Pentecost 13A2023
Matthew 16:13-20
Today, Jesus turns to his disciples and asks: Who do people say that the son of man is? After they share a litany of prophetic figures from the Jewish tradition, Jesus then asks: But who do you say that I am? Peter, soon to be named the rock of the church and given authority in that church, boldly proclaims: You are the messiah, the son of the living God!
What do you think you would say? If a co-worker who was struggling spiritually asked you or if your young or adult child who didn’t understand your faith asked you: Who would you say Jesus is? How would you describe who Jesus is to you or your relationship with him?
I think I’ve shared with you that, particularly during my college and seminary years, I was not too keen on the church, that I used to walk out of worship services, that when I went through candidacy to become a pastor and the ELCA asked me to write about what I disliked about the church, I gave them a thorough, pointed list. Even today, my engagement with the church at large is critical and seeking solutions, not complacent. Make no mistake, I love the church. My love for the church is precisely the reason I spend a large portion of my breath, my time, my energy serving the church. But I have to tell you: I’m not really here because of Esperanza or the ELCA or Christianity. I’m here because of Jesus.
Jesus has gotten under my skin. I hear him preach: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, and I simultaneously adore this teaching and squirm as I consider my personal and civic relationships with people and institutions that seek my and my community’s harm.
I watch Jesus hang out with the crowds more often than he hangs out with anyone else, crowds of common people, poor, politically powerless, weighed down by disease and hunger and military occupation. And I wonder: Is my privilege getting in my way of following Jesus? Who do I ignore or discount or assume couldn’t possibly be my friend or part of my community?
I see Jesus challenge people to let go of everything else—wealth, family, other pursuits—and follow him. And at the back of my mind, the question dogs me: Does that mean giving up my pension? Really, it dogs me.
I hear Jesus plead from the cross: Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing. And besides being awed, I wrestle in real time with people and institutions that have hurt me. Even if they did know what they were doing, nothing justifies my hardness of heart. We are all of us human and flawed and shaped by forces that go beyond us. None of us escape hurting others, so forgiveness is necessary.
In every scene of the gospels, Jesus preaches, teaches, and demonstrates love, love for all humanity, which means love for me too. But he is also authoritative, meaning he knows what will bring life, life abundant, to me and all of us. Sure, I can feel free to question him, but so far, when I live in ways that are consistent with his teaching, abundant life pours forth. When I love my enemies and build diverse community, when I let go of prestigious pursuits and forgive, abundant life pours forth. And so, for me, Jesus is North Star. Yes, of course, he is messiah, son of the living God, but who do I say Jesus is? North Star, a living, breathing, walking incarnation of love that helps me find my way to love all humanity and all creation.
Who do you say Jesus is? I invite you to come to the lectern and share…You need not share a long explanation. Your sharing need not be perfect. You need not speak with any particular theological language. Just, who is Jesus to you? After each person shares, we will respond with snaps. Leave time for people to share.
Today’s gospel seems to indicate Peter gave the correct answer to Jesus’ question; for just after Peter’s testimony, Jesus gives him power and authority. Many biblical scholars and theologians have written of just this theory. They may be accurate. But the reality is that Jesus was and is a person, a figure who we don’t get to define. Jesus is who he is, whether we believe it or not. And so today, I trust that, most of all, Jesus wants less a correct answer from us and more some sort of answer at all. Who do we say that Jesus is? Because his life and ministry, his sermons on the mount and the plain, his feeding of the 5000 and countless healings, they seem to point to just one hope: that we might be in relationship with Jesus so that we might follow him, no matter who we say he is. And for that, we can proclaim: Thanks be to God! Amen.