“Who Do You Say He Is?”

A Sermon Preached by

The Rev. Jean Niven Lenk

First Congregational Church of Stoughton

United Church of Christ

In the process of our recent move, we managed to misplace most of Ian’s bathing suits, so last week I headed to out to pick him up a couple to get him through the last few weeks of summer camp.  To my surprise, I had to visit quite a few stores before getting my hands on what must have been the last two boys’ bathing suits in Southeastern Massachusetts.  It seems that even though the calendar says its still summer, at the mall, we are deep into fall fashion and back to school clothes.

Before we know it, we will be seeing school busses on the road again.  In our household, we will be getting used to a new morning schedule as Ian heads off to a new school in our new hometown.  These last few weeks of summer are going to be busy for many of us as we get ready for the new school year, but to tell you the truth, as much as I love the slower pace of the summer months, I will be glad to be back into a regular routine.  There is something comforting about the structure and timetables and familiar patterns of the school year. 

I’m sure that many of you have routines and familiar patterns that have become cherished rituals.  Take one away, and the morning just isn’t the same.  Our rituals sustain and give shape to our lives; they provide meaning and direct us toward a deeper awareness and understanding of who we are and what’s important in our lives.  And our rituals can renew and deepen our relationships.

A ritual for Christians is Sunday morning worship – coming together as a community in Jesus’ name to be the church, the body of Christ.  The most important and meaningful ritual in my life is the practice of getting up on Sunday mornings and coming here.  This is the place, and you are the people, around which my spiritual week revolves.  If I can’t be here with you on Sunday morning, then something is missing out of my week.  And I hope you feel the same – that being in this place, with all of us, is important to you and that when you can’t be here, something is missing out of your week.  For this is the time we come together as a family of faith; this is the time we renew and deepen our relationships – with each other, and with our God.

Soon it will be the beginning of a new church year and a new season in the life of this church.  And it’s a time for all of us to consider once again: how shall Christ be embodied in the life of this faith community?  It’s a time for us to answer the question -- through our words and deeds, through our individual lives and our life together -- “What does Jesus mean to us?  Who do we say he is?”

It’s one of the questions Jesus poses to his disciples in this morning’s gospel lesson.  After enduring the constant presence of eager crowds and the press of human need in Galilee, they retreat to the region of Caesarea Philippi, where Jesus has the chance to spend some time alone with his inner circle.  There’s a lot of speculation going around about who Jesus is and so he asks his disciples: "Who do people say I am?"

These days he might ask, "What’s the word on the street about me?  What's the buzz?  How are my poll numbers?"  But when the disciples answer, they do not give him the whole story.  They pass over the ugly criticisms that have been said.  They say nothing of those who have accused Jesus of being a blasphemer, a glutton, and a friend of tax collectors and sinners.  Instead, they tell him only the complimentary things they have heard -- that there are people who have been so impressed by his fiery earnestness that they think Jesus might be John the Baptist come back from the dead; that others have felt his rugged strength and have called him Elijah.  

Jesus then asks his disciples a more personal question: "But who do you say I am?"  Notice the difference.  The first question—"Who do people say I am?" — is not all that difficult to answer.  To find out, all we have to do is read the paper, take a poll, or conduct on-the-street interviews.  It’s all about research. 

But now Jesus is saying to his disciples, “You have heard what others have said.  You have listened to my parables and my teaching.  You’ve heard me preach; you’ve seen me heal and perform miracles.  Now it’s your turn.  Who do you say I am?" 

He has changed only one word of his question, but it makes all the difference, and the answer can’t be found in the words of others, or in books -- not even in the Bible.  Because it’s not about research.  It’s about looking deep into our hearts.  It’s about relationship, and commitment, and a willingness to be transformed. 

It’s a bit like telling someone “I love you” for the first time.  As long as you keep your feelings to yourself, you can change your mind.  But once the words have left your lips, once you have spoken the truth, there will be implications.  You’re committed, and the relationship – and your life – will never be the same.

“Who do you say I am?”  The disciple Peter, never one to be shy or hesitant, answers Jesus’ question with, “You are the Christ!”  But some people won’t go that far; they will say Jesus was a great teacher, a social reformer, a political activist, but that’s it.  Some will say he was a prophet, a miracle worker, the greatest man that ever lived – but still only a man.  But with his words, Peter powerfully proclaims, “You are the Messiah, the Savior; in you there is meaning and joy; in you there is hope and light and peace and truth!”

Jesus asks each one of us, “Who do you say I am?  Do you know me?  Are you willing to get to know me better?”  Jesus wants us to know him; he wants us to be in relationship with him, to open ourselves to being known as well, and – in that knowing -- to risk being transformed.  We do it in worship, when we gather together as a community to hear the stories of God and God’s family, to sing the hymns of faith, to pour out our prayers.  We do it through Bible studies, small groups, special ministries, and fellowship opportunities, through which we can deepen our relationships with God and with each other. 

But knowing Jesus leads to yet another question that he asks us in today’s Gospel passage; it’s not there in words, but it’s there between the lines:  Jesus asks us, "Will you follow me?  Will you follow my teachings, abide by my commandments, share my love, be my church?”

Following Jesus means being committed to being a community.  We may think that a community is a place where everyone has to get along and agree with and like each other.  But the real purpose of community is not to retreat to some place with like-minded people, but to give ourselves over to the Holy Spirit by learning how to live and work with people who may not be much like us at all, people with whom we disagree, people we may not even like!

Those who originally followed Jesus built up such a community -- one that others risked their very lives to join.  And that is the kind of community that Jesus calls us to be – a place where we see his image in our neighbor and in the person sitting in the pew next to us; a place where others can recognize him in us; a community of encouragement and healing; a place of reconciliation and forgiveness where we build each other up, not tear each other down. 

To follow Jesus means being a community in which we focus not on our individual interests or desires, but on the health and well-being of the whole.  A community in Jesus’ name is where we replace our need for control with trust; our cynicism with hopefulness; our hurtful behaviors with graciousness and kindness. 

“Who do you say I am?”  Jesus asks us, both individually and as a Christian community of faith, whether we are willing to follow him.  Are we willing to live out his commandments in our relationships by loving one another, by supporting and understanding one another, and in sharing a vision as a community of faith? 

Are we ready and willing to claim -- through our words, our deeds, our relationships, our very lives -- that we are a community that is willing to follow Jesus? 

May we prayerfully and faithfully answer, “Yes, Lord!  YES!”  Amen.