“What Is It that We Believe?”
A Sermon Preached by the
Rev. Jean Niven Lenk
Sunday, August 14, 2011
First Congregational Church of Stoughton, United Church of Christ
Text: Matthew 16:13-20
At about 3 o’clock on the afternoon of Thanksgiving Day, 1998, after I had enjoyed a lovely turkey dinner with my family, I sat down at my computer to write the most important paper of my life: my ordination paper.
My ability to put together a coherent and theologically sound description of my Christian beliefs was going to be one of the major indicators to denominational decision-makers that I was ready to become a full-fledged pastor. There was no room for messing up.
The blank white page on the screen stared back at me as I once again looked over the instructions for writing the paper. I was required to discuss my theological understanding of the following: God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit; the Incarnation and the Atonement; as well as Creation and Providence; Judgment and Grace; sin, salvation, resurrection, revelation, and the Holy Scriptures. And that was just the beginning.
As I sat at my desk staring at the computer and waiting for inspiration to come, it occurred to me that although I had taken countless courses on the Old and New Testaments, although I had read the ancient creeds and studied the works of eminent theologians and modern-day scholars, the paper that I was about to write was where the rubber hit the road, because now it was my turn. All that other seminary work was about research. Now I had to put down in black and white exactly what it was that I believed. And I wasn’t going to find that in a book. I could only find it deep in my heart.
Most of you will never have to put down in writing what it is that you believe. But if you did – do you know what you’d say? What if a stranger were to walk up to you out in the parking lot when you were leaving church this morning and asked, “What is it you believe in there?” -- would you be able to tell him?
In this morning’s scripture lesson, it is Jesus who asks the question.
Leading up to this passage from Matthew’s gospel, he has been doing things that have made people sit up and take notice: healing the sick, casting out demons, and raising the dead. And a lot of people don’t quite know what to make of him. Some think he must be insane, or an enemy of the nation, or an instrument of the devil. There are others who accuse him of being a blasphemer, a glutton, and – correctly -- a friend of tax collectors and sinners.
And so, in this morning’s passage, away from the crowds and alone with his disciples, Jesus asks them: "Who do people say that [I am]?" Passing over the ugly criticisms, the disciples tell Jesus only the complimentary things they have heard -- that there are people who have been so impressed by his fiery earnestness that they think Jesus might be John the Baptist come back from the dead; that others have felt his rugged strength and have called him Elijah, come again to proclaim the New Age.
Jesus then asks his disciples a more personal question. "But who do you say that I am?" Notice the difference. The first question—"Who do people say that [I am]?" — is not all that difficult to answer. All the disciples have to do is find out what others are saying. It’s about research.
But Jesus is looking for something deeper. And so he tells them, You have listened to my parables and my teaching. You’ve heard me preach; you’ve seen me heal and perform miracles. Now it’s your turn. Who do you say that I am?
For Jesus’ followers, then and now, this is where the rubber hits the road. Because for Christians, the essence of what we believe is captured in who we believe Jesus to be.
And there are certainly a lot of people, religious or not, who are willing to render an opinion of Jesus: the religion columnist in the local paper, the twenty-something blogger, the stylist who does your hair. In dining rooms and classrooms and in just about any context you can imagine, people say all kinds of things about Jesus. They describe him, they decry him, they defend him, the deconstruct him; they explain him, complain about him, and just plain shoot-the-breeze about him.[i]
But Jesus isn’t looking for us to repeat other people’s opinions. He doesn’t want us to answer his question with quotes from the bible or a recitation of the ancient creeds or a citation from the works of famous theologians or modern-day scholars.
No, Jesus not looking for research. He is looking for something deeper, something more personal, from us. Because for each of us, the moment comes when what other people say about Jesus no longer suffices. We can’t hide behind it nor can we pretend it’s ours because we can’t substitute what other people say for what we believe. For that, we have to look deep into our hearts, and then speak for ourselves.
Who do you say that I am? With his question, Jesus is asking us what we believe, but even more so, he is seeking a relationship with us. Because how we define him speaks to our relationship with him.
A few weeks ago I had to write a very brief profile of myself, and this is what I came up with: I am a daughter, wife, mother, sister and United Church of Christ pastor, all of which are both challenging and life-giving vocations! In other words, I defined who I was by my relationships, both with my family members and also with you.
In the same way, when Jesus asks his question, he is inviting us to consider who he is, but even more importantly, he is inviting us into relationship with him. Because Jesus doesn’t want us to just talk about him. He wants us to know him, and to get to know him better. We do that through worship, we do that when we gather together as a community to hear the stories of God and God’s family, to sing the hymns of faith, to pour out our prayers. We do it through Bible studies, small groups, special ministries, and fellowship opportunities, through which we can deepen our relationships with God and with each other. We do it when we serve as Christ’s hands and feet, reaching out in his name and with his love to a hurting, needy world.
In this morning’s passage, when Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”, Simon, son of Jonah responds, “You are the Christ!” And in the next two verses, Jesus blesses Simon and gives him a new name and new commission. He renames him Peter -- from the Greek word petros, meaning rock – and Jesus proclaims that “on this rock I will build my church.”
In one breath, Jesus asks his question, and in the next breath, he lays the foundation of his church. Because to be in relationship with Jesus means being part of his body – the body of Christ – the imagery Paul uses to describe the church. We can’t have a relationship with Jesus without being part of the community he commissioned Peter to build – the place where we see his image in our neighbor and in the person sitting in the pew next to us; a place where others can recognize him in us; a community of encouragement and healing; a place of reconciliation and forgiveness.
Who do you say that I am? In asking that question of his disciples and also of us, Jesus is not testing us or expecting us to have all the answers. He is asking us to be in relationship, to let go and to trust that he will be with us always, guiding us on our way, giving us the words and showing us the love that will enable us to look deep into our hearts and respond. Amen.
[i] Adapted from Anna Carter Florence, “Sermon: Who do you say that I am?” In Peter K. Stevenson and Stephen I. Wright, Preaching the Incarnation, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), p. 83.
