Panzer Liturgical Service
There is no shortage in the number of ways we describe or talk about Jesus. Roget's Thesaurus lists 45 different words or phrases to describe how we as Christians, through Scripture, tradition, and experience, would talk about who Jesus is to us.
Son of God, Son of Mary, God the Son, second person of the Trinity, Word, Logos, the Only Begotten, Word made Flesh, Incarnate Son
Messiah, Son of David, rod of Jesse‑ the Lord's Anointed, Christ
Immanuel, Lamb of God, Son of Man, Man of Sorrows
Jesus, Jesu, Jesus Christ
Holy Infant, Christ Child, Child of Bethlehem
Jesus of Nazareth, the Nazarene, the Galilean
The Good Shepherd, Savior, Redeemer, Friend
Lord, Master
Rock of Ages, Bread of Life, True Vine, The Way, the Truth, the Life
Light of the World, Sun of Righteousness
King of Kings, King of Heaven, King of Glory, Prince of Peace [i]
The people following Jesus around talked about him, too. Some of them thought that maybe Jesus was the One who was promised to come. But it was probably whispered among the believers or said with scorn or disdain by those who knew he could not possibly be the one. I imagine it was something no one wanted to talk about – after all, the Roman Emperor saw himself as the One – and talk of someone else as the fulfillment of prophecy could spell the end of life for anyone speaking such sedition.
Jesus knew that people were talking about him – seeing him as the reincarnation or embodiment of past and previous prophets. But when asked by Jesus, "Who do people say that I am?" Peter didn’t hesitate - His response was unequivocal and unwavering - Peter replied, "You are the Messiah."
The word messiah had great meaning for the Jews. The Messiah was believed to be a man who would be sent by God to restore Israel and reign righteously over all humanity. The idea developed among the Jews especially in times of adversity. Jewish Messianic expectations generally focused on a kingly figure of the house of David who would be born in Bethlehem. The name Christ is Greek for "Messiah," and its definition is also described by the word Savior.[ii]
Jewish writer Elie Weisel wrote, "I think the messianic concept, which is the Jewish offering to mankind, is a great victory. What does it mean? It means that history has a sense, a meaning, a direction; it goes somewhere, and necessarily in a good direction‑the Messiah".[iii]
People were expecting a Messiah ‑ a savior. They expected that God would reveal to them the identity of this person in holy and clear events. They believed that the Hebrew Bible prophecies laid out a particular path. I’m sure the thing that held many learned people back was the obvious revelation, as we read through Mark's gospel, that Jesus did not fit the bill.
We have seen again and again that Peter isn’t always the smartest disciple in the group, but when he gets it right, he does it in a big way. Somehow, in all his bumbling and unbelief, Peter spoke the truth. "You are the Messiah,” encompassing many things. Jesus was the hope of Israel and their chance for the future God promised."
Remember, the Jews were expecting a hero Messiah who would come to save them from slavery and tyranny. Imagine their surprise when before Peter can draw a good breath, Jesus starts telling them of a future that sounds the opposite of what they expect… for the Messiah, their Savior, that Jesus talks about came to be rejected, to suffer, to die, and then be raised to new life.
And when Peter rejects that idea out of hand, Jesus rebukes him, and we begin to realize the problem that Jesus faced at that moment... that it is easier to believe in a Messiah who will come in the near or distant future because this Messiah makes no demands on our lives... but Messiah as present reality means that we have to make a decision. This is the conflict that faith-following often brings to our lives. The choice to follow Jesus is just that – a choice. And more often than not, the journey isn’t the one we expected.
Such a ragtag crew surrounding Jesus those days – yes, he was undoubtedly charismatic, healing and feeding people, and changing their lives. But more than that, he reordered life so that all of their expectations were turned upside-down. And in the shadow of his passion and resurrection, they understood life in ways that they had before. The early church grew, not because they had a great capital funds campaign or building plan. It grew because people were willing to go far and wide to share what they had experienced with Chris. They told people through their stories and writings, which were handed down to us, a picture of a messiah, a savior, who always meets our needs, but seldom meets our expectations.
After all, what kind of savior dies to gain eternal life? What kind of savior goes to that kind of death without a fight? It is the same savior who took back life after three days, redefining what it means to have new life. It is the same savior who is alive today, breathing new life into each of us. This messiah, this savior, allows us to share in his kingdom, to live in him and with him, in this life and in the life to come.
The historic definition alone cannot fully grasp our understanding of who Jesus is. We describe him as Messiah and Christ in part because we have been informed by centuries of thought from the bible itself and through the writings of thousands of people of faith who have shared their thoughts and experiences of Christ. But our personal experience of faith through our life in the church and our life in Christ must also be a part of the equation.
What a difficult concept to grasp, until we allow it to shape who we are. As children, we accept the idea of Jesus we hear from our parents and teachers. We see faith gets lived out, and it becomes something tangible, not just an idea. But eventually, at some time in our lives, we are asked to set aside our expectations of who Jesus is, and just experience him.
This happens when we participate in the work of Christ, in being his hands and feet to those in need. This happens in prayer and worship ‑‑ laughing, sharing, confessing, and listening for God's word to penetrate our hearts and lives. And because Christ asks us to follow, not just with our hearts or our minds, but with our whole lives, whatever work we take on can become the work of Christ.
The writer of James offers some of the most practical advice about how to live our faith in Christ. He reminds us that it’s all about how we treat one another – just another affirmation of the primary goal to love God and neighbor in all that we do.
People aren’t just listening to what we say – they are also watching what we do. And while many are uncomfortable with James’ emphasis on works – he is not telling us that we can work our way into heaven. But he does say that faith without works – without living in out in our daily lives – that kind of faith is not the faith that Jesus is calling us to have.[iv]
And the writer of the Proverbs begins with a plea for us to receive the Wisdom of God’s promises available to all – no barriers or pre-requisites exist. This wisdom is not just about knowledge, it is about making a conscious choice to use the gifts God has given us to care for everyone. And if we choose not to, there are consequences, not just for us, but also for those in our care.[v]
One of the reasons that people give for not following Jesus is that it will just cause too much of a change in their lives… it feels like giving up control, and that’s just too scary to contemplate most days. And they have a point. Jesus asks up to take up our cross and follow him – that seems scary at best with the potential for a fair bit of unpleasantness. But we have to remember that Jesus wasn’t left at the cross – that wasn’t the end of his story, and it’s not the end of ours.
In following Jesus to the cross, we are also following him to the resurrection, and while our lives may not look like what we expected, they will often be filled with many joys, relationships, and experiences that we never imagined. This journey is not just about faith – it is also about obedience. As we follow Christ, we not only learn more about who he is, but also who we are, and who we were created to be. Ironically, we actually become more ourselves when we think less about ourselves and more about Jesus.[vi]
As we worship in the shadow of the 20th anniversary of the September 11th tragedies, we remember many people who put others’ lives before their own… police and firefights who ran into the burning buildings, workers who helped their office mates to safety, passengers who fought back while knowing there was no way out for them, military personnel and their families who sacrificed for decades in an attempt to bring sanity to unimaginable situations.
We never know
what events will make the question and answer real for us, but it’s a good bet
that somewhere, every day, Jesus is asking us, “Who do you say that I am?” What
will our answer be? And how will anyone know if we’re not willing to put it all
out there in response?
Amen!
Peace, Deb
(c) Deb Luther Teagan, September 2021
[i]
The
Original Roget's Thesaurus of English
Words and Phrases (Americanized Version) is licensed from Longman Group UK
Limited. Copyright @ 1994 by Longman Group UK Limited. All rights reserved.
[ii]
The
Concise Columbia Encyclopedia is licensed
from Columbia University Press. Copyright @ 1995 by Columbia University Press.
All rights reserved.
[iii]
iii‑
from Interview in Writers at Work (Eighth Series, ed. by George Plimpton, 1988)
The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations
is licensed from Columbia University Press. Copyright 0 1993, 1995 by Columbia
University Press. All rights reserved.
[iv]
Pulpit Fiction Podcast – Proper 19B 9/12/21
www.pulpitfiction.com/notes/proper19b
[v]
Ibid
[vi]
Alicia McClintic, A Plain Account, Mark 8:27-39, aplainaccount.org/mark-827-38/
No comments:
Post a Comment