Do
you remember, when you were in school, ever
being in one of those lessons where instead of putting your hand up to answer
the teacher’s questions, the teacher just picks on someone and you don’t want
that someone to be you! You know a
really tricky question is coming and as you sit there waiting to be put on the
spot, you get more and more anxious,
and
you can hear your heart pounding and the palms of your hands get clammy and
sweaty and you think that by looking down, she won’t pick on you! And as
you’re looking down you’re thinking to yourself don’t make eye contact with her! Whatever you do, don’t look up and catch her
gaze. And suddenly your desk becomes so fascinating
as you look intently at it, or you pretend you’re still writing, going over the
last word 10 times. And all the time you’re
thinking that no matter what, don’t…
look…up! And then … phew! Some other poor student who hasn’t quite
mastered the “averting gaze, looking busy avoidance strategy” gets picked
on. And you relax… and in confidence you
look smugly around the room thinking “that
was a lucky escape”.
I
wonder if it was like that for the disciples when Jesus asks them tricky questions.
In
the Gospel reading this morning, Jesus asks them two questions. The first seems straightforward enough “Who do people
say the Son of Man is?” he asks them.
That’s
ok – they’ve heard what others think about Jesus and all they have to do to
answer the question, is report back what they’ve overheard. Maybe they listened to what the crowds were
saying when Jesus healed the sick or when he fed a multitude with just five
loaves and two fishes. They heard that some
people thought he was one of the prophets; maybe people in the crowds noticed
that some of John the Baptist’s followers were now following Jesus and put 2
and 2 together and made 5. Or maybe they
connected Jesus with the prophet Elijah because they both came from the North and
were Godly, Holy men. Or maybe they
thought he was the prophet Jeremiah because like Jeremiah, Jesus opposed the
political and religious leaders of the day.
So all this was easy to report back – it was straightforward to answer the
question, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”.
But
then .. Jesus asks the ‘eye averting, looking busy, please don’t ask me to
answer that…’ sort of a question… the killer question that puts you right on
the spot. “But what about you”,
he says, “who do you say that I am?”
And
Peter, impulsive Peter, doesn’t dodge the question, he doesn’t launch into the
avoidance strategy – he blurts out what God has revealed to him, he says, “You
are the Messiah the Son of the living God”.
He’s saying, ‘Jesus, you are the Christ, God’s anointed Son - You are
the Saviour.’
And
Jesus blesses him – not for his accomplishments or his strengths as a disciple
(in fact, we know that Peter was anything but the perfect disciple, because
later he even denies knowing Jesus!) - he blesses him for his testimony or
witness to who Jesus is. His public
declaration is saying “what I’ve
experienced in you, Jesus, is that you are the Messiah. You are the one who restores my relationship
with God”.
This weekend, Patrick and I are having an
exciting time and we’re both celebrating.
Yesterday, I was ordained as a priest and today Patrick is being
baptised. These are significant moments
in our lives. Just like Peter, we are
both making a public declaration about who we believe Jesus is. So, I am going to invite Patrick to come up
here as well … and share some of his thoughts with us …
Sample
of Questions for Patrick:
When
and how did you first become aware of Jesus?
When did you realise you wanted to be baptised? What made you decide you wanted to be
baptised? Some people talk about
following Jesus as an adventure, what are you looking forward to in your
adventure?
How
are you celebrating after the service?
There will of course be ups and downs for
both of us as we continue our adventure following Jesus; there were ups and
downs for Peter too. His adventure takes
him on a journey of joy and desperation, of exposure to his short comings and
to Spirit filled excitement and as we can see from the Acts reading, to imprisonment.
Maybe you’ve experienced some ups and downs in
your relationship with God, or in your adventure following Jesus – I know I have. I was a few years older than Patrick when I
became a Christian. I was away on a
weekend with other teenagers from the church youth club. Graham, the man playing the guitar and leading
the singing, asked us if we wanted to ask Jesus into our lives. I answered that question Jesus asks the
disciples “who do you think I am?” and prayed to him as my Saviour and Lord. Incidentally,
Patrick and his family happen to have chosen a song for the service today,
Shine Jesus Shine, that was written by Graham. But, like many teenagers though, I left
church when I was 18 – I moved away from home, away from my church community,
from Jesus and from God.
But God was hanging on to me. I often describe my experience as if I was at
the end of a bungee rope, you know, those heavy duty long elastic ropes that
people are attached to when they do bungee jumping. As I seemed to get further and further away
from God, at the bottom of the fall, I was catapulted back into His arms. And, as you can see, my adventure took a
different turn!
I don’t know where you are on your adventure… Maybe as yet,
you’re not quite sure who this Jesus actually is; it’s easy to answer
the question “who do people say that I am” but when it comes to the
killer question “who do you say that I am?” that one makes you want to
look down – don’t catch His gaze!
Or, maybe for you, you’re at the end of the bungee
rope and being here today, as you look around and hear the worship, it brings
you back to your history of being in church and you’re now yearning to be catapulted
back into his arms - and who knows,
where He’ll lead you
Or maybe for you, you are settled and already
resting in His loving arms.
Where ever you are on your adventure, you can
pray that God might reveal his Son to you – and be reassured that Jesus wants
to restore your relationship with God and that as you come to know Him more, he
blesses you.
And, to start our celebrations, Patrick and I thought we’d share a DVD clip
with you – just as a reminder that it certainly is an adventure following Jesus!
Questions
1. What’s
your reaction to Jesus’ question “Who do you say the Son of Man is?”
2. Can you
identify the ups and downs of your adventure with Jesus?
3. What
aspects of your adventure with Jesus would you like to celebrate?
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