Matthew
16:13-20 & Romans 12:1-8
“Who do you say that I am?”
“How we identify Jesus will impact
the way we interact with one another and with the earth.” (Mitzi J. Smith, Working Preacher)
Therefore, the question Jesus sets
before his disciples as they enter the region of Caesarea Philippi, needs to be
answered by each of us, in our own words, in our time and context. Matthew records for us the exchange which
happened between Jesus and the first group of disciples. The way Matthew describes that encounter
prevents us from ever thinking that the question has been answered and thus no
longer needs to be asked.
“Who do you say that I am?”
“How we identify Jesus will impact
the way we interact with one another and with the earth.”
Those of you who were here two
weeks ago will remember me apologizing for fearing that I was being overly
dramatic. I will still offer such words
of apology. I do worry about being
overly dramatic. But I am even less
worried about being so today than I was just two weeks ago. I really do think we (we Christians, we the gathering
of persons called the Church of Jesus Christ) are a critical juncture. I am convinced that the way we respond now
will set the course for the Church for generations to come.
My fear is not for the Church. Take a quick look at verse 8 of today’s
Psalm: “Your steadfast love, O Lord,
endures forever.” There will always
be a Church of Jesus Christ. The
critical juncture at which we find ourselves will merely determine whether you
and I (and a church called “Lutheran”) will be a part of that which endures
forever.
“Who do you say that I am?”
“How we identify Jesus will impact
the way we interact with one another and with the earth.”
Geography can be important. This exchange with the disciples is given a
geographic location – the district of Caesarea Philip. This region is at the far east edges of the
world Jesus encounters. It is clearly a
Roman region. To place this exchange on
the identity of Jesus in this region may be significant in later conflicts over
how the Jewish followers of Jesus were to interact with the non-Jewish
followers. The question of whether the
words of Jesus apply to the stranger and the alien will dog the Church through
most of its earliest days.
Comments about the geography are
speculation; what isn’t left to conjuncture is the identity assigned to Jesus
by Peter. This is an identity which
Jesus embraces and blesses and seems eager to reveal to others.
You know the sequence of
questions. The first thing Jesus asks is
who do “people” say that he is.
“People” is always a troubling
reference. When told that “people” are
upset or bothered, there is no way of knowing if the reference is to the
speaker and their coffee buddy, or if it refers to the whole of society and the
world. “’People’ are saying…..” too
often precedes a comment impossible to verify or to qualify. I heard on Friday that “people” are upset
that Dabo Swinney got a new contract and is now the 3rd highest paid
college coach. But something tells me
“people” will still show up at the stadium this fall and shout and cheer their
affirmations for doing whatever needed to be done to keep Dabo here.
Who do “people” say that Jesus is?
I am not meaning to imply that
Jesus sets up a trick question. But
asking the question this way exposes the influences to which Peter and the
other disciples have been exposed. If it
is a trick question, it surely was not asked in order to cause the disciples to
stumble and fall. If it is a trick
question its intent would be to expose the ability of Jesus’ followers to set
aside what “people” were saying - and speak of that which they had come to
know.
I think it is helpful for you and I
to follow the same sequence. Before we
answer who Jesus is for us, it could be helpful to acknowledge what “people”
around us say about him. What
instructions do “people” most forcefully repeat from the words and life of
Jesus?
Let me mention a couple of things
which very well could come up were we to take a vote or survey. What do “people” say which might cause those
of us gathered in this room some concern?
1 – Alcohol. I think we might find that a majority of
Jesus’ followers are teetotalers. Some
of us, in this room, are teetotalers.
Others of us know the disastrous effects of alcohol and fight to hold on
to sobriety in a culture too fixated on “having a drink.”
2 – Divorce. It is not allowed at all in the Roman
Catholic congregations. And the most
popular congregation in my hometown forbids anyone who is divorced from being a
voting member.
3 – Creation. Here there is often a separation between what
people think and what they are willing to say.
Maybe the balance would tip away from a new-earth theory. But I am not so sure.
Who do “people” say Jesus is? And what to “people” then tell us it means to
follow Jesus?
When Jesus is brought into the
discussion of how one interacts with the world, there are underlying
assumptions about “who Jesus is” and there are many layers of convictions built
up a foundation which is so far below ground level that we might no longer see
it or be aware of the way in which it gives support to what we want to
construct.
What are we committed to building
on that foundation? Are we building
lives in which love of God comes first? Are
we building lives that love the other as much as ourselves? Are we building lives in which the pursuit of
justice and peace are paramount?
Too often it seems that “people”
are building a prison nation, a nation where millions of children are homeless
and hungry, and even a church which too often oppresses the poor and women and
turns a blind eye toward sexual violence within its gates and in the streets.
“Who do people say that I am?” Jesus asks.
In the gospel account, several
answers are given. Those answers are
varied and represent a great swath of God’s history in the world. In past sermons I have analyzed the
significance of John, Jeremiah, Elijah, or some prophet. An article I read this week reminded me of
the one trait which holds true for all of the answers given by “people.” They are all dead men.
Unsatisfied to be identified with
any dead man (even some dead men of considerable stature), Jesus presses the
disciples. “But who do you say that I
am?”
Got your bible/got your bulletin? I
want you to recite with me the answer Peter gives. It is verse 16. Right in the middle of this morning’s
assigned reading. Ready – “You are the
Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
“The Son of the living God.” A living God interacts with the world
differently, and calls upon followers to do the same. A living God experiences the pain of God’s
living children and comes to their aid.
A living God is moved by the cries of others and responds as the moment
unfolds.
We may be content with what people
tend to say – that Jesus is another of the dead men who have changed the course
of human history. Or, we might actually
believe and live our lives in such a way as to reflect the confession of Peter,
in Matthew 16. Might we say it together,
one more time? “You are the Messiah, the
Son of the living God.”
In Romans 12, Paul writes: Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may discern what is the
will of God.
This critical juncture in the life
of the Church places before us the challenge of discerning what is the will of
God. The critical nature of this
juncture exposes whether we will follow what “people” say or if we will act as
persons who live in relationship with the Son of the living God. This living God is continually about the
process of renewing of our minds, our hearts and our lives.
We live in contentious times. There are angry mobs and hurtful posts on
every social media outlet. We have chosen
our source for news and labeled those we opposed at too biased to be considered
worthy.
We live in a critical time. It is very important that we examine the
foundations upon which we stand and evaluate that which we are
constructing.
Amen.
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