Where I grew up in Northern California, there were periodic floods and, of course, earthquakes. Visitors and friends from other parts of the country would often ask if we were frightened to live in the midst of such dangers.

My father would always answer that he felt perfectly safe because "This house is built on rock." My father was confident that a building's foundation on rock would make it strong and secure.

In today's Gospel reading, Peter confesses that Jesus is "the Christ, the son of the living God." Jesus tells Peter that he will be the "rock" of the church, the foundation on which Christ's church will be built. What does this mean? Rocks are solid. Rocks are strong. Rocks don't move.

While it is wonderful to have a church with a rock-like foundation --- strong, secure, immovable and impervious to change --- it can also be frustrating. If you're like me, there are some things in the church that, were I in charge, I would change. Sometimes I wish the church would move a little farther and faster than it does. I might want to modify the liturgy and make it more to my liking. I might want to change the rules for clergy and parishioners alike. I might select different hymns to sing. I might want to have a reserved parking place for myself.

Of course, it's a good thing that I'm not in charge of the church. And I think in the end it is a good thing that the church does not change quickly. The church is meant to be built on the truth revealed through Jesus Christ, not on social trends or someone's personal taste. I certainly can't say that I always agree with decisions made in our parish or in the Vatican, but I do agree that our faith must be based on more than any single culture or on majority rule.

Our church has endured for centuries because, I believe, we constantly return to the rock on which it is built --- faith that Jesus is the Christ. After all, our faith is not in the clergy or the Vatican or in a political or organizational system. Our faith is in Christ, the son of the living God, who does not weaken with age, or bend to the will of others.

The church is not fundamentally about its buildings, rituals and traditions, as rich and rewarding as these things can be. The church is about faith in Christ, and building our lives and our communities on that bedrock.

The church is built on a strong foundation. If we try to build our lives or our churches on something other than faith in Christ, they will not be able to stand the tests of time.

At times our church leaders, as well as each one of us, have strayed from that foundation, and we have felt the consequences. When we return to the rock, we know we are once again connected to the real, lasting, and permanent source of life in the world. God willing, that aspect of the church will never change.

Bill Peatman writes from Napa.