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Mark 8: 27-38
I wonder if Jesus ever observed the beginning of a New Year. Certainly if what that entails is a big party time, with horn blowers and hoopla, there is no record that he ever took part in such a thing. Who knows?
But if the observance of a New Year includes something deeper than that – if it involves an opportunity to reflect upon your life, rekindle your vision, and reorient your direction toward a life-goal – then Jesus surely had moments like that. And this morning’s scripture lesson may be one of those times when Jesus entered a whole new branch of his journey, with brand new resolutions. You could call this Jesus’s New Year.
And if part of beginning a new year for us is to reflect, rekindle, and reorient our lives, then it will certainly be worthwhile for us to pay attention to the way Jesus did those things; and so, beginning with today’s sermon, I would like to follow him along that new journey, looking for the lessons he taught his disciples as he went. I call them the guideposts along the way, and I believe they are the most valuable signs we could look for in our lives. The first one – the most important task we have as we journey along -- is to answer the right question. That’s the lesson Jesus was giving his disciples in this morning’s story.
Here’s how it unfolded, as told in Mark 8: 27:
“And Jesus went on with his disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do (people) say that I am?’
Almost always, that verse is read as a testing time for the disciples. They were on the spot to tell Jesus what the spin was about his ministry. But I imagine that Jesus really was curious about the answer. What Mark tells us in the previous chapters – and we have read every word of them in church over the last couple years – is that Jesus’s last couple years had been quite a whirlwind. He had attained fame among the people – so much so that he was limited in his movements; that’s probably why this scripture tells us he went to Caesarea Philippi, far to the North -- to escape the crowds. He had battled against demons, against storms, against pesky religious leaders, who were now plotting to put him to death. Whether Jesus knew that or not, he knew what had happened to John the Baptist, who had lost his head for preaching just about the way Jesus was. So Jesus knew full well the danger of his situation. In the middle of that wild time, Jesus may very well have needed to reassess his direction, and reflect on where it was leading. And his question to the disciples about what people were saying about him may have been part of that thought process. Their answers were very revealing.
Mark 8 continues: “And they told him, ‘John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others one of the prophets.’”
What we know from those answers is that all kinds of rumors and conjectures were going around about Jesus. They also let us know that he was respected – to be mistaken for John the Baptist or Elijah or some other prophet was no small potatoes. They let us know that people viewed Jesus in supernatural terms. John the Baptist, after all, was dead. If you thought Jesus was John, then you thought he was a ghost. Elijah was also long gone, but there was a belief that just before the Messiah comes, Elijah would appear again on earth. Some apparently thought that’s who Jesus was. And as far as Jesus being one of the prophets, there had been no prophets for centuries – so if that was what people were saying about Jesus, they were expecting the dawn of a new age.
How do we answer Jesus’s question today? ‘Who do people say that I am?’ Once again, it is a question surrounded by all kinds of rumors and conjectures. Historians have pretty much agreed that a person named Jesus actually existed. You may have seen in the news a couple of months ago, the discovery of an ancient ostuary – a special box for the bones of the dead – with an inscription that the bones belonged to “James, the son of Joseph, the brother of Jesus.” Those are all common names of the time, but the argument goes that there was no need to mention someone’s brother unless it was someone very special. So the fact that Jesus is named as James’s brother indicates that this was, in fact, the Jesus honored by Christians – the most important historical proof yet of his existence.
And as an historical figure, Jesus has generally been regarded with respect, as one of the great prophets and teachers of the world. In one list that rated the 100 most influential individuals of all time, Jesus ranked #7 – that’s no small accomplishment for a peasant from an obscure land.
Other world faiths honor him, even while denying some of his claims. At our district Laity Banquet a few weeks back, one of the speakers was Ralph Singh, a leader in the local Sikh movement, and he talked about a statue of Jesus that stands at the major Sikh center in Southern India. He said that at Christmas time, thousands of people gather around the statue and praise Jesus – and none of those people are Christians; they simply gather out of respect for a great teacher.;br />
We also don’t have to look too far to see the less respectful side of things. A couple months ago, in a store in San Francisco, Sharon and I ran across a large display of Jesus bobble-head dolls and Jesus action figures. While there may be nothing but pure motives and marketing savvy behind those dolls, I could not help but feel that somebody was trying to make Jesus look ridiculous. On that same trip, we ran across a poster that was for sale, with a long argument about why Jesus was gay. He did, after all, prefer the company of twelve men, and so far as we know, he never got married. So after 25 lines of so-called reasons Jesus was gay, the writer begins the last paragraph by saying, “Of course, I don’t know if any of this is true.” Well…yeah! It was nonsense. And I hold out the possibility that this writer was trying to offer a message of some comfort to gay people. But I can’t help thinking that the main purpose for writing it was disrespect.
So the answer to Question Number One – ‘Who do people say that I am?’ is almost impossible. The fact is, they say everything. It would take hours to answer it. But that’s alright. Because all along, it turns out, it was the second question that was the important one to Jesus. That second question that Jesus asked his disciples holds, I believe, the key to your life and mine, and whether our journeys will take us anywhere or not. Jesus asked his disciples: “But who do you say that I am?” The crowds, the world, may be confused, and thinking all over the spectrum about me; but you are my closest followers, the ones who have identified your lives with who I am. So who do you say?
It’s as if Jesus knew that if he could get twelve people to give the right answer to that question, then the world would be changed forever. And it is eternally to Peter’s credit that he was the first to proclaim it: “You are the Christ.” The Gospel of Matthew has Peter saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” And Christian tradition takes it even further than anything Peter could have known – this was the Saviour who would take the sins of the whole world to the cross. This was the Risen One who would overcome sin and death at Easter. This was the Lord of the universe, before whom every knee would one day bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
I suspect that Jesus would understand today that his name will be bounced all over the place, and that someone will make money on bobble-head dolls, and all kinds of posters will be written about him. But it’s that second question that’s critical: You who gather in my name, you who identify yourself as Christian, you who set out to follow me – who do you say that I am? Would we give the same answer as Peter?
In our hearts, we might say Yes. But the next passage is crucial; because it turns out that Peter and Jesus were thinking very different things. Peter was ready to declare Jesus king, and rally behind his kingly power. But Jesus, it turns out, came to die, and surrender all power to God. It was so crucial that Peter understand this difference that Jesus rebuked him harshly: “Get thee behind me, Satan. For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
So here’s the thing: if we want our life-journeys to be worthwhile, we have to pay attention to the signs that Jesus left along the way. The first and most important is to answer the right question. The right question is, “Who do you say that I am?” because what we believe about Jesus makes or breaks everything else. And to answer that question means more than to declare Jesus as Christ – it means to understand the difference between setting your mind on human things, and setting your mind on divine things.
And here’s where it gets tough. It was tough for those disciples; there’s no reason to expect it’s any different for us. If your primary faith is in the stock market, in the enjoyment you get from owning expensive toys, in your job, in the military might of the United States of America, in partying with your friends, in whatever human security you have built for yourself, then you have answered wrong. All those things may be important additions to your life, but they are all secondary on this journey. The current movie About Schmidt is yet one more example of how empty and meaningless all of those things are in the end.
Jesus needed Peter to understand that the only things that matter are the things of the spirit – prayer, kindness, love, God. And if your journey does not begin there, then it can’t take you anywhere but unhappiness.
So what it all comes down to is that we have an invitation from God: to begin this new year by journeying with Jesus down the road to true life. No other road can get you there. And to start the journey, we have to declare him Christ, Lord and Saviour of our lives. And then we have to set our sights on divine things – things of the spirit.
Let all of us be challenged to measure the moments of this coming week by one simple test. Wherever you are – at work, school, or play – at home with your closest ones or out with your friends – in the middle of the crowd or in the private moments of your innermost heart – wherever you are –
What does it mean, at that moment, that you have declared Jesus as Christ, Lord and Saviour of your life; and set your sights on the divine things of the spirit over the material things of humankind? If we keep testing ourselves on those questions, we are well on our way on a journey of faith – a journey to inner joy, peace, and salvation. And God’s power will be unleashed in our lives and in the world.
This morning Jesus asks you: Who do you say that I am?
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