Sermon - 9-15-24

Many of us have been through exit interviews. They are about how learning about how we were received. I wonder if we would ever consider asking the question, “Who do people say that I am? In other words how would people describe me. We would have to be ready for anything depending on what had occurred during our time of employment.  There are a great number of unknowns when we ask the question.

          The experiences that people have had in their lives will have an influence on their answer. If we tend to be a person who asks a lot of questions, this can stimulate people’s thinking or make people feel uncomfortable. I am a person who asks a fair amount of questions.

          It is important for me to understand where people are coming from and to try and understand to the best of my ability what they mean. Depending upon where people are at in life, it may cause someone to be uncomfortable. Thus, we would need to be ready for any kind of answers. There is the key, to be ready.

          How many of us are even ready to ask the question, “Who do people say that I am”? Would we be ready to hear the answer? It is one way to check out a person’s perception of us as sometimes we do not know. As followers of Jesus, it is important to know as we are called to let Jesus lives and shines through us.

          Jesus had been with his disciples for a while. He had been teaching them and demonstrating what it meant to follow him. Thus, to check out what they had been learning about who he was and why he was there, he asked the question, “Who do people say that I am?  Some said John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; and still others one of the prophets.

          But then he asked them, but who do you say I am?, of course Peter had to answer the question. He often experienced nervous energy. Peter said, “You are the Messiah.” Jesus sternly told them not to tell anyone about him.

          Jesus knew Peter, let alone the other disciples, probably had no idea what this title, Messiah, really meant. He began to teach them about it. He said that the Son of Man would have to suffer a great deal, be rejected by the elders, chief priests and religious scholars, be put to death and rise again three days later. Jesus said this in a very matter of fact way.

          This is not what Peter wanted hear. Peter took Jesus aside and basically said, no this is not how this works. This is not what Peter had in mind for who the Messiah was to be. Most likely no one else had this in mind either. Peter may have thought that since he had followed Jesus for a while that he could take Jesus aside and straighten him out on how he was to be the Messiah.

          Jesus turned right to Peter and said get out of my sight, you satan! You are judging by human standards and not by God’s! Peter touched quite a chord in Jesus and Jesus told him about it. Basically, that Peter was not getting it, and Peter did not really understand who Jesus was and what God’s plan was for Jesus.

          Now Jesus called the crowd together and said, If you really want to follow me, you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow in my footsteps. If you would save your life, you’ll lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you’ll save it. This was quite radical.

          Jesus was definitely not describing the Messiah that Peter, and the other disciples were looking for.  The Messiah was supposed to be a conqueror, a winner of land and people. He was not supposed to be dying and taking up a cross. The cross was the most cruel death there was and would involve much suffering. This was not their idea of a Messiah nor maybe one that they wanted to follow.

          Someone who dies and suffers, may not seem like a leader to some. A conqueror and a winner of land, people and ultimately power and control did not seem to be what Jesus was describing. I am seeing this same Messiah being sought after by people in our country today.

          This is what people have been seeking for many years. It is what people were asking God for. Jesus tried to reinterpret what God’s kingdom was to look like. A kingdom that loved and was about what was best for the community according to God and not by human standards.

          So, getting back to Jesus question, to the disciples, which includes us, is “Who do you say that I am?, is even more difficult to answer. Jesus died for the sake of others, you and me, not himself. Of course, we cannot be the Messiah, there is only one, Jesus Christ.

          Yet, we are called to follow in his footsteps and allow Jesus to live and shine through us. How far are we willing to go to follow Jesus? Where do you think Jesus might be leading us today, right now? How many would say, right here in this building? What about after that? Jesus would be leading us right back into the world. We need to figure out where and what that looks like.

          It would be easy for us to think as Peter did and figure this out according to our standards. As human beings we often take the easiest way possible. Our way of thinking is of course based upon what is going on in our individual lives right now. But I believe Jesus was trying to tell Peter that to get to how we are to follow in Jesus footsteps means that we cannot be thinking in human terms.

          Some years ago, there was a program called “The church has left the building”. It meant that on a Sunday morning instead of meeting for worship in the building, the church,  in reality, the people, went out into the world to serve by doing different projects. In a sense this is what “God’s Work, Our Hands” can be. This is an event that the ELCA suggests to do on Rally Day.

          What do you think God would say if one Sunday out of the year we would not meet here for worship? We would go out or maybe even some in the building, to do projects for the sake of others. I believe we are called to go out and connect with our neighbor. This is following in the footsteps of Jesus.

          We come here to be strengthened so that we can take up our cross for the sake of others and follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Some of us might say that the Micro Food Pantry is how we serve our neighbor. That is true, but it does not directly connect us to our neighbor.

          The Caring Committee helps us find ways,  as do the quilters, and the Parish House to meet the needs of our neighbors. Each one of these are ministries in which we meet our neighbor’s needs, but it does not always directly connect us to our neighbor. If the church has left the building, the church being the people, you and me, then we are called to be out with our neighbor.

          Even though we are not the Messiah, we are who people see or don’t see Jeus in. Following in the footsteps of Jesus is going out into the world and doing the work of Jesus. We carry our crosses for the sake of others. Jesus died for all of us and not himself.

          In our country today there are groups of Christians who view the kingdom differently then we do. They see the United States as only a Christian nation where all are not equal. Listen closely to messages coming from candidates. You will need to decide who has the message that will support God’s kingdom as we have come to know it. One of love and forgiveness and not fear. One that sees all people equal in God’s eyes. One that seems to want to use power and control to support the right for all people.

          This is what God’s kingdom is to look like. Is this the kind of Jesus, the Messiah that people see in us? I want stress here it is not something that we do on our own. This is good news as our salvation is not based on our performance. It is only by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit that Jesus lives and shines through us.

          When Jesus asks the question today. “Who do you say that I am?” The answer will be found in how we follow in the footsteps of Jesus and going out into the world in the name of Jesus representing Faith Lutheran Church to our neighbors. This is where we will meet Jesus, the Messiah and people will see Jesus in us and the kingdom of God brought to earth. This is how the question will, Who do you say that I am will be answered.

          Questioning God, you challenge us today with the question, Who do we see that you are? Peter thought he understood who Jesus the Messiah was according to his way of thinking. You sent Jesus to try and model and teach what it means to follow you. May your Holy Spirit give us the wisdom to know how to live out your kingdom in the world today modeling for our neighbors who Jesus is. As a result of how we allow you to live and shine through our lives, the question will be answered, Who do we say that you are. In Jesus’ name, Amen.