| Jesus went on with his disciples
to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way
he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that
I am?’ And they answered him, ‘John the Baptist;
and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ He
asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter
answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’ And
he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. |
| Then he began to teach them that
the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and
be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all
this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began
to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples,
he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan!
For you are setting your mind not on divine things but
on human things.’ |
| He called the crowd with his
disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become
my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their
cross and follow me. For those who want to save their
life will lose it, and those who lose their life for
my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
For what will it profit them to gain the whole world
and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in
return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and
of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation,
of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes
in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’ |
|
| Mark 8:27-38 |
| A few months ago I read an editorial by a man who was upset
by a biography of him available online at Wikipedia. Wikipedia
is a free-content online encyclopedia that uses Wiki software
to make online collaboration possible for those of us that
aren’t techies. Anyone can be an editor on Wikipedia.
The site grows through the collaboration of whoever wants to
log on and participate. Apparently there were factual mistakes
on this man’s biography. He felt the public was being
misinformed about him, so he got online and edited his biography.
Shortly afterwards he looked it up and found it had been edited
back again. After inquiries, he was told he couldn’t
put a block on the factual info and restrict it from future
editing. He could continue to edit, so could others. His experience
challenged his belief that free collaboration is inherently
good and that it reveals the truth. |
| You could tell from the editorial that the author felt vulnerable.
He didn’t choose to have his bio open for public editing.
He simply found his life and work listed on Wikipedia, his
biography wide open for interpretation, discussion and misrepresentation. |
| In our Gospel text Jesus risks what the man in the editorial
sought to restrict. Jesus invites reflection on his purpose
and life by asking his disciples these questions, “Who
do the people say that I am” and then “But who
do you say that I am?” Is he crazy? Which one of us wants
to hold a communal forum to tell us who we are? He invites
not only his friends to comment, but asks to hear what “the
people” say too! It’s like being famous today and
asking the tabloids to say who they think you are. Who do the
people, and you, say that I am? |
| Thus far in Mark’s Gospel, there is no clear answer
to his question, even for the disciples. The demons call him “Son
of God”, the scribes see him as possessed, his family
thinks he’s lost his mind, and the general public believes
him to be a prophet or John the Baptist or Elijah. So when
Peter gets the million-dollar question right, “You are
the Messiah, the Anointed One,” why does Jesus sternly
order them not to tell anyone? We know as readers the answer
is right. Shouldn’t this be a moment of rejoicing or
a bonding scene between the disciples and their Messiah? A
group hug seems in order, but Jesus doesn’t even give
a sigh of relief when someone finally says who he is! Instead
they are to remain silent—to hold this secret within. |
| Why this call for secrecy? I think it has to do with the
same reason the man in the editorial was uncomfortable with
his continually edited biography on Wikipedia—people
kept getting the facts wrong. What could be worse as Jesus
heads toward his cross, than a bunch of disciples who barely
have a clue of who he is shooting their mouths off when they
don’t grasp Jesus’ mission and purpose? They have
yet to accept what type of Messiah he was; they have yet to
learn to follow his way! |
| Jesus’ “way” is something other than what
a Jew of the day expected. Based on Jewish scriptural tradition
the Messiah was to come in power and royal triumph to restore
Israel. All this talk of rejection, suffering and death and
resurrection just didn’t jive. Peter tried to rebuke
Jesus for his words. You can’t suffer—this is ludicrous.
I’ll re-write that part of your bio for you, Jesus, and
make it fit the norms of what we’ve been taught. Peter’s
words fell on deaf ears. “Get behind me Peter (a.k.a.-doer
of Satan’s work for the moment)! For you are setting
your mind not on divine things but on human things.” We
learn with Peter the confession, “You are the Messiah” in
itself does not mean the confessor is conformed to God’s
will. There is so much more to being in relationship with God
than knowing words of confession. There’s a way to live.
The disciples must come to understand what proclaiming Jesus
as Christ means through Jesus’ teachings. They still
have yet to see his death and resurrection and to accept what
they witness as a way of living their lives. One of my seminary
professors has written, “How the confession of Jesus
as Messiah becomes life-giving and productive is one of the
major questions that runs” through Mark’s Gospel.
(1) |
| We are desensitized to the scandal of Jesus’ words
about suffering and cross bearing, but the disciples standing
with him that day knew they were hearing something new. They
were truly puzzled. How can a suffering Messiah, a suffering
God incarnate, save and manifest God’s glory and power? |
| We’re at a turning point in Jesus’ life in Mark’s
Gospel. As of today’s text, Jesus and the disciples are “on
the way” pointed toward Jerusalem as they travel. It
makes a difference, to the disciple and reader, what type of
messiah Jesus was and is. All the disciples glimpse in the
moment is a suffering, eventually dead Messiah. No one understands
the good of “and after three days I’ll rise again”.
Will they come to see the hope and joy of the gospel? Will
the disciples experience the journey? Mark’s gospel is
proof that they did stick around and continue to share the
story. |
| Now “But who do you say that I am?” becomes a
question for us to answer. How do we know if what we profess
and the way we live our lives is any less in conflict with
God’s will--than Peter attempting to rebuke Jesus? |
| For starters we can understand our relationship to our Messiah, “Disciples
are not to guide, protect, or possess Jesus; they are to follow
him.” …Peter and the rest of the Twelve will follow
this boundary-breaking Messiah on ‘the way’ and
embrace taking up their own cross as they set themselves on
the same trajectory of Jesus…this does not mean adopting
a posture of a doormat or giving up certain pleasures or desires.” It
means…accepting God’s claim upon our lives. (2) Sure, we follow by confession of faith, but more importantly
we answer the question of who we believe Jesus is, by living
his teachings. We’ll only know what he said and how he
lived if we read it. |
| Remember Jesus invites us to delve into his autobiography
and interpret it ourselves as the Spirit inspires us. Unfortunately
we aren’t nearly as interested in reading about the “Way
of the cross” as we are in reading or hearing about the
latest in pop culture. When it comes to the message of our
Lord and Savior we are sorely tempted to base our knowledge
on Sunday worship and culture around us. Beware; both can shape
us for better or worse! Maybe it's easier to write our own
biography of Jesus, whether it is based on the scriptures or
not, than turn to challenging words, but we’ll miss one
heck of a journey of grace if we do so. |
| For example, I could tell you this morning that to bear your
cross means suffering, lots of suffering, suffering like Jesus
did or we’re not faithful! Many have before. But another
interpretation might say this, “To be a “Christian” means
to be involved with Jesus’ cross. But what does that
mean? … For most of us…martyrdom is a slim prospect. …Taking
up your cross” (3) should be seen less as a project
than as the character of discipleship. We follow because we
trust that God will complete what God has begun at our baptism.” Taking
up our cross is the character of discipleship—trust that
God has done what is needed and persists in grace to pick us
up when we fall on our faces as we follow God’s way. |
| The story of our Messiah lives on only when it lives in you
and me. To profess Jesus as Christ is to give up the right
to define what “Christ” hypothetically means—because
Jesus defines Messiah for us through his words and deeds. God’s
Spirit now abides in us so we can continue to follow our Savior’s
way. |
| Peter’s story gives me hope. Peter barely knew what
he was saying when he made his first confession. He betrayed
Jesus and fled only weeks or months later. Yet grace persisted,
grace was raised, and Peter came to discern God’s ways
versus human ways as the Holy Spirit guided him. He learned
to take up his cross and followed the Messiah whom he proclaimed
as: crucified and risen to live and reign over all. |
| Amen |
| Beth E. Godfrey - September 17, 2006 |
| Central Presbyterian Church, Geneseo, New
York |
| (1) Fred B. Craddock, Interpretation:
A Bible-Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Luke. Ed.
James L. Mays. (John Knox Press: Louisville, 1990) 177-180. |
| (2) Brian K. Blount and Gray W. Charles, Preaching Mark
in Two Voices (WKJP: Louisville, KY, 2002) 148. |
| (3) ibid, Donald H. Juel. |
|
| Top |
