For this Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, we continue our journey with Jesus and his disciples through the Gospel of Matthew and respond to Jesus’ call to discipleship. In today’s reading from Isaiah, the people are advised to look to their spiritual ancestors as the rock from which they were hewn. In the reading from Matthew, Jesus declares that the church will be built on the rock of Peter’s bold confession of faith that Jesus is the Messiah. God’s word of reconciliation and God’s mercy are keys to the church’s mission. What does it mean to you to confess that Jesus is the Messiah? From community, word and sacrament, the Holy Spirit inspires us to go forth to offer our spiritual worship through word and deed.