Who Do You Say I Am
August 27th 2023
Year A; 13th Pentecost; Proper 16
Romans 12: 1-8
Psalm 124
Matthew 16: 13-20
Matthew 16:13-20
When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “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, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Homily by Rev Megan Limburg
In the name of the Holy Three. Amen.
Yesterday morning I led a service at the Labyrinth celebrating the life of Dick Patteson, the brother of Trinity member, Jean Price. One of the first people to arrive at the Labyrinth was an older gentleman who came over to talk to me.
I never got his name, but he told me he had been deaf almost since birth. He went on to say that he had attended many funerals and weddings in his life, and always had to rely on the bulletin at such services because he could not hear a word.
But yesterday, for the first time in his life, he was attending a funeral with a bit of hope that he might be able to hear what the worship leader said.
The gentleman then showed me on his smart phone how, as I spoke to him, my words were almost instantly typed out on his phone. It was amazing!
He was excited to see if he could understand more of what was said in the service, and he gently joked to me, that I was the test for his new, hopeful technology.
After we finished talking, I felt a new urgency that I speak as clearly as possible in the service, enunciating my words.
He had even told me of how he frequently fought against falling asleep at a wedding or funeral, because, without getting all the meaning of the day through the spoken words, his mind often drifted off.
I wanted to do all I could so the man could actually know what was happening in a service, for the first time in his life.
I led the service and found myself conscious of the man is he sat close to the front and looked frequently at his phone. And I spoke as clearly as I could!
Afterwards, while I was greeting people, the man came up to me, elated that he had indeed been able to instantly read most of what I said. And he told me I had passed the test! He knew, for the first time in his long life, what was said in worship.
In our gospel reading today, Jesus has been traveling with his disciples; he has fed thousands and healed many of their infirmities.
As they enter a new town, Jesus is aware that there is some talk, some speculation as to who he is, as word of the miracles has spread.
So Jesus asks his friends: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
His friends get right to work, offering answers, based on the religious groups they know, based on what religious experts at the time were saying, and trying to get the right answer.
Their answers range from John the Baptist, to Elijah, to Jeremiah, to the vaguer answer: one of the prophets, an answer given in hope of getting partial credit on the test!
Jesus listens as his friends, those closest to him give good guesses, but that’s not what he wants or needs to know. So, Jesus offers his question again but in a more personal way:
“But who do you say I am?”
Jesus is saying to his dear friends, I don’t want the right answer, I want to know what you believe, what you have seen, in me.
The writer The Rev. Canon Marcea Paul notes that how the disciples answer Jesus’ question about himself, reflects how we grow in our faith, from repeating what we have been taught, to saying what we believe ourselves, what we have seen, what we know for ourselves about Jesus.
“Our explorations of faith begin with naming what we have heard, examining what has been passed down from our various traditions and reciting by rote the certainties that others have handed to us.
These answers cost us very little; they are safe and good-natured, which is all well and good as they point back to history and tradition. But they lack intimacy. Naming what we have heard from others, repeating what we have inherited from our parents, our cultures, religious beliefs, or peers are good ways to begin our explorations. However, we cannot build our lives of faith on only hearsay. Eventually, the question of who Jesus is needs to become personal.”(Sermons That Work, August 2023)
So Jesus is asking us as well as his friends:
“But who do you say I am?”
Just like the gentleman I met yesterday, we may look at the bulletin, but when we listen for ourselves, and experience for ourselves, what happens? Who do we think Jesus is?
And when we commit to connecting with Jesus ourselves, not just by hearsay, where might that lead us?
Peter speaks up in a way that we might be able to relate to, a mix of trying to get the answer right and feeling a murmur, a spark of our own faith.
Peter says to Jesus:
“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Peter has a flash of understanding, and he is commended by Jesus.
But for Peter, and all of us, check back tomorrow, see how our faith is by Monday, as shortly after this passage, Peter is rebuked by Jesus, when he wants to hear only of the glory of the Messiah and not of the pain and suffering.
We can’t grow our faith only in the past, only on what we have been told long ago by parents or handed by others or always heard.
And like my new friend yesterday, for the first time, we need to listen for ourselves and answer for ourselves when our brother and savior asks us:
“But who do you say I am?”
Amen.