Gracious God, may your Holy Spirit meet us, sustain us, and guide us in this time of worship. May we hear your message and call to us this day. And may you encourage us, strengthen us, and inspire us along this journey of life and faithful discipleship. Amen.
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Today, we find ourselves joining Jesus and his disciples as they are walking along to their next destination and Jesus asks his them what people are saying about him. Well, some say John the Baptist, back from the dead. Others say Elijah 2.0 (the prophet for whose return they have been hoping for and anticipating for a long time). And some say another one of the great prophets of Israel.
None of these answers are all that surprising. These are some of the great leaders and teachers of their people. Hope for a great prophet’s return was not uncommon. And these are the people who throughout Jewish history have proclaimed God’s liberation, who have spoken truth to power, who have stood up for what is right and just, who have called people to account when they have neglected those most in need, and who have offered hope to the people when they have needed it.
These are things that Jesus was doing too. So, it makes sense that people are associating him with these important figures. Jesus is in good company.
Ok, so that’s the word on the street. “But who do you say that I am?” Jesus asks the disciples.
Why did he ask, I wonder. Was he testing them to see if they knew the right answer? Or was he getting at something deeper, perhaps getting at the meaning and implications of their answer? I’m inclined toward the latter.
“You are the Messiah,” responds Peter. And this is the first time in Mark’s gospel that a human proclaims this message. Jesus is the anointed one of God. That is what Messiah literally means in Hebrew and Christ means in Greek. Anointing was a common practice in the Jewish tradition. Kings, prophets, priests, and other leaders were anointed with oil as a symbol of their leadership and in affirmation that they were called by God to fulfill their role. In Mark’s gospel, Jesus’ anointing by God really took place at his baptism by John in the River Jordan when the Spirit of God descended upon him and a voice from heaven claimed him as the Beloved Son.
So, after Peter proclaims him the Messiah, Jesus firmly tells them not to tell anyone. The time has not yet come for all to know. Biblical scholars call this the Messianic secret. In the way the gospel story is told, we, the readers, are invited into the inner circle with Jesus and his disciples to hear this proclamation. Part of the purpose of that is because the gospel is always inviting us to step into the role of disciple. And, on a literary level, it draws us in. It’s not unlike watching a superhero movie and knowing, as the viewer, who Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne, or Clark Kent really are.
So, even though Jesus tells the disciples to keep this news to themselves, Jesus does go on to talk to them openly about the suffering and rejection he will endure, his death, and his resurrection. How will the Messiah, God’s anointed one, be received and treated by the powers of this world? Not well.
Peter reacts to Jesus and rebukes him (which is not something that disciples would or should typically do to their teachers in that culture). So, Jesus puts him in his place.
Peter clearly isn’t comfortable with this discussion. And I’ve often wondered what Peter’s discomfort is exactly. Maybe there are many things that are causing his discomfort. Is it concern for his friend (no one wants to imagine someone they love going through that)? Is it that Jesus is talking about this openly to the disciples at this point in time? This could be a good way to lose some disciples. Maybe Peter is worried that word will get out and that this will become a self-fulfilling prophecy that gets them all in a heap of trouble. That’s a very real and very reasonable concern. Eventually, that is where this road will lead many of them, including Peter.
Maybe it is that Peter can’t fathom, at least at this point in his journey, how God’s anointed one could be rejected and killed. Isn’t the point of the Messiah to win? Isn’t the point to save the people of Israel, to usher in the Reign of God that will upend and dismantle the powers and principalities of this world and replace them with the just and peaceful order that God desires?
It seems like a contradiction to say that the Messiah will be rejected and killed. Wouldn’t that be abject failure? If that is Peter’s concern, it is valid. Peter would not have been alone in longing for and hoping for someone to lead them into a revolution, into rising up in order to conquer and overturn the Roman Empire that occupied their territory and oppressed their people (the latest in a long string of imperial powers that did the same thing).
But Jesus is talking about a very different kind of Messianic hope. Rather than a superhero or a war hero, Jesus is a very different kind of hero. Jesus’ heroism isn’t focused on taking down the villain by force or winning a victory through violence and conquest. Jesus tells Peter that his mind is on human things rather than divine things. Violence and conquest could be some of those human things he is focused on.
The history of the world has shown us time and again that people often go for this option. It’s what leads us into wars. Sometimes it may seem like the only option to respond to tyranny. And sometimes regime changes do make things better. But war also always brings suffering too. It is complicated.
But war was not the way of Jesus, not the way of God, as Jesus understood it. Jesus demonstrated a different way to respond to tyranny – the way of nonviolent resistance.
And so, Jesus goes on to teach, not only the disciples but now to a gathering crowd as well, about the kind of heroism he does embody and the kind of heroism he is calling his followers to embody.
“If you want to follow me, take up your cross, be willing to deny yourself, even give up your life if you must for the sake of the gospel,” Jesus says.
This is not an easy teaching. And I can imagine Peter thinking to himself, “um do you actually want more followers or are your trying thin out the crowd?” Not everyone is going to see the value in this approach. And plenty of people might be scared off by it. I don’t blame them.
Suffering, self-denial, sacrifice, the path of descent (as some have called it). That is the path Jesus, the Messiah, the anointed one of God, will take. It was a pretty radical departure from expectations. And even Jesus will struggle with this path. Peter’s discomfort with this discussion foreshadows Jesus’ own struggle down the road in the Garden of Gethsemane.
And yet, Jesus also has faith that the road doesn’t end with death. Jesus proclaims hope for God’s vindication of the good and resurrection. Even though the powers of this world will succeed in killing him, they won’t have the final word. God will. And no one can stop the building up of the Kin-dom of God that has already begun. The resurrecting, creative power of God will continue to unfold in all sorts of ways. I think that is what the Roman Empire never really understood!
Who do you say that I am? All these years later, this question is still relevant. I don’t think Jesus was simply testing his disciples to see if they knew the right answer. I suspect he was inviting them to consider deeply what their answers were and how that would shape their life. Our answers still matter and still inform our understanding of faith and discipleship.
Given all of Jesus’ talk about being willing to sacrifice our own self-interest and being willing to engage in the struggle for the greater good, I think it is fair to critique those expressions of Christianity in our world that use the name of Jesus and Christian identity to amass power and wealth for a privileged few and then use that power to try to control everyone else, all while ignoring the real needs and real experiences of real people.
Unfortunately, this is nothing new. We’ve seen this throughout Christian history ever since Christianity gained societal and political power in the 4th century and it’s still happening today. And it’s not very Jesus-like.
It’s also not very Jesus-like to spread hateful lies, bigotry, fear, and scapegoat other people. There is also too much of that going on by people who claim to be Christian. Unfortunately, this is also nothing new. We’ve seen this before throughout our own history.
I get frustrated and angry about this when I see it happen. And I know I’m not alone in that (I’ve had some conversations with some of you about this). But I usually conclude that the best way we (who have a very different idea of what it means to be Christian) can stand up to these damaging versions of Christianity, is to do our best to embody an alternative.
“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked. And what does that mean for our lives?
If we want to follow Jesus, if we want to truly be disciples, we are called to the path of compassion, service, healing, bridge-building, openness, justice, nonviolence, and love. These were Jesus’ priorities.
I think these are at the heart of this congregation too.
It is hard work sometimes, this way of Jesus. But it also brings incredible blessings. Joy, renewal, hope, healing, love, affirmation, help in times of need, comfort in times of struggle, and so much more.
Who do you say that I am? It’s a question we all ought to continue to ponder for ourselves.
Jesus is our teacher, guide, and companion as we seek to discern how best to love, how best to serve, and how best to contribute to the world around us.
Jesus is the one who embodied and demonstrated God’s healing and liberation. The one who showed us the path toward true, just, and peaceful community.
Jesus is the one who embodied true power; not the power of the Caesars of this world, not those with the most money and influence.
Jesus is the one who showed us how to have courage, especially when choosing the path of descent, when choosing to work for the greater good rather than for our own self-interest.
And when we get caught up in our own anxieties, fears, struggles, hurts, and trials, Jesus is the one who reminds us always of God’s radical compassion, abundant love, and deep and abiding presence with us in whatever we’re going through and always with all of God’s beloved creation.
Jesus may not have done what some people were expecting. And he didn’t provide a quick fix that some may have been hoping for. Instead, he embodied a path of liberation for all people and all creation and invited us to follow him and join him in the journey.
And so, even though it is hard sometimes, we journey onward together as fellow disciples, embracing the path of discipleship set before us, and trusting that the Way of Jesus can lead us to a better place.
And, all the while, God’s love goes with us, holding us close, keeping us together, lifting us up when we fall, and embracing us with comfort and strength so we can carry on.
May it be so for you this day.
Amen.