I have some
things here, how might we describe them:
Stone –
heavy for its size, hard, cold
Bubble mix
– liquid, bottle,
Coloured
pencils – long thin pieces of wood, different colours
Rubber band
– stretches, holds things together,
Book –
pieces of paper, words, sometimes pictures
How might
we describe Jesus – told stories, broke bread, rose from the dead
…
Jesus
asks the disciples who do people say I am?
What is the word on the street?
What is the word on the street?
And the
disciples answer:
Some people say you are John the Baptist or maybe Elijah or Jeremiah or some other prophet.
Who do
people say Jesus is today?
for
some people Jesus is a swear word,
to some he is a prophet,
a teacher,
a good person,
an example.
to some he is a prophet,
a teacher,
a good person,
an example.
If
Jesus was standing here asking you that question, what would you answer? Who do
you say that I am?
…
It is Simon
Peter who answers, the one who tried walking on water, Peter who will deny
knowing Jesus, it is Peter who answers: You are the Christ, the Son of the
living God.
Well
that is all good and simple, Peter answers the question and Jesus says well
done. Does this mean all we need to be able to do is repeat the word of Peter?
Peter’s
words did not come from a book; they came from his experience of being with
Jesus, listening, watching, and being forgiven.
We can
know people or we can know about people.
We can
learn about people from books and from movies etc, the way we know about
John the Baptist, the way we know about various public figures, both now and in
history; but we do not know them.
The same
as with the stone, bubble mix, coloured pencils etc; until you hold them and
use them, you miss out on the fullness of the item. I mean bubble mix isn’t real
until there are bubbles, and if you don’t know you need to blow through the solution,
you don’t get bubbles. [blow bubbles]
Until you
put a mark on the paper with the long thin wooden cylinders, you don’t know
what colouring pencils can do, how much joy, or frustration, they can bring.
…
Yesterday
Ian and I were at the ordination of Fiona Blair at Pittwater UCA.
I
thought back to when I was ordained, just over ten years ago. I went away on retreat
for a few days before the service where I was ordained, meeting daily with a
spiritual director. I looked through the vows I would be asked to make, and the
questions I would answer in the service.
The
first question was:
Patty,
are you willing to be ordained as a minister of the Word?
I am.
[All
the questions have the answers written down, so you don’t get confused if you
are nervous.
Until
looking through the service, and reflecting on it, it hadn’t occurred to me to
think about if I was ‘willing’ to be ordained. I was about to be ordained, I knew
that, I had spent three and a half years at college, studied, participated in
field education and college life. I knew I was about to be ordained, I was
there for that reason, but was I ‘willing’ to be ordained.
The
second question was:
Do you
confess anew Jesus Christ as Lord?
And the
answer was: I do so confess.
Easy…
But
then I wondered what did I mean by saying that I confessed Jesus Christ is
Lord.
Saying
Jesus Christ is Lord is fairly easy, no tongue twisting names and all the words
are only one or two syllables. And of course, Christians believe Jesus Christ
is Lord.
I know
saying Jesus is Lord implies that I am no longer the boss of my own life, but
my experience is that it isn’t that clear cut. I am responsible for my words
and my actions, I ask the Holy Spirit to guide me, but I am still human. I know
for some people saying Jesus is Lord means that Jesus is now driving the car of
their life; but for me, I think of Jesus as the navigator, I am still the driver,
and yes, I don’t always listen to the navigator.
What
does it mean for you to say Jesus Christ is Lord?
Who is
Jesus?
We can
answer the question by speaking of his life as recorded in the Bible, we can
talk about Jesus.
Or we can
speak of our experience of Jesus, of forgiveness, grace, mercy and love.
How
would you describe Jesus to someone who never heard of him before?[i]
We could
speak of a man from the middle east, who travelled and taught and healed and
did amazing things and argued with religious officials and died on the cross. All
true, and possibly helpful, but until we can also speak of the difference our relationship
with Jesus makes in our lives, it is only part of the answer.
I wonder
if when people ask us about Jesus, they mean what is our experience, what difference
does faith make in our lives.
After Peter’s
declaration, Jesus tells him he has a new name, until know it has been Simon; now
he has a new name: Peter, which is also the word for rock. They are to be the basis
of the church, the group of people who confess that Jesus is Lord.
Then,
Jesus tells the disciples not to tell anyone that he is the Messiah, the one
people are waiting for, the one who will bring freedom.
How will
they then build the church, if they cannot speak of Messiah, Lord, Christ?
“Their
lives will speak louder, more truthfully, and more effectively than their
words.” [ii]
We need
to both speak and live the gospel.
A gospel
of love
for
God
love
for others
A gospel
of hope and peace and joy
A gospel
of forgiveness.
Let us
build a church that demonstrates belief in a living, speaking, incarnating God,
a God of freedom and not of oppression, a God of justice, love, and peace.[iii]
and may that be shown in our lives, as well as our words.
