The Pastor’s Pen

          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.

                                                                                                                     (Mark 8:27-30 NRSV)  

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus frequently tells the Disciples and those he has cured or helped NOT to tell others about him. In scholarly circles, this is known as the “Messianic Secret.” Commentators have posited several

possible reasons Jesus wants his identity kept under wraps. One compelling reason to me is that Jesus wants or needs the time to firmly establish exactly what kind of Messiah he is. Jesus does this through his teaching and

especially by his actions including the events of his passion, death, and resurrection. According to the Gospel, Jesus did not come to lead a military revolt against the oppressor / occupier – Rome. Rather, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God redeems humankind from our own failings, our own sin. This makes it possible for

everyone to be “right” with God regardless of how wrong they have ever been.

Jesus checks in with the Disciples, not necessarily to see how he is doing at this Messiah thing, but rather to see if the Disciples are understanding Jesus in the way he wants. So he asks, “Who do people say that I am?” They have heard what people are saying about Jesus. The people, however, don’t yet recognize him as Messiah. They may still be expecting another kind of Messiah but they certainly recognize Jesus as some kind of Man of God. Then Jesus asks the Disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” According the Gospels, Peter is the first Disciple to get that that is who and what Jesus is.

We live in a time and place where a great number of people profess some kind of faith in Jesus Christ, Jesus the Messiah. And many people say that that faith informs the way they live their lives. I say it and I suspect that many – most – nearly all at Bristol UCC would say the same. The question I think we need to hear and answer is Jesus’ own question, “But who do you say that I am?” For us, is Jesus just some holy guy somehow connected to the God of the Israelites and the early Christian movement? Is he maybe only a prophet, a John the Baptist? Or is he, to us, really the Messiah of God, the one who showed us how to live in a way that embodies love of God and neighbor? And if he is the latter, shouldn’t that be how one tries to live if one claims to be his follower, his disciple? In John 13:35, Jesus says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” It seems to me that we who say we follow Jesus Christ have a way to recognize one another and keep ourselves and each other on the path that is Jesus’ Way. In love, let us live for and proclaim our loving God to the world (no need to keep the Messianic Secret anymore). In love, we should also be able to recognize those who try to use the mere appearance of being Christian to get further very un-loving, un-Christian agendas, personal or communal/political. Allowing ourselves to accept those agendas is to be lead astray. May hold strong in the faith that God IS love. And we bear witness to this truth in our own ways in the times ahead

Well, that’s what this would-be disciple is thinking about this Fall.

Blessings,

Rev Andrew