Who Am I?

Now 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.
Matthew 16:13-20

Jesus took His disciples to Caesarea Philippi, about 25 miles north east of the Sea of Galilee, where the population was mainly non-Jewish; giving Jesus respite from the crowds and peace to teach His disciples.

In what is considered to be an introduction to a more important follow up question, Jesus asks the disciples who the people say He is.

Caesarea Philippi was associated with idols and temples to other gods, including a temple of white marble to worship Caesar. It is against this backdrop, amongst Gentiles worshipping multiple different things, that Jesus asked the disciples this question.

Some say the disciples took a guess at what the people thought. Some say they reported back gossip and hearsay and some say that the disciples genuinely knew what the crowds were thinking and saying. Either way the answers given were those of national reformers who stood up to corrupt rulers of their day. The Jews wanted a military Messiah who would lead them to victory against the Romans. Consequently, the general tendency of the people was to underestimate who Jesus was, giving Him some respect and honour but not to the extent due to Him and the people cannot decide who He is.

Having heard the answer to His introductory question, Jesus asked the main one: “Who do you think that I am?” Who did the disciples themselves think Jesus is? What did they believe about Him?

This is the question asked of all of us and all who hear about Jesus. We have the privilege of answering this question every day by what we believe and do. Believing Jesus is who He says He is affects the way we live and act.

Jesus had been teaching His disciples and ministering for some time. As their teacher He expected the disciples’ opinion to be their own and not influenced by the crowds hearsay.

Again, it is Peter whose answer is recorded “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. Through their time and experience with Jesus the disciples had come to understand who He was. They also needed to believe. Peter understood that Jesus was not only God’s Messiah but also God Himself.

Jesus reveals to Peter that he had spoken by divine inspiration – God the Father speaking through Peter and giving him the insight to make this revelation. Peter was blessed by both the insight itself and by how it came to him. How we identify with Jesus is based on our own personal encounters with Him, on immersing ourselves in God’s Word and in prayer. How we choose to identify with Jesus will impact the way we interact with one another and the earth.

Jesus reiterates that Simon Peter’s name is now Peter meaning rock. Peter was a rock and would become a rock as God works through Him transforming his naturally extreme self into someone solid and reliable. Jesus states that He will build His church. Not only is this the first use of the word ‘church’ in the Bible but the church belongs to Jesus. Jesus builds His church bringing His people, who belong to Him, together.

Jesus gave Peter the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, giving him the spiritual authority to open the door of salvation and lead the early church.

Peter had a special place among all the disciples and he had some privileges. He is always listed first in the listings of the disciples. He opened the doors of the Kingdom to the Jews. He opened the doors of the Kingdom to the Gentiles.

However, despite some views to the contrary, there is no proof or Biblical argument that Peter’s privilege and authority was passed on. Jesus gave Peter the Keys but didn’t give him the authority to pass them on to further generations.

Finally Jesus commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He is the Christ. Their lives speak louder than words, more truthfully and more effectively. By leading a life of love for God, a life that loves the other as much as one loves themself, and a life in pursuit of justice and peace, the truth of Jesus’s identity is declared to the world.

Jesus said to tell no-one for it was not yet His time. Now is His time. He is alive for ever more. It is time for us to spread the word in what we do and think and say.

Statue of Peter with the Keys to the Kinf(Photo by Paolo Bici on Pexels.com)

To Rise We Fall

This week we have the passage from Matthew 14 where Jesus walks on water. I have heard many talks that focus on this element of our Lord, who already showed His power over nature at The Cana Wedding before His ministry even began, walking on water.

But I put it to you that that is not what this passage is all about!

What is the biggest realisation you have received? Or, what is the lesson that has most shaped or affected you? Don’t say it out loud just think about it. We’ll come back to this later.

Jesus commands His disciples to get into the boat. He doesn’t give them a choice. Imagine you are sitting at a desk, there’s a paper face down in front of you and a pen. The teacher tells you to turn the paper over. You may not be or feel ready. You may or may not have paid sufficient attention to the lessons. But it is exam time and, for you, like for the disciples getting into the boat, the test is about to start.

In these types of scenarios you know in advance that there will be an exam or test. There is a time of learning before it takes place and, for some, the knowledge that the test is coming up will spur them to a deeper kind of learning, to pay more attention and to put more work in.

Jesus has been teaching the disciples for quite a while at this point. Some of it we are aware of from the Gospels such as The Sermon on the Mount, episodes of Jesus’s healing ministry, feeding the crowds; but there is also the wealth of teaching by Jesus that was not recorded in these four books. Now it is Disciple Assessment Test time to evaluate their progress and understanding.

The disciples’ test this week was to be in the form of a storm, not just any old storm but a monster of a storm. The word used in the lectionary translation (New Revised Standard Version) is battered. The boat is battered by the waves. However, the original Greek word used meant demonic torment. The boat was being demonically tormented by the waves. A bit more than just rough weather is being described here!

There are fishermen amongst the disciples, they are skilled at handling boats. Every skill they know for handling a boat in a storm has been tried and the disciples are exhausted. They feel they have failed, been defeated, and are full of despair. At this, the darkest moment of despair, Jesus appears!

Jesus appears at the fourth watch, between 3 and 6 in the morning. The fourth watch is a recurring time of divine encounter in the Bible. It is during those hours that God moved through the sea and delivered Israel from Pharaoh’s army. It was then that Jesus rose to pray alone and then that the stone was rolled away from His tomb.

And so, Jesus appears. In their exhaustion the disciples don’t recognise Him at first; Jesus speaks “Take heart. I AM. Do not be afraid.”

“I AM.”

These two words tell us precisely who Jesus is. We don’t need anything else – it leaves us in no doubt. Jesus tells us over and over again. “I AM” is the covenant name for God (Yahweh) in the Old Testament, a name for God the Jews were very familiar with. Those well versed in Scripture knew exactly who Jesus was saying He was.

I AM the Bread of Life. God the Bread of Life. I AM the Good Shepherd. God the Good Shepherd, I AM the Light of the World. God the Light of the World. I AM the Gate for the sheep. God the Gate for the sheep. I AM the Resurrection and the Life. God the Resurrection and the Life. I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life. God the Way, the Truth and the Life. I AM the True Vine. God the True Vine.

Jesus the I AM – before this world was formed, before Abraham, who walked on the waters at creation and rules the surging sea, the one who is everything and who can help the disciples finish this test.

Peter is the one who overthinks the test and, as the saying goes, tried to run before he could walk. Peter is doing what our Freddie does – he sees someone doing something or hears someone ask for something and has to do/have that as well. Fear of missing out or jumping on the bandwagon. Peter sees Jesus walking on the top of the water and wants to do that too.

Maybe it’s a bit like copying someone’s homework. They’ve done the hard work and all you have to do is hand it in and hope they got it right. Or maybe it’s like trying to get a few more marks for a higher grade.

Peter says “If you are I AM let me do what you’re doing”. As we know, after taking a few steps, Peter sinks. It is at that point that for Peter the lesson sinks in.

The lesson was not ‘always make sure you score extra points’ or to ‘literally keep you eyes upon Jesus’ as though faith was only a matter of improved focus or in case He disappears if you blink. The lesson is three small words that make up a heartfelt plea, “Lord, save me.”

Let us briefly revisit the questions I asked at the beginning. What is the biggest realisation you have received? Or, what is the lesson that has most shaped or affected you? Hopefully, you did think about your answer to these questions because now I want you to think about when you received that realisation or when you learnt that lesson.

Was it during a time of calm, of ease, when things were going well? Or, was it during a time of darkness, difficulty, trial and hardship?

It is always darkest just before the dawn.

Did you learn the lesson in the bright light of day or in the darkest hour of the fourth watch?

In general only a very small amount of people learn the most formative or life saving lesson or receive their greatest epiphany when things are going at their best. For the majority of people they receive the most vital epiphany or learn the most important lesson in that fourth watch during the darkest most difficult times.

This is what Jesus was doing when He commanded the disciples into the boat. He knew the lesson He was teaching them had to not only be learnt but deeply embedded within the disciples. He knew the confession the disciples needed to make to give them the solid foundation that they would need to survive what was coming. The lesson that can only be learnt in the midst of the torment storm. When all else is stripped away and there is nothing left to blind us from the truth.

Peter calls out “Lord, save me.” Jesus reaches out and catches him and they get on the boat. The disciples fall down saying “Truly, you are the Son of God.” A phrase that appears only once more in Matthew when it is spoken by the Roman Centurion at the foot of the cross.

Both these scenarios, the sea and the cross, although different are linked through this phrase arrived at through the same kind of test.

The disciples did not arrive at this answer through hours and hours of study and revision or through the teaching they had received so far. They worked out the answer because Jesus made them get into a boat, sent them into a storm and let them struggle through it until Jesus was revealed as the answer.

I AM who saves. God who saves.

When we are sinking, in the belly of the storm, or sat at the desk with the test paper; Jesus will be there, waiting whilst we use up every resource and the only answer left is those three little words: “Lord, save me.”

But once learnt that lesson lives on and holds us in the next test and the next and the next. It is the lesson that makes us fall to our knees and declare that truly, Jesus is the Son of God.

To rise we fall.

One must fall before one can rise.

Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point.
C.S.Lewis

Walking on Water through the storm. (Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com)

Calling and Love

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot and all the possessions that they had gathered and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran, and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east, and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb.
Genesis 12: 1-9

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that moment. When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. And the report of this spread through all of that district.
Gospel of Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Have you noticed how it is always busy people that Jesus calls?

When He calls us to do something, He calls us away from something else. He calls ordinary people out of the ordinariness of their lives. They are not being called because they have nothing to do and are just sitting there twiddling their thumbs. Jesus doesn’t call people who do nothing.

Every one of the disciples Jesus called were busy people and were in the middle of their normal work at the time they were called. Peter and Andrew were fishing. James and John were mending their nets. Levi (who becomes Matthew), as we read in the first part of the Gospel passage, was in the middle of his work collecting taxes.

It is not that they don’t have anything else to do. It is that the most important thing to do is to hear and obey the Saviour’s call. Jesus, our Saviour, says “Drop what you are doing and follow me”. And the correct and best response is, of course, to get up and follow Him.

Matthew did not choose Jesus. Matthew was rather busy collecting taxes and was not contemplating following anyone.

Jesus chose Matthew. Not only did He choose Matthew but He did not grant the option of thinking it over. Jesus chose Matthew and told him to follow then and there. And Matthew got up and followed Him. Jesus calls us to do the same. No thinking time. No preparation time. No advance training – the only available training is on the job as we go! Just drop everything and follow Him.

When Jesus called Matthew, Matthew got up and left his desk. He left behind the symbol of his profession and the root of his sinfulness. We are never called to something without being called away from something else. We cannot come into full discipleship if we are unable to let go of what Jesus is calling us to leave behind.

In the passage from Genesis 12 Abram is called by God to leave his country, his kin, his father’s house and travel to an unknown land that God would show him. He was called to leave his past behind and to put his trust fully in God for the future. You cannot get to what God has for you without letting go of where you are and what is holding you back and following Him. It is not what Jesus sees in us that makes us worthy of following Him, but what He puts in us when we obey His command.

Jesus also said “I desire mercy not sacrifice. Go and find out what this means”.

Hosea 6:6 says “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice.”

The Hebrew word used is “hesed”. I desire hesed not sacrifice. Hesed is translated as steadfast love, mercy, goodness, kindness, compassion and loyalty. Jesus, God, desires all these things from us; not just sacrifice. And here, the meaning of sacrifice is tithing. Gifts given to God and used to support the priests leading worship. Tithing is important to God. I remember reading about a church in Africa where, as the choir sang, the people brought their offerings to God; mostly grain and produce. The people did this with great joy and enthusiasm, giving to God a portion of whatever they had. Tithes and offerings are important to our worship and important to God. But, they are not more important than our steadfast love and mercy.

What do we tithe? What do we give to God? Is it our time? Our talents? A portion of our income or possessions? Volunteering to help our community? All of these are a form of tithe and sacrifice, but, whilst they are important to God, they are not as important as our steadfast love and mercy.

Let us imagine that you help out at the food bank on a Monday morning, preparing and handing out food parcels to the hungry. This is a tithe and a sacrifice. But, whilst you are doing this work, are you gossiping with the other volunteers? Are you speculating about our new Priest in Charge to be? Making assumptions about what he is like without having met him and without waiting to find out? Are you googling him, claiming to know all about him, his experience and his qualifications, even though you haven’t actually read his C.V? Are you judging and claiming you know precisely what he will do before he has even got here? Are you gossiping about other people you know? About those you are serving?

If so, where is the love, the mercy and the kindness? It is noticeably absent from this scenario and, sadly, it is exactly what occurred on Monday and so we pray for them.

God wants us to sacrifice our time, our talents, a portion of our treasures or income, but not at the sacrifice of our steadfast love and mercy.

Our time, talents and money are no substitute for our steadfast love towards God and our neighbours or for our kindness and mercy.

God shows us, and it is detailed over and over again in scripture, the kind of steadfast love and mercy that is important to Him. He is not asking anything of us that He has not already given us.

There is a story about Gandhi. A mother asked him to talk to her son about giving up sweets. He agreed but weeks went by. The mother asked him why he had not yet spoken to her son. Gandhi replied that he still intended to speak with her son but that he was finding it harder to give up sweets than he had expected. The mother realised that Gandhi could not and would not ask someone else to do something he was not already doing and so the conversation with her son could not take place until Gandhi himself had managed to give up sweets.

Like this story about Gandhi, God only asks of us what He has already given us. God gives us and shows us that His steadfast love and mercy for us endures forever and will be with us all the days of our lives.

God demonstrated this by giving us His Son. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believeth in Him shall not perish but will have everlasting life.

And Jesus demonstrated God’s steadfast love and mercy over and over again.

We not only have the example of the calling of Matthew in our readings but also the healing of the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years and the resurrection of the synagogue leader’s daughter.

Jesus showed the same mercy to everyone whether they believed in Him or not. His love and mercy really are unconditional and for everybody.

He called sinners, He healed the sick, He raised the dead, He spoke against injustice, He showed us how to love with a steadfast, merciful, kind, pure, good, everlasting love that knows no bounds. God loves us completely, unconditionally with an endless love that is for everyone.

Drop everything!

Let it go!

Follow Him!

The Feast of St Peter and St Paul

(2 Timothy 4:6-8,17-18, Matthew 16:13-19)

St Peter and St Paul do not have separate feast days and are celebrated together as foundation members of the church – they were instrumental in establishing and spreading Christianity They had complementary ministries with Peter often being called the Apostle to the Jews and Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Peter, originally a fisherman, was chosen by Jesus to lead His church. Paul, originally a pharisee, persecuted Christians until his conversion on the road to Damascus. Their deaths in Rome solidified their connection and their importance to the early church.

In our Gospel reading, Peter is praised for his belief and faith in Jesus as the Son of the Living God. Peter had times of doubt and unfaithfulness but the first call in his following of Jesus was to grow in the faith that would sustain his life.

Jesus withdrew from the mainly Jewish region of Galilee to a place more populated by Gentiles as a kind of retreat or respite. Whilst there He asked the disciples who the crowds thought He was – not because He didn’t know but as an ice breaker to His next question; who do the disciples say He is. And, of course, Peter answered “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”.

This question is asked of all who hear of Jesus, it is us, not Him, who are judged by the answer. If we really believe Jesus is who He said He is then that will affect the way we live.

Jesus presupposes that His disciples would have thought differently to the men of the crowds.

Jesus was a national reformer, a miracle worker, a prophet. He is the Christ.

Peter understood that Jesus was not just God’s Messiah but also God Himself. Jesus praises Peter for his bold and correct declaration. Jesus reveals to Peter that Peter had spoken by divine inspiration.

The name Peter means Rock. Peter was and would become a Rock. God was transforming his character into something solid and reliable.

“On this rock I will build my church”. Jesus is the cornerstone – the church’s one foundation. Peter was the first Rock among many Rocks. Interestingly, this is the first use of the word church in the New Testament. It came from a Greek word which just meant “group” or “called out group”.

Jesus prophesies the building of the church and claims ownership – “My church”. Jesus brings His people together, on a firm foundation, building them into something that belongs to Him and which is a stronghold.

“I will build, on this Rock, My church, the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it”.

Jesus promises that the forces of death and darkness cannot prevail against or conquer the church.

Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom. Peter opened the doors of the kingdom to the Jesus (Acts 2:38-39). Peter opened the doors of the kingdom to the Gentiles (Acts 10:34-44). Peter was allocated special privileges but Jesus did not grant him the authority to pass the special privileges or authority to future generations.

Jesus gave permission and authority to the first generation apostles to make rules for the early church. This was a responsibility of the disciple group as a whole.

Jesus told His disciples not to tell anyone He was The Christ. He was pleased His disciples were coming to know who He was in truth, but He didn’t want His identity known before the proper time.

Before they could preach that Jesus was the Messiah, they had to learn what that meant.

The Epistle focuses on Paul’s impending death and God’s faithfulness. Paul’s life was a sacrifice and his death was a transition to be with the Lord. Faith is not faith in one’s own abilities bit in God’s faith planted within us which turns us, despite the upheavals and setbacks and failures of life into faithful workers in the vineyard. It speaks of conformity in Christ and is full of verses filled of hope.

Hope in the present, seeing the world with different eyes, with knowledge that Christ is present today. Hope from the certainty that God works through Him at all times, for the community, in the community, with the community.

“The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for His heavenly kingdom”. This is the prayer of one who relies solely on God and knows that it is not his work but God who will hold him, justify him and bless him. There is no other help but what God gives.

In this promise, we are all invited to pray.

Knock Knock…

… Who’s there? Jesus. Jesus who?

…

Jesus who? This is what Jesus asks His disciples. He starts with an icebreaker – who do the people say I am?

I suspect that, like many of us would do when we are asked a searching question, the disciples may have been analysing the question to try and work out what answer Jesus was looking for.

The Bible references many identities that the people had allocated to Jesus. The disciples had lots to choose from to answer Jesus’s question.

But then Jesus asks the key question (no pun intended).

He says: “But you, who do you say I am?”

And Peter does not disappoint. Peter answers from his heart, sharing the knowledge given to him by God.

“You are the Christ”, Peter says, “the Son of the Living God”.

This is Peter confessing his faith and it is so important that it is on this faith, this statement by Peter that Jesus is the Christ, our Saviour from sin, that Jesus builds the foundation of His church – a church tasked with the mission of sharing the good news that Jesus Christ is our Saviour.

C.S. Lewis wrote:

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
Mere Christianity by C.S.Lewis

Jesus is Lord! He is the Son of God!

… So, who is Jesus to you? Don’t answer with your head. The answer is written in your heart.

Who is Jesus to you?

And now, let’s turn that around: Who does Jesus say you are?

When you leave this world, how do you want to be remembered? Will your obituary/eulogy be just a boring list of facts – born on – worked at – died on? Or will it be full of memories from people whose lives you have touched with kindness – whether you remember it or not?

Alfred Nobel was reading the morning paper in 1888. The day before, his brother, Ludvig had died. But the newspaper accidently wrote the obituary about Alfred. He was dismayed that they had called him “the merchant of death” and that it read “Dr Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.”

Nobel was appalled and this inspired him to create the Nobel Peace Prize and to donate his entire fortune to causes of peace.

Who does Jesus say you are?

Will Jesus see us as being faithful to Him? Micah 6:8 says: “This is what the Lord requires of you. Be fair to other people. Love kindness and loyalty, and humbly obey your God.”

Faith means walking with Jesus by treating others right, showing kindness and lifting up those who weary from the journey.

Jesus told us to be ready because He will come again at an hour when we do not expect Him.

Are we ready?

Who does Jesus say we are?

Talk given at Minster Abbey 27th August 2023