Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
Who Do You Say That I am?
Glory, fame, honor, praise, power are goals we do not normally associate with Jesus’ disciples. When Peter, rightly, proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, the context of this story points to the fact that Peter had his own understanding of the role and purpose of God’s chosen one. Peter’s understanding of Jesus’ mission was influenced and nurtured in his faith community and national hope and expectations. Peter and the disciples were not born with these ambitions. Our faith positions are years in the making, from seeds planted in faith formation experiences, stories learned at home, and local and national worldviews. Jesus asked his disciples, Who do you say that I am?
What about you? When we declare Jesus as the Messiah, are we proclaiming a false understanding, like Peter in the Gospel of Mark in chapter 8? Jesus predicts his arrest, suffering, death, and resurrection, which Peter rejected. Jesus’ story did not fit Peter’s hope and greatness that he envisioned.
Jesus rebuked Peter because Peter had in mind not the will of God, but his own. Jesus turned away from Peter and looked to the disciples and the crowd, and he told them his followers must deny themselves, carry their cross, and follow him.
Are we ready to follow the Messiah? Are we willing to shake off the myths, cultural biases, civic influences that may make Jesus the Messiah of our own making?
Peter and the disciples had to learn to allow Jesus to be the Messiah and to follow him. Let us engage the biblical story and allow God’s Spirit to guide us as we follow the Messiah.
Mark V. Breland Sr., pastor, Lititz Moravian Congregation
Lititz, Pennsylvania