21 June 1998
The search for affirmation and assurance is one of those never-ending human quests, I suppose. The question comes up in my own mind at a time like this, "What is it that people are saying about me? Am I being accepted? Are things going well? Is the going getting rough; is it getting better?" The question is always admission of a weakness and a human need — a weakness because of lack of self confidence, or not clearly true to what we think we are doing, not quite sure that the course we are striking out on is the proper course.
It is very difficult to imagine that Jesus has the same need to know what people are saying about him. Last week we asked the questions, "Who are you, whose are you, and who are you going to be?" Jesus turns the question to himself today and asks, "What are people saying about me?"
We find ourselves today in Caesarea Philippi. Caesarea Philippi was the center of power and sophistication, and Jesus turns to the disciples off by themselves and says to them, "What is it that people are saying about me?" He gets a variety of responses — not unlike one of us would get. Some say, "You are Elijah; others say you are one of the prophets, Jeremiah perhaps; others say that you are John the Baptist come back to life."
The disciples, in answering the question, have to ask themselves first, "What do I really believe about this? Elijah?" Elijah was that prophet who confronts the powers that be. He walks into Jerusalem and confronts the systems, the institutions and the national politics. He runs up hard against them and says to the leaders of the nation, "You are doing the wrong thing!" He gets chased out of town for that, too! Jeremiah, another prophet, focuses more on the personal and private side of life. John the Baptist calls for individual repentance and a public acknowledgment of that repentance.
So when people look at Jesus they see one of these three, as the Gospel tells the story. They see Jesus as one who confronts the powers that be and challenges the institutions of our time to change. They see Jesus as one who speaks only to the heart and seeks to change individuals. And they see Jesus, like his cousin John, as one who not only confronts the individual with a call to repentance, but calls us also to a public change and a public affirmation of our new direction.
He walks into this room this morning and he looks at each one of us and says, "Who do you say that I am?" It is an important question and the answer we give is even more important. Some of us will say that is a personal and private decision. After all, we live in the United States. It is nobody's business what I believe — not yours, Jesus, and not anybody else's. And we certainly don't want to acknowledge that we are a member of a denomination, because that may offend someone else who is a member of a different denomination. We have to be careful about stepping on denominational toes.
If you read the morning paper, there is a colored map of who holds sway in every county of the United States. The Baptists, as you might imagine, have more than 50% of most of the south. In our part of California, it is mostly Roman Catholic. In Utah and northeast Arizona, it is Mormon. Throughout the United States, there are different groups that represent the majority and so, we have to be concerned about not offending. Well, what we really need to be concerned about is proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jesus looks at the disciples again and he looks at Peter and says, "But who do you say that I am? I do not care so much what other people are saying — it is nice to know, but now I want to know who do you say that I am?" Peter, in his stumbling and bumbling way says, "You are the Messiah, the son of the living God. You are Elijah and Jeremiah and John the Baptizer all rolled into one and you are so much more than that. You are the one who changes lives, individual lives and societal lives. You are the one who addresses the totality of life and reconciles the differences and the distinctions between the public and the private."
Of course, in the Gospel it is compressed. Peter simply says, "You are the Messiah." And Peter had not really thought through that answer, either. You will remember in the Gospel story the next paragraph, when Jesus says this is what the Messiah is about, Peter says no, that is not quite what I had in mind. We do not have to do it that way. So Peter makes his confession of faith today without thinking about it, just as we do. And then Peter is called to live into Jesus' definition of that confession and not his own — just as we are.
So who do you say that Jesus is? A moral teacher? The social glue that holds society together? That is why we have the Book of Common Prayer, you know. The Book of Common Prayer was put out in the sixteenth century in order to unify England, because the only way to unify the realm was to force everyone to worship in the same way. And so, no matter where people went, the worship was the same. Before, there was separation of church and state, as in America, common worship was the way to unify society.
Who do you say Jesus is? Is he your business partner? Is he the one you pray to and ask for guidance when you are making business decisions? Is he your rescuer when you have made a decision that you regret later and need to be picked out of the pickle you have put yourself into? Is he your comforter when things go badly in your life? Who do you say Jesus is on Tuesday morning? Who do you say Jesus is on Friday night or Saturday afternoon? Who do you say Jesus is in school or on the job or in your home? Who do you say Jesus is when you are on the golf course, or the tennis court, or in a card game? Who do you say Jesus is when everything is well in your life, as well as in the midst of your crises? Is he still Lord and Savior — is he still your Messiah — or is he somebody you would rather have over there on Sunday?
Our Lord is not satisfied with what others are saying about him. So don't define your response by what others think, others do, or others say. Don't define your response by what you think others want to hear. Look into your own heart and answer the question that Jesus asked, "Who do you say that I am?" It is a classic point of decision for every Christian. It is a classic point of decision for every Christian community. The Church has much to teach, the community has much love to offer, but we all, at some stage of life must come to Caesarea Philippi and answer the question for ourselves and for Jesus' satisfaction, "Who do you say that I am?"
If you settle for the first answer — Elijah; know that Elijah is taken from the people. If you settle for Jeremiah — the personal side of religion; know that Jeremiah was sent into exile. Even if you settle for John the Baptist — the one who calls for individual repentance and public acknowledgment; know that John the Baptizer was destroyed.
If you really own Jesus, the son of the living God, the Messiah, then no power in Heaven or hell can ever conquer you. "Who do you say that I am"? is the question Jesus asks us this morning. It does matter what you believe. It does matter how you believe. And, it does matter what you do about it. AMEN
The Rev. Dr. Robert Certain
rgcertain@stmargarets.org
21 June 1998