Sermon Archives

Sermon for August 24, 2008

May God’s grace, mercy and peace be with all of us in the name of his son, our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

          As one who appreciates humor, I wanted to start out my message today by sharing some religious versions of the ever popular, “light bulb jokes.” You know the ones – how many Michigan football players does it take to change a light bulb? Only one, but he gets three college credit hours for it. Well, there are a slew of those jokes that center on how many members of different religious denominations it takes to change a light bulb as well. For instance, did you know that it takes 10 Pentecostals to change a light bulb? One to change it and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness. It also takes 10 Episcopalians – one to call the electrician and nine to comment on how they liked the old one better. It takes 5 Church of Christ members to change a light bulb – one to change it and 4 to serve refreshments. It only takes one charismatic Christian to change a light bulb because his hands are already in the air. It takes 6 Nazarenes to change it – one woman to change the bulb while 5 men review church lighting policy. And finally … how many Lutherans does it take to change a light bulb? None – Lutherans don’t believe in change.

          Jesus lived in a time before there were light bulbs, let alone light bulb jokes, but by asking his disciples this simple question: “Who do people say that I am?” he was setting up centuries of responses that rival the number of punch lines to light bulb jokes. He has brought his disciples to Caesarea Philippi – an area north of the Sea of Galilee which also was referred to by the name, “Paneas.” It was called this as its Greek name because it was the sight of a cave with a shrine in it to the Greek god, “Pan”. Pan was a wily little creature who was part man and part goat. Mythology says that he hung around pastures and rocky, hilly areas - the kind of terrain that was present in Caesarea Philippi. He was the Greek God of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music. You get a bit of the subtle humor when you consider that Jesus, in the heart of the capitol of Pan worship, looks around at the inscriptions and idols of the little pagan nymph and asks the disciples who it is that people say that he is. Their responses are quite serious – “Oh Jesus, some say that you are John the Baptist, or Elijah, or Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” These responses hearken back to life in their own land where Judaism is the predominant belief. But they are not in their home area, so I wonder if Jesus wanted them to consider who the pagan Romans would say that he was? A cheap rip-off of their own beloved Pan, their version of a shepherd-god? A failure since he held no stature in the Roman society? A nobody who simply enjoyed trying to get the common people to believe that they were special? One who could do some special things like miracles, but who was ultimately done-in by the powers of Rome?

          And this begs the question for today – in the midst of a world of diversity – where you can do a Google search of the name, “Jesus” on the internet and get 260 million results - who do people say that Jesus is? You could go down the list of denominations and individuals like punch lines to a joke and list them all: To the Baptist, Jesus is the one who you must accept as your personal Lord and Savior; to the Roman Catholic, Jesus is the Virgin Mary’s son; to the Lutheran, Jesus is the one who sternly ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah; to the theologian, Jesus is the salvific incarnation of the eschatological plan for God’s redemptive power for his creation. After listing these and other Christian responses, one could make comments about Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, agnostics and others who either see Jesus as a man who lived a long time ago and taught and shared great religious insight, or a fictitious man who was created by people who were trying to invent a new religion. How many atheists does it take to change a light bulb? Only one, but after he changes it, he is still in the dark!

          It is so confusing to look around and see the wide and various opinions that are around about who Jesus was and is. It has always been that way, even back to the very day that Jesus and his disciples sat down in a rocky area north of the Sea of Galilee to talk as they rested on their journey. But the question turns personal when Jesus turns to the disciples and asks them, “And who do YOU say that I am?” Simon Peter answers the question as one who has received a revelation from God: “You are the messiah, the Son of the living God.” All of us must come to this part in our lives if we are truly going to be disciples of Jesus – if we are going to look around at all of the different people who have differing thoughts about who Jesus is. We all have to recognize Jesus’ presence in our lives, especially when we think about how little we deserve the blessings that we enjoy every day. If someone were to ask me, “Who do you say that Jesus is,” I would answer in this way: “Jesus is the peace that I have experienced during times of grief when my family has lost loved ones – especially at the death of my brother and during our two miscarriages. Jesus is the one who forgives me when I neglect my wife, kids, parents, friends and parish as a result of my own self-centeredness. Jesus is the one who breathes new life into me so that I can love them with a renewed devotion. Jesus is the one responsible for new starts in my life – while growing up, all through school, family and pastoral ministry. Jesus is why I don’t worry about what I have to do to earn God’s love, so that I can do my best to be part of a gathering of people committed to sharing God’s love with each other and the world.” That is how I would answer the question at this point in time.

          If someone asked you the same question, “Who do you say that Jesus is,” I am certain that it would be much different than my answer is – and it should be because it is a question that demands an answer that comes from your personal experience with Jesus in your life. That is where Simon’s answer came from – it wasn’t something that he read anywhere, or that he heard someone say once. God revealed these things to Peter as he experienced Jesus the teacher, the healer, the one who exuded God’s authority in everything that he did.

How would you answer the question? Think about it; pray about it. I think that it is important for you to formulate the answer in your mind if you are going to be a Christian disciple in today’s diverse society, because we all need a foundation to rest our beliefs upon. And that is what Peter’s statement is – it is his foundation of faith. Bible scholars admit that most people naturally hear Jesus’ words as referring to Peter when he speaks of the rock upon which he will build his church, but the original language is rather ambiguous. Jesus could be calling Peter’s confession of faith the rock upon which he will build his church. Thinking of it in this way illustrates the vital importance that you always be in prayer and reflection, considering how Jesus is present in the events of your life , and what he means to you. That is your rock, your foundation upon which your own personal faith stands and your impetus to be part of the body of Christ, the family of disciples we call the church. Constantly clarifying for yourself who Jesus is – as much is it may change for you over the years of your life – is what is the basis for defense against the attacks from those who do not believe in God or in Jesus as well as the weapon that we have in our struggle against the presence of evil in the world.

          Yes, I said weapon. Remember, rock doesn’t only make great solid foundations, but it also makes dangerous projectiles. Jesus’ words about the how the gates of Hades shall not prevail against us is spoken in such a way as to depict the devil’s domain as being on the defensive. Gates are for protection – for keeping the enemy out. So, as we continue to pray about who Jesus is to us, we must throw rocks at the devil’s gates, so to speak. We must live out and tell forth our answer to the question of who Jesus is for us so that the gates of Hades feels a full-on assault of the love of Christ. That is the only way that those who doubt or deny the truth of the reality of our confession – that Jesus is the messiah, the son of the living God – can be led to be able themselves to answer the question with personal connection to how Jesus indeed is the savior of the world.

          Some have jokingly said that the final verse in our gospel lesson is the favorite verse of the Lutheran church – that Jesus sternly told his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah. But we must not forget how that verse was meant to be a temporary instruction for his disciples until they saw the messiah in his glory after he gave his very life for this sinful world, and was raised from the dead. Now, we have the great commission to live by – “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all people, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”That is a commission that we must be committed to always - while we are changing light bulbs and throwing rocks at the devil’s gate. May it be so, in the name of Christ our Lord. Amen.