Psalm 124; Matthew 16.13-20
Who is Jesus?
Who is Jesus?
Last week Sunday, Jesus confronted - some Pharisees and scribes - offended - by his disregard for the rules and rituals of purity … they scolded him, chided him, for not doing a better job with the disciples.
Jesus has none of it … he calls them hypocrites, or in one translations, shysters … and then throws some scripture at them, a quote from Isaiah - you talk a lot about God, but your hearts are far away from God.
When the Canaanite Woman comes to him and pleads for her daughter, the disciples respond poorly - they’re embarrassed by her shameless approach to Jesus,; they tell Jesus to send her away … in so many words, she’s not one of our kind; who does she think she is?
Playing into the moment, Jesus offers up the usual “wisdom "of the day - I’m here only for my own people - which is what everyone wanted to hear, yay Jesus … but the woman persists in plea, because she sees Jesus for who he is - a man of great love and wisdom, a man who has no boundaries, and very few rules.
Jesus says to her, wink, wink, I can’t take the children’s food and give it to the dogs.
Ata boy Jesus, you tell her good … she’s a gentle dog, with no place at the table.
But the woman offers her own wink, wink, Even the dogs get the crumbs that fall from the table.
Jesus celebrates her faith, and her daughter is healed!
Who is Jesus?
In today’s reading, another encounter, this time with some Pharisees and Sadducees … they come to Jesus and ask for a sign - do something, Jesus; something to convince us that you’re from God …
Sound familiar?
Remember what happens to Jesus after his baptism? … the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness, to be tempted by the Deceiver … the two of them have a “polite” debate, like a couple of rabbis …
Jesus, who are you?
The Deceiver offers an answer - take some stones and turn ‘em into bread - I can smell it now, freshly baked, some olive oil and a few figs … that’ll get the crowd at your feet, Jesus … in no time at all, you’ll have them eating out of your hand.
Jesus counters with a simple word: no one lives by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
The Deceiver isn’t about to walk away … so the Deceiver says to Jesus - climb to the pinnacle of the temple, stand up there, wave your arms, make some noise, and then jump - won’t your Father’s angels take care of you? Think of the publicity. You’ll have the folks cheering for more.
Jesus offers his version: Don’t put the LORD your God to the test.
The Deceiver has one more card to play - a high mountain from which all the kingdoms of the world can be seen … Jesus, look - I know what you want - you want to win the world, you love all of God’s creation … I know that, and I can help you. Look - let’s just cut to the chase. Bow down to me. That’s all I ask. Not much. Just a quick nod of the head will do, and I’ll give it all to you, every bit of it. I don’t need it, I don’t want it. It’ll all be yours. And you won’t even break a sweat.
But Jesus offers another take: Worship the LORD your God, and serve only him.
With that, the Deceiver takes off, angels come to Jesus and wait on him, with much needed food and drink.
Who is Jesus?
In our readings for the day, Jesus asks the disciples this very question, what are folks saying about me, who do they think I am, what’s the latest scuttlebutt, the latest rumors?
The disciples are quick to answer: some say you’re John the Baptist, back from the dead … others hope you’re Elijah or Jeremiah, one of the ancient prophets, to bring in a new age, and put things right.
That’s all well and good, says Jesus, but who do YOU say that I am?
Peter answers quickly … Peter, the impetuous one … always quick to“open mouth, insert foot” … a man who’s mouth outruns his brain … who’s likely to think of himself first, and then spends a lot of time apologizing for his foolishness.
In this case, he’s mostly right, but as we will find out, if the words are right, Peter doesn’t understand them.
But let’s not get ahead of the story …
Peter says, You’re the Messiah, the Anointed one of God, the one we’ve all been waiting for …
Jesus blesses Peter … You’re right Peter … absolutely right … on your faith, on people like you, I’ll build my church, the gates of hell will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys - tremendous responsibility, for good, and for ill … the power is yours - heaven and earth will be shaped and moved by what you do and say.
Can you imagine what Peter is thinking?
I can see Peter now … standing two inches taller, shoulders firm, chest puffed out, a smile from ear to ear … he’s the top dog, the head banana, the big cheese, the chief, the boss, the whole enchilada.
And then something unexpected: Don’t tell anyone that I’m the Messiah. Can you keep a secret?
And why, you rightly ask?
Because Peter and the disciples need to hear the rest of the story.
Next week Sunday, the story goes on - Jesus makes it clear - Jerusalem is his destination, and it won’t go well there. He’ll suffer there in that fabled City of David, and he’ll die there, a cruel death … and - be raised again.
The disciples miss the “raised again” point, and can hear only of suffering and death … Peter protests … Jesus, as only Jesus can, tells Peter, Go to hell. You are doing Satan’s work right now; what you’re saying is a script from hell.
Who is Jesus?
There is no question more important for any of us!
And no better guide than the Gospel of Matthew … to see Jesus at work, crossing boundaries, reaching out to the lost, challenging the smug and the satisfied, pushing hard on those disciples to know that the peace of God comes with a price …
In our world and time, with the hymns we sing, the faith we hold, Jesus is the Center Point … his work, his words, his love, his courage …
Who is Jesus?
How we answer the question makes all the difference in the world … in a time of religious flux, when everything is changing, and a lot of it to the worst - the rise again of White Christian Nationalism, fundamentalists disrupting city councils, school boards and library associations … claiming sex education to be pornography, attacking transgender children and their families, going after LGBTQ persons … and the latest crime against humanity: claiming that slavery wasn’t so bad after all.
If there were a time when clarity is needed the time is now!
60 years ago tomorrow, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood in the shade of the Lincoln Memorial, and spoke to the nation:
Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
Come, and follow me, says Jesus.
To the journey:
a never ending journey …
Jesus keeps moving ahead of us,
always a few steps ahead of us,
moving toward the infinite future -
places of hurt and sorrow,
places of joy and peace …
goodness wins one day,
and evil another …
the cross is real,
but the empty tomb is still more real …
death is powerful,
but the greater power belongs to life,
to the Christ of every hope and dream,
the God of creation and covenant -
the Holy Spirit of flame and faith …
to this God,
to this Christ,
to this Spirit,
we belong … and for this love, this hope and grace, this everlasting goodness, we dare to dream, the dreams of a better world.
Amen and Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment