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.” Matthew 16:13-16
Who do they say that I am, Jesus asked? A mixed bag of answers came back, no real clarity from the people. I mean they suspected Jesus as a prophet, some people liked prophets while others despised prophets, as they were known to bring some hard truths to the community. The disciples answered must have quickly appeased Jesus in this moment and then Jesus turns it.
Who do you say I am? This is the turning question, not just in this passage but perhaps even the turn in your heart right now too. This isn’t a contextually bound Q&A between Jesus and Peter, this is a revelatory event for you and me as well. Who do we say Jesus is? How do our lives show who Jesus is? What do people know of Jesus when they encounter you and me? Who do we say Jesus is to the world?
This is both an individual question to wrestle with and it is also one that we as the church must grapple with as well. The way we live in and with our community demonstrates whom we claim Jesus to be. Talk about pressure right! Yup, it’s true our faith and being identified as Christian, Christ followers, comes with a cost.
It’s a cost that is worth it though. It’s not the cost of whimsical worldly purchases that try to appease a void within our lives. The cost of discipleship, letting Christ move through you, is the greatest investment purchases we could ever make. And here’s why, because when we invest our lives to show Christ the true beauty of Christ, it is no longer about ourselves it becomes about we. Further, when we believe that we have the right answers or the right group of people that we associate with then we quickly ostracize folks. Here’s a great quote from Anne Lamott that helps frame this for us, “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”
Jesus came to unite to reconcile us back to one another and to God, sadly reconciling to one another is still a work in progress, and it’s up to each of us to see the worth and value of one another. Our obligation as brothers and sisters is to look at one another no matter who they are and say, YOU ARE MY SISTER OR BROTHER and I LOVE YOU!
Will you commit to doing this with me? Will you take on the challenge to daily look at your neighbors and name that you love them? I really hope so, we will be better for it if we all commit.