Who do you say that I am? In today’s gospel reading, we hear Jesus being a bit overly self-conscious about what people say about him. In our modern or postmodern world, being too conscious about oneself is considered a psychological indicator of insecurity. Jesus may have been a bit insecure about who he is and who he is called to be. Or he is somewhat ready to reveal who he really is to the disciples.
Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” What do people talk about me? How do people see me as? Who am I to them? The disciples answer him, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” These identifications with Jesus are quite understandable since Jesus behaves like a prophet. People hear a prophetic voice in him. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This question of one’s identity is not a simple matter. If I ask you to tell me who I am to you, it gives us some information about our relationship. This identity question can only be answered when there’s a relationship between two parties. If I ask Annie who I am to her, she might answer I am her neighbor. This answer might suggest that geographically we live close to each other, or spiritually speaking, she considers me as her neighbor who she is called to love as herself. Who I am to you is also about who you are to me. Who I am to you defines who you are to me. A general impression people have about Jesus is that he is a prophet. Jesus is to them a voice or a visionary or a guide. Jesus is never an object of worship and praise. It isn’t too difficult to make sense of this because we, for example, don't worship Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., our modern day prophet, though he has shown us the vision of nonviolent resistance and peace. The question Jesus raises about his identity goes to the disciples. He puts them on the spot. What about you guys? Who do you say that I am? No other disciples dare to respond, but Simon Peter who always plays a leadership role among them answers, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Though usually described as short-tempered, Simon Peter gets it right this time. Jesus answers him back with remarkable blessing and compliment, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church...” In Peter’s response to Jesus and Jesus’ response to Peter, we see their relationship. It’s not so much about a teacher and a student. It’s not so much about BFF. It’s about Jesus Christ the Son of the living God and his Church. Jesus becomes Christ to Peter, and Peter becomes Jesus’ Church. This then means that whoever considers Jesus as Christ, the anointed One, the Son of the living God becomes his Church. This becoming his Church might sound like, “If you say Jesus is Christ, you gain a membership of his Church.” I don't know how this might sound to you, but it sounds quite terrible to me, not only because confessing Jesus as Christ shouldn’t sound like gaining a Costco membership card but also it muddles our identity in relation to Jesus. The Greek term used for Church in our gospel lesson today is “ecclesia.” Its literal meaning is an “assembly.” An assembly means “a group of people gathered together in one place for a common purpose.” So if we reconfigure this meaning of Church in today’s reading, it goes like this: Jesus will build a group of people gathering together in one place on the common confession of Jesus as Christ the Messiah. This image of people gathering for the common purpose, the common confession of Jesus as Christ, the Crucified and Risen One is not so much about obtaining a membership. It looks more like gathering and celebrating God’s revelation to us and the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. More specifically speaking, it’s about the Assembly gathering for the celebration of the Eucharist. In this celebration of the Eucharist, not only do we see Jesus as Christ the very human face of God, but also we discover who we really are. We find our true identity that no matter what kind of skin color, economic status, sexual orientation or gender identity is, we are created in the image of God, we are never abandoned, and we are loved. We find ourselves as such as we find others as such. It creates a new set of human relations. Being Church is then not so much about being a member of prestigious social clubs, but communally and personally experiencing the reality of God in Jesus as Christ through the Holy Spirit. In this reality, we find ourselves being forgiven and forgiving ourselves and others, being loved and loving ourselves, others, and God deeper, creating something beautiful, something greater than ourselves as we follow the steps of Jesus Christ. The former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams expresses this reality quite eloquently: “The Christian involved in the celebration of the Eucharist is not affirming a set of propositions with the help of an audio-visual programme, but inhabiting, in speech and action, a drama which purports to ‘relocate’ him or her in the space occupied by Jesus Christ in his eternal relationship with the Father, a relocation which is enabled by his sacrificial death and his rising from the grave and ascension into heaven.” (Rowan Williams, Faith in Public Square, p. 92) Professing Jesus as Christ places you in the Assembly and relocates who you are in the world. This business of professing Jesus as Christ has never been an easy task. Throughout the history of the Church, those whom we call saints sacrificed their lives for their faith in Jesus as Christ. Let’s not forget that where Jesus asks his disciples who he is to them in today’s gospel lesson. It is Caesarea Philippi where the Canaanites built a sanctuary to Baal. In the time of Jesus, it is the symbol of the imperial cult. In the heart of worshipping imperial power, the power that be, Jesus reveals himself to the disciples by asking who he is in Peter’s profession. This is quite a provoking act of faith. Before the power that rules, the power that people worship and admire, Jesus stands alone. Peter’s confession of faith in him becomes the foundation of the assembly that worships the power of God’s love and compassion, not the power of money or politics. This act of professing faith before the powers that be isn’t a new thing. In our first lesson from the Book of Exodus, let’s remind ourselves that it is the Hebrew midwives, Shiphra and Puah, who save the Hebrew baby boys from the king of Egypt. Their fear of God, which comes from their faith in God, relocates their fear of the king of Egypt to their courage against the power that be. Their faith in God becomes God’s reason to multiply and grow the Israelites. Today, Jesus asks us the same question, “Who do you say that I am?” To answer this question of his identity and our identity in him, we want to look around where we are standing before him, what kind of world we are living in, against what power that be we are called to confess our faith in Jesus as Christ the Messiah. The world hasn’t gotten so much better as we see what’s happening in the world, especially in Charlottesville. We might have been tricked or illusioned that people were somehow getting more ethical or moral, or even more civilized. Our confession of faith in Christ assembles us as the Body and Blood of Christ and calls us to the places where hate is allowed and welcomed, where love is perceived meaningless and unprofitable. St. Paul urges us in our second lesson, “By the mercies of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God...Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. Discern what is the will of God.” (Rm. 12:1-2) It is my prayer that we may discern the will of God in which our confession of faith in Jesus as Christ become an act of protest against the evil we are facing in our communities. It is my hope that we see that messiness of God’s love in Jesus that transforms us to his broken body and shed blood for both of those who are oppressed and those who oppress, that we as the Church become the presence of reconciliation and healing to the world. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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