August
23, 2020
12th
Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah
51:1-6
Psalm
138
Romans
12:1-8
Matthew
16:13-20
Please pray with me,
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable and suitable in your sight, O God, our rock, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
Every so often on Fridays when I share the noon devotion I lead the watchers in what I call the Friday Five. It’s simply a time for me to ask five questions…sometimes serious, sometimes thought provoking and sometimes downright silly. But it’s a time for folks who are watching to respond not just to the question, but also to each other’s responses. It’s fun to watch the interaction…an interaction that would happen in this space after worship, or in the social hall with coffee and a donut on a Sunday, or at a meal on a Wednesday night. It’s a joy for me to see that the relationships begun within the confines of this space are still growing in depth and connection even though our face-to-face gathering have been fewer in number than we would like.
So, today’s sermon comes with a
question. It's the Sunday one.
Because the question, itself, is presented in today’s gospel, from Jesus himself.
Technically, there are two
questions.
The first one is a little more general…Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
Jesus seems to be gathering info as to how people have heard about the Son of Man and how they explain who he is.
It’s easy to answer that
question, right?
It’s simpler to answer a question that is directed towards or about someone else. Yes, he or she says the Son of Man is…John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or, you know, one of the other prophets.
You’re basically saying what you have heard others say. Which is what the disciples are doing here.
But then the conversation becomes more direct.
Jesus says, “But who do you say that I am?”
Gulp.
Right?
Jesus turns to the disciples and says, but who do you say that I am?”
And Peter responds, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.
Ding. Ding.
Points for Peter!
Jesus replies, Blessed are you…for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father in heaven. Peter is named the Rock, and on this Rock, Christ will build his church.
And so it seems that after round one of “Who is the Son of Man” that Peter does fairly well. But tune in again next week to see how he fares in round two.
But seriously, that question, though.
But who do you say that I am?
Christ asks the disciples…and we find ourselves responding to the very same, daunting, question.
Who do you all say that Christ is?
Theologian and professor at Luther Seminary, Karoline Lewis describes this question and this passage of text as drawing us into a ‘come to Jesus meeting.’ Have you heard of a come to Jesus meeting?
Outside religious contexts, come
to Jesus refers to a meeting or moment where one undergoes a difficult
but positive and powerful realization or change in character or behavior.
(dictionary.com/slang)
It’s when you are called out or called up to see the truth or faults in your own ways, words or actions. It’s like you are being called to meet Jesus to explain something.
It’s not used very often in a positive way…it’s less like a reward and more like a ‘you’ve just been paged to the principal’s office’ and the rest of the class goes, “ooooooohhhhhhh.”
The expression has morphed into being understood as a transformative meeting or moment – like a hard talk, a wake-up call, facing the facts, an intervention, seeing the light.
So, in this question, “But who do you say that I am?” Jesus, in essences is inviting us into a hard talk, a wake-up call, an opportunity to open our eyes and face the facts…and opportunity to see the light.
We talked around and through this question at our Pastor’s Bible study this week. And as we did, we realized that the question, although it is always the same from Jesus, has different answers from each of us.
And it’s a wake up call each time we hear it because it demands us to deeply and critically think about how we know who Jesus is AND how we see Jesus in the world around us.
It’s hard to answer this question because we are called to see, I mean really see, Jesus at work in the world around us….and we may not be ready to really see what Jesus is up to in the world, let alone share that with others.
We may not feel strong enough.
Or brave enough.
We may not think we have the words to tell others who Jesus is in our hearts, in our homes and in our lives because it may not be the Jesus that other people expect to hear about or that we are ready to talk about.
Yet, here we are, faced with this question.
So, friends, who do you say that Jesus is?
To be fair, if I’m going to put you on the spot, I should probably offer to go first…
I say that Jesus is a savior. One who loves us so much that he gave up his life for each and every one of us…that each life on earth may be saved.
I say that Jesus is a prophet in our midst, raising the voices of our brown and black skinned siblings so that we may hear the years and years of unjust treatment and policy. Jesus is a prophet in our midst calling us to soften our hearts and our own selfish ways to enact real change.
I say that Jesus is a prophet raising the voices of our LGBTQ+ siblings and helping us to see that each of them is made in God’s image, holy and perfect and beautiful…just like you and me.
I say that Jesus is teacher, who each and everyday has something new (or old) to teach us about God’s creation, about our relationships with God and our relationships with one another.
I say that Jesus is truth teller…calling us out for our own individual wrongdoings…and when doing so shows unconditional love for us in spite of our faults and failures.
I say that Jesus is a table
turner over-er…he’s flippin’ tables, people.
He’s shaking up the way things have been because they have not been fair for all of God’s children. And change is possible.
I say that Jesus is a comforter…a person to turn to when I am hurting, sad, angry, frustrated, feel cooped up (due to a pandemic), lonely…you name it. Jesus is ready, with outstretched arms to provide a place for respite, calm and holy rest.
I say that Jesus is justice and passion and care and presence and most importantly (to me) I say that Jesus is love.
Yes, Jesus is love.
Jesus is the love that encompasses all differences of age, gender, sexual identity, ethnicity, race, economic background, wealth and status.
Jesus is the love that heals our broken hearts, comforts our weary souls and embraces us for who we are the exact human beings the God created us and calls us to be.
Jesus is love…and so much
more.
So, friends, who do you say that Jesus is?
Take sometime this week…or tonight around the dinner table…to talk about who Jesus is to you. You are welcome to respond right now or to this post or in an email to me. I’d love to hear how you answer this question and how we as a community of faith can grow deeper in relationship with each other as we learn more about who Jesus is together.
And now may the peace, which surpasses all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and let all God’s people say, amen.
