[Is. 50:4-9a; Jam. 3:1-12; Mk. 8:27-38]
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Who do people say you are?
Who do you say you are?
Who would you like people to think you are?
Who would you like to be?
You are, I am.
I AM -in capital letters- spoke to Moses in the burning bush (Ex. 3).
Our society is one of identity and identities, real and fake.
The internet has changed how we present our identity, how we create our identity, puzzle it together.
We belong to so many organisations and institutions, so many communities, and yet so many people are still lonely; so many are unknown, unidentified, even unidentifiable.
So many people truly feel they don’t know who they are.
So many people if not most, are still struggling with their identity.
So many people find it easier to say who they are not.
Last month, we heard a lot about Jesus defining himself as the bread of heaven, identifying himself with the divine.
He has been speaking a lot about who he is, now he wants to know who other people think he is.
Is he no longer sure? Does he need validation?
Not necessarily, Jesus tends to do this, a little reversed psychology if you will, to open people’s minds, to make the disciples think, to let others get used to the idea that a new stage in the journey together is about to begin.
I am, you are.
I AM -capital letters- therefore you are too.
The Scriptures give us many names for Jesus:
Isaiah calls him Prince of peace, Wonderful Councillor, Everlasting Father, Mighty God (Is. 9).
Gabriel calls him Son of the Most High, as does the demon Legion (Lk. 1, Mk. 5).
John the Evangelist calls him the Word (Jn. 1).
John the Baptist calls him the Lamb of God (Jn. 1).
The blind beggar calls him Son of David (Mk. 10).
The Father calls him the beloved in whom he is well pleased (Lk. 3).
Thomas will call him my Lord and my God (Jn. 20).
“But who do you say that I am?”, Jesus asked, Jesus is asking.
Who is he? Who is this Jesus of Nazareth, this son of a carpenter to you?
Who do you want him to be, who will you allow him to be?
What does Jesus mean to you?
Peter declares Jesus to be the Messiah.
Now, we would probably say: ‘Good man, Peter, that’s exactly right.’
However, in those days, calling someone the messiah, calling yourself that or allowing others to call you that, would get you tried for blasphemy and stoned to death.
For Peter to make such a statement, even among friends, is a bold move.
That’s why, to keep his disciples safe, Jesus forbids them to repeat it.
We live in a place and time, where telling others about Jesus Messiah won’t get us killed.
Some might scoff, some might enthusiastically rejoice with us, some might stare at us blankly because they will have never even heard the word ‘messiah’ before, others might get really upset, etc. Like the seed that falls in many places, this message about Jesus Messiah will be received in a variety of ways, good and bad and anything in between.
But there are Christians, our brothers and sister, who suffer for his holy Name, for their faith.
This is exactly why our identity as Christians, as members of the Church may never be abused to exclude others, because our persecuted brothers and sisters know what discrimination and exclusion feel like, what they mean, sometimes even unto death.
Christians in the West have no right whatsoever to wrongly claim that they are being persecuted because of their Christian identity.
Instead of complaining, the Church in the West should concentrate on the task which God has set before us: to minister and preach to all, while lifting up in prayer, without ceasing, all those suffering because of their identity, whatever identity that may be.
Our Christian identity may never be a reason for exclusion, on the contrary, it must be a rallying point for all, also for seekers, doubters, outcasts, those we don’t like.
Being a Christian is an identity that is a gracious gift received at Baptism, and it must be lived out with the same grace and responsibility.
Being a Christian is the greatest good work there is, a work that can only be carried out because of God’s promises and commitment.
Our identity as Christians must be from the heart, it must flow through our entire being, not just on Sundays.
It’s interesting, that once Jesus’ identity as the ‘Anointed One’ -because that’s what the Hebrew word ‘messiah’ means- once that’s established, his disciples strongly object at the prospects of what this identity entails, of its consequences.
Of course, we can empathise which Peter being so upset, and we can understand that he said what he said because of his respect and love for Jesus.
His intentions were good, but his conclusion was wrong.
We can be so terribly angry, terribly disappointed when people turn out to be someone else, turn out not to be who they said or promised they would be.
We can be equally offended and outraged when groups we belong to, where we get our identity or part of our identity from let us down.
It confuses us, disorientates us.
Who am I, who are you?
And we see this here, in Peter’s reaction, when Jesus explains to them that it’s exactly because of who he is, the Messiah, the Saviour that he must lay down his own life so that all of us may live restored, wholesome, justified lives.
Who are we as Christians, as followers of Jesus, both as individuals and as a community of faith?
If the answer is a positive one, if people regard us as a group of funny oddballs who nonetheless are kind and open and loving, then we can all say: thanks be to God.
But if people regard us negatively, as closed-minded bigots they rather avoid, then we haven’t at all been listening to what Jesus has been teaching us, because just like him, the Messiah who has come to make all things new, it’s our calling to minister and serve those whom we love and those whom we don’t love even more, just like the God we claim to worship, the Jesus we claim to follow is love.
“But who do you say that I am?”
Who do you say you are?
I AM is my name, I’m existence itself and I call you to be you.
I’m the Messiah and I have come to make sure you’re free to be you.
Be human, be a Christian, find your identity in love, hope and faith.
Let your identity be a gift to the world.
And may the love of God which passes all understanding keep you hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.