The Ven. Richard I Cluett
Matthew 16:13-2
Two weeks ago I stood here discussing the passage where Jesus said to Peter, “You of little faith”, focusing on the seemingly puny nature of his faith, at least in that moment of water walking. Today we have Peter’s shining moment when he proclaims the true identity of this Jesus of Nazareth. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Of course, if we read the story all the way through we know that Peter didn’t really have a clue what that identity would mean for Jesus, or for the disciples, or for the world. Next week he will get it wrong again, and Jesus will say to him, “Get behind me, Satan.”
So perhaps it would be good to note that Peter is not the point here. It would be useful to remember, I think, that old definition of what a saint seen in a stained glass window is. “A saint is someone the sun/the Son shines through.” And Peter was a capital S Saint.
It is also a pretty good description of what a disciple is, whether she be an ordinary day-to-day disciple or a capital D Disciple such as Peter. A disciple is someone Jesus, the Son, shines through. Maybe that’s the point here. What can we see of Jesus, what can we learn of Jesus in this person named Peter, or for that matter in the one named Alice or Bob or Sally or Fred or Rick, or…You?
Jesus asked, “Who do they say that I am.” Of course, “I am” is one of the names of God. So how many names can you come up with for Jesus; the ways people over the centuries have identified him. In scripture alone there are more than 100 names. If you are so moved, you can Google or Wiki “names for Jesus” and come up with a wagonload filled to overflowing. I could use today’s sermon time, and more, simply by reciting the names that come easily to mind.
Names such as Emmanuel, the Good Shepherd, the Great High Priest, the Anointed one, the Messiah, the Beloved, the Lamb, the Bridegroom and on and on and on. Not to worry, I am stopping.
Then Jesus asks Peter, the big one. “Who do you say that I am?”
We have been hearing all week about the great “Spectacle at Saddleback Church”, wherein Pastor Rick Warren examined the faith of the two presidential nominees, John McCain and Barack Obama. He sat them down one at a time on the stage of the church, in front of a couple thousand evangelical Christians, and some millions more watched on television. And he asked them direct questions about their faith in Jesus and how it affects their lives and how it will affect their presidency and the policies they work to put in place. The core question from which all other questions flowed was, “Who is Jesus Christ for you?”
The media pundits have parsed each word and examined each phrase. Conservatives have used their litmus tests, the liberals theirs, and the libertarians, too. I would expect that Muslims and Jews listened carefully as well, even though their names for God, Allah and Jehovah, never did come up.
Others have debated whether the questions put to the nominees for President of the United States of America were more important than the questions about leading the nation and their ideas and plans to work on problems of economy, justice, and world peace.
But for us, for you and me, regular day-to-day disciples of Jesus, the core question Jesus asked of Peter “Who do you say that I am?” is also our core question. “Who do you say Jesus is?”
What do you say to that? Can you answer that without having to resort to formulaic phrases, or if you do use them, can you explain what you mean by them? Who is Jesus for you? Really.
By virtue of being a disciple you are also a saint, one of the saints of God, someone the light is to shine through. (Light is another name for Jesus, “He is the light of the world.”) By looking at you what do we see of Jesus? By listening to you, what do we learn of Jesus?
Now, there we have it. There’s the rub. It’s come down to this, today. Can you tell us who Jesus is for you, not what others have said, but rather who he is for you? What can you say Jesus means to you? What difference is that faith making in your life? Specifically. Practically. In your real life, your day-to-day life, your behavior, your attitudes, your way of looking at things, at the world, what you do and how you do it. What can you say of Jesus? What can we see of Jesus… in you?
To whom do you testify, to what do you testify? What can Jesus build on your faith, on your life? Are you a rock? Or have you built your house on shifting sand. Wow! It’s starting to get personal, isn’t it? So much for bible stories of long, long ago. What faith story is being written by your faith in Jesus Christ?
That’s a bit daunting, isn’t it? Maybe it is too big for this relaxed time provided by the dog days of August, the last days of a summer’s respite. A bit too serious for this season of books on the beach, or hikes in the woods, or little round white balls on the golf course. Maybe we can come back to this in the fall, after vacation is over, when the kids are back in school? Maybe we can tell Jesus, “I’ll have to get back to you on that.”
Or not. Actually, it’s true that there is no time like the present, no moment better than the now.
Do you remember that parable in Matthew 25 about the ten bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom (one of the ways of knowing Jesus), about being ready for him when he comes, having their lamps at the ready, oil filled, wicks trimmed, ready to be lighted at a moments notice? When he came, some were not ready and lost out.
“And while they went to buy (the oil), the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut… Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Matt 25:10, 13
Or in Luke 12:19-20 where the rich man says, “And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” Some translations read, “… your soul is required of you.”
You get the point. The scripture brings us, today, this very day, to this question, “Who do you say Jesus is – for you?”
And how will you answer?
