“Who Do You Say Jesus Is?”

Scripture Psalm 124 read responsively and Matthew 16:13-20

Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ August 21, 2011

Unity Presbyterian Church ~ Terre Haute, Indiana

INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE

Psalm 124 read responsively

The psalmist is expressing a kind of gratitude for a narrow escape or a divine explanation for having avoided a complete catastrophe, but what does it mean to have God on our side when we are defeated and suffering?  It may mean we are not be on God’s side or it may mean that even when we suffer God does not abandon us.  That is good news!

¹If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—let Israel now say—

²if it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when our enemies attacked us,

³then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;

⁴then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us;

⁵then over us would have gone the raging waters.

⁶Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth.

⁷We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped.

⁸Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Matthew 16:13-20

Who do people say Jesus is? Whether you look in the Bible or seek wisdom from preachers or pundits, people say a lot of things about Jesus. He is the King of the Jews. He is Mary’s Son. He is the light of the world. He is a prophet without honor in his own country. Jesus is the one who can heal your child, cast out your demon, forgive your sins, and even lead your revolution. Jesus is the one you invite to dinner and then invite to leave the district. He is a messiah, a prophet, a rabbi, and a pain in the neck. He is alive, he is dead, he is risen, he will come again. But just for a moment let all the talk from others go.  Instead stand in Peter’s shoes and watch Jesus turn to you and ask you, “Who do you say I am?” 

¹³Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Sermon

Who do you say Jesus is: teacher, healer, savior, God? 

Jesus is not asking, “Who does the Bible say I am?” or “What is your Christology?”  Jesus is asking a personal question.  What do you believe? 

Believers throughout history have tried to put into words what it is they believed.  Such an action is called a confession.  We usually think of confession and naming our sinful nature, but   that is just a part of confessing.  First you need to say what your truth is about God.  Some of the historic confessions go back to the writings of Paul such as what is found in the Apostles’’ Creed.  The Horizon Bible Study that Trinity and Rebecca Circles will be studying this program year uses the practice of confessional writing to study the Beatitudes. Margaret Aymer the author of the study says: in the discipline of confession we practice the art of telling the truth as we understand it about God and ourselves.[1]

Reflection and being honest about what is true is a foremost action of disciples of Jesus Christ.  Especially during times when the church as a whole has betrayed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it was time to confess who God is and our sin.  The Crusades and the Inquisition are just two instructive examples of the church going very wrong.  But many of you are survivors of the battle for power in churches still today.

We Presbyterians have a whole book of Confession that seeks to state our faith and bear witness to God’s grace in Jesus Christ.  In these confessional statements the church declares to its members and to the world who and what it is, what it believes, what it resolves to do. 

When Karl Barth and his EVANGELICAL Christians in Germany took a stand against the Third Reich, an evil empire that attempted to say the church and the state were one entity, they adopted the Barmen Declaration, which resulted in Barth's expulsion from Germany and possibly the arrest and death of Bonhoeffer. The Barmen, which is now in our Book of Confessions, showed that anytime nationalism, patriotism and allegiance to Jesus Christ are combined we are on very dangerous ground.[2]

In 1986 the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa wrote a confession that confronted the sin of Apartheid. 

We believe that any teaching which attempts to legitimate ( ) forced separation by appeal to the gospel, and is not prepared to venture on the road of obedience and reconciliation, but rather, out of prejudice, fear, selfishness and unbelief, denies in advance the reconciling power of the gospel, must be considered ideology and false doctrine. Therefore we reject any doctrine which, in such a situation sanctions in the name of the gospel or of the will of God the forced separation of people on the grounds of race and color and thereby in advance obstructs and weakens the ministry and experience of reconciliation in Christ.[3]

In confirmation here at Unity, I ask the youth to write their own statement of faith which is their personal confession.  What about your confession?  Who do you say, Jesus is?  It is good for believers to not only write what they believe but to share what they believe with others.  In the discussion to clarify what one means, we can become clearer on what is important for us.  Attending an Anabaptists seminary helped me become more assured that I believe in the baptism of infants.  In my chaplaincy I worked with a Roman Catholic Priest who would refuse communion if he felt people were not right with the Church’s laws; I came to value open communion all the more.  I would not want to give up those challenging discussions that helped me come to terms about what it is I believe.  My faith did not need to change their faith to be my truth. 

Lately I have been playing with the idea that Jesus is a Spiritual Free Radical.  Free radicals in chemistry cause change, some good and in biology often not so good.  But Jesus is good, so I am still looking for term that speaks to the radical change agent for good that Jesus is for my life and I believe for the world.  Amen.

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[1] p. 11 in the 2011-2012 Horizons Bible Study, “Confessing the Beatitudes” by Margaret Aymer

[2]Commentary by Rev. Stephen Row June 23, 2011 See: http://www.pcusa.org/resource/belhar-confession/  The Theological Declaration of Barmen was written and adopted at The Confessional Synod of the German Evangelical Church which met in Barmen, May 29-31, 1934.

[3]  This is a translation of the original Afrikaans text of the confession as it was adopted by the synod of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa in 1986. In 1994 the Dutch Reformed Mission Church and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa united to form the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA).  This inclusive language text was prepared by the Office of Theology and Worship, Presbyterian Church (USA).