’s about how that went:

In our story today Jesus meets a new friend named Simon, the son of Jonah.  Cool names, huh?  Want to know what they mean?  Simon means “obedient ,” and Jonah means “dove” (like the bird).  But when Jesus looks at him, he sees more than an obedient little bird.  He sees something else.  So Jesus changes Simon’s name right there!  He calls him Cephas, or Peter.  And do you know what that name means?  Rock!  Jesus saw that Simon could be like a Rock – strong, firm, steady – so he decided he would just call him that, like a nickname.

Now, at this point one of the little boys’ eyes lit up and his hand shot up.  It was obvious he had had an “aha” moment.  And who am I to prevent a young lad from expressing himself at such a key time?  I made eye contact with him, paused, and nodded in his direction.  That’s all the encouragement he needed.  He blurted out, “You mean, he called him Rocky?”  Indeed.  That’s exactly what I meant.  And Simon became Rocky.  I know that youngster was not the first one to come up with that thought, but it was the first time that youngster had come up with the thought.  Nice job.  Back to the story.

Now, Simon took his new name to heart.  He started trying to become like a Rock.  It took a while, but he eventually became just what Jesus saw in him at the beginning – a strong, firm, steady leader.  And guess what?  Jesus sees something special in you, too.  I don’t know what it is yet, but I’m gonna pray that one day soon you will find out and get started on becoming the special person Jesus wants you to be.

Isaiah 62:2 says: “The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.”

Father, help us discover the new name you have for each of us.  And help us do what we can to become the person you see in us.  Amen.