Sermon Ordinary 21, 27th August 2023

MAY the words of my mouth and the meditations in our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. <Amen>

A question from Jesus - “But who do YOU say that I am?”

Let me tell you some of the answers I’ve heard or read. My personal Lord and Saviour. The Son of God. God incarnate. He’s my life, the song I sing, my everything. My mate, brother, best friend. Rock, comforter, guide. Teacher. The list goes on.

At some point we’ve probably all been TOLD who Jesus is. Maybe you heard it from priests, teachers, parents, friends, or prayer groups. Maybe you read it in books, Sunday school lessons, or on bumper stickers. Maybe you saw it on Facebook, read it on the internet, or heard it in a song. Some of the answers may have been helpful. Some probably not. Some were just plain silly and some may have even been hurtful and destructive. Regardless, the question remains about Jesus … “WHO ARE YOU?”

By now most of you know me well enough to know that I don’t intend to answer this question for you. I can’t. Each of us must answer it for ourselves. The question is not, however, a theology or Bible exam. If anything it is an examination of our own lives.

I don’t think Jesus is asking us to just parrot back the answers we’ve heard or read. Maybe that’s why he pushes the disciples to move from what they are hearing around them – John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets – to what they are hearing within themselves. “But who do YOU say that I am?”

Jesus, who are you? This is not an easy question. I wonder if we sometimes too readily accept and settle for “Sunday Jesus” answers. You know, the easy, feel good, sentimental ones. The problem is life isn’t always easy, feel good, or sentimental.

It’s one thing to say who Jesus is when we are in a place of relative safety and comfort. It’s a very different thing to say who He when out in ‘the big, wide world’.

Also, the question is never merely academic or abstract. It always has a context. Here’s what I mean. For example, who do we say Jesus is:

Following the shooting of children at another school in the US?

In the midst of heated debates about gender identity and LGBTQIA rights?

Amidst the ongoing unrest in The Holy Land?

As refugees cry out in need, as people go to bed hungry, face domestic violence, or work for a wage that cannot support a family?

When a loved one dies, or the doctor gives news we did not want to hear, or our life seems to be falling apart?

Who do we say Jesus is when we are faced with decisions that have no easy answers, when the night is dark and the storms of life overwhelm us, when faithfulness means risking it all and taking a stand against a louder and seemingly more powerful majority?
Using the context of these few examples what does it mean to say Jesus is my personal Lord and Saviour, or my brother and friend? <PAUSE>

Here’s my point. Who WE say Jesus is has everything to do with who and how we are and will be.

In some ways our answer says as much or more about us than it does about Jesus. It reveals how we live and what we stand up for. It guides our decisions, and determines the actions we take and the words we speak. It describes the expectations and demands we place on Jesus. It discloses the depth of our motivation for (and commitment to) following Him, a motivation and commitment that will continually be challenged as Jesus invites us to take up our cross and die with him.

Jesus’ question isn’t so much about getting the right answer as it is about witnessing and testifying to God’s life, love, and presence in our lives and the world.

“Jesus, who are you” - is a question less about our intellect and more about our heart.

“Jesus, who are you” - is a question grounded in love more than understanding.

“Jesus, who are you” - is a question that moves us from simply knowing ABOUT Jesus to BEING Christians.

In some sense there is no once and for all, finally and forever, answer. We are always living INTO the question, growing into the answer.

Who Jesus was when I was a child is different from who He was when I was in my 30s or who He is for me today. Hopefully, who He is for me next year will be different from who He is for me today.

It’s not that Jesus has changed. I have. We are constantly engaging His question and in so doing we not only discover Jesus anew we discover ourselves anew.

“Jesus, who are you” - Sometimes MY answers were too simple, too small, too easy. They were no match for the complexities of life and the pain of the world. Other times my life has NOT reflected what I said about who Jesus is. Sometimes I kept quiet when I should have spoken up. Other times I was passive when I should have done something. Whenever I have fallen it has usually been because I was trying to play it safe, stay in my comfort zone, stay ‘in the boat’ instead of walking on the water!

“Jesus, who are you” - there is nothing safe about the question Jesus poses. How could there be? There is nothing safe about Jesus or the life to which we calls us.

Jesus’ life and presence amongst us calls into question everything about our lives, our world, the status quo, and “business as usual”. That’s why we ought not answer His question too quickly, too glibly, or with too much certainty. It’s not a question to be figured out as much as IT IS A QUESTION TO BE LIVED … and to God will be the glory.

I runga e te Ingoa o te Atua, te Matua, te Tama me te Wairua Tapu.
In the name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit <AMINE>