What Does It Mean To Be Ready
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
The fact that such a beloved spokesperson for animals, Steve Irwin, died in such an accident, although he took many precautions, brings home to many that it is never too late to make right with God. To have the wisdom to look over your life and make changes that are good for God, family, community, and self. Everyone needs to prepare themselves to answer the question: "Who do you say that I am?" Below is The Immediate Word for Mark 8:27-38 with a response from Paul Bresnahan. Also included are illustrations, a liturgy, and a children's sermon.
What Does It Mean To Be Ready
THE WORLD
Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, was killed in a freak accident with what most consider a very placid animal -- a stingray. Despite its ominous name and poisonous barb, stingray attacks are very rare.
With this news report, not only do we mourn the loss of an international celebrity and a vivacious entertainer but we also come face to face with something much more personal. If an "expert" on exotic and dangerous animals can die in this most unpredictable manner, what chances do we have with everyday life? A simple drive down to the grocery store or a routine ladder climb to clean the gutters or an annual physical with the family doctor -- what do we take for granted? We might not be wrestling crocodiles or swimming with sharks but if Irwin can die in an environment where he is an "expert," what risks do we take every day with our own fleeting mortality?
THE WORD
The setting for the reading in Mark 8 is Caesarea Philippi. This is significant. Up to this point, Jesus' popularity had grown. He was known as a teacher, healer, and miracle worker. But now time was running out. He must soon travel to Jerusalem to face his destiny on the cross. But first he must draw a line in the sand for his disciples. So Jesus chooses Caesarea Philippi as the backdrop for a very important question, "Who do people say that I am?" Why Caesarea? Because it was a city filled with religious options. They had a great white marble temple dedicated to the worship of Caesar. According to Greek mythology, this was the birthplace of Pan, the god of nature. And, it was an ancient site for Baal worship. Standing in the middle of all these options, Jesus asked the question, "Who do people say that I am?" It is a fair question. He is asking the disciples what they are hearing on the street. What are people saying?
Many offer a guess: John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets. There are a lot of rumors spreading around -- particularly in the eclectic city of Caesarea Philippi. But then Jesus rephrases the question. "Who do you say that I am?" That is a more important question. It is a question that all of us must answer one day either on this side or the other side of Paradise. With so many options surrounding you, who do you say that I am? Not what your church teaches or what your parents say or what your pastor preaches. But you, who do you say that I am? There comes a time in which we can no longer dodge that question.
It is finally Peter who hits it on the head. "You are the Christ." Good answer, Peter. You would expect Jesus' closest friend and future leader of the church to get it right. "You are the Christ." With so many options available to him, Peter chose wisely.
And then Jesus goes on to define just what that means to be the Christ. It means that he must suffer, be rejected, and killed by the religious leaders. It means that he must be torn away from his disciples. It means that he will never ride the white horse, never defeat Rome, never rule over Israel, and never appoint them as cabinet leaders of his new administration.
Do you see? Peter answered with the right word but he had no idea what that meant. So he rebukes Jesus. He rebukes him. Don't let that strong word pass too quickly. That is a harsh word. You rebuke demons when you cast them out. You rebuke sinners by pointing out their faults. You rebuke the disobedient to get them to toe the line. And Peter rebukes Jesus, "God forbid, Lord. This shall never happen to you." Handed over? Suffer? Die? I've left everything for you. We are on a roll. The people are behind us. Rome is scared. The time is right. Don't talk nonsense, Jesus. Surely there has to be a different way, a safer way, a more reasonable way than a cross. God forbid, Lord.
Jesus returned fire and, using the same word, he rebuked Peter. And not only did Jesus rebuke Peter but he called him the worst name in the book, "Satan. Get behind me, Satan. For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of people.
Why so harsh? Because Peter is doing the very thing Satan did -- tempting Jesus to settle for an easier and safer path. And what better tactic of Satan than to get your best friend, Peter, the Rock of the church, to talk you out of a cross? Peter is only doing Jesus a favor. Peter is only looking out for Jesus' best interest. No one seeks out a cross, not even Jesus! A cross is to be avoided at all costs. Surely there must be an easier, safer way than a cross! But Jesus didn't come to this world to be easy and safe. He came to die.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Everyday, we are surrounded by spiritual options. In fact, compared to Caesarea Philippi, our options are far greater in number. When does that day come in which you draw a line in the sand and proclaim who Jesus is? Not what your parents believe. Not what your denomination teaches. Not what your pastor preaches. "But you. Who do you say that I am?"
I suspect for many people, they leave that question unanswered. After all, there doesn't seem to be any pressing reason to take that stand. Not yet, anyway. Unless you are well advanced in years or battling a life threatening disease, the urgency for most of us is lost. And so we dodge the question yet one more time.
And then we hear about Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. One instant he is talking wide-eyed into the camera, amazed at how beautiful this huge stingray is and how it appears to fly effortlessly through the water. The next instant he is pulling a poisonous barb out of his chest. Once we get over the initial shock and the news coverage there comes that moment when you realize how fragile life is. None of us knows the moment. None of us can count our finale breath. It happens in a blink of an eye. For that reason alone we do well to be ready.
What does that mean, to be ready? Certainly it means to work on mending relationship and righting that which is wrong. Certainly it means to work towards peace and justice. Certainly that means a life of serving rather than being served. But our gospel text reminds us that there is one more thing that should be at the top of our list for preparedness -- one more thing that can no longer be avoided, and that is an answer to Jesus' most pointed and direct question, "Who do you say that I am?"
But lest you think that your answer will determine your eternal destination, remember that Peter got it right -- and wrong at the same time. He got the word right -- Jesus is the Christ. He just had no idea what that mean. And yet God took this uneducated, impetuous, bumbling idiot of a fisherman and built a church.
If God can do great things with the likes of Peter, what things does he have in store for you? We are all cracked vessels. We all see through a mirror dimly. We all get it wrong at times. And yet God's grace comes to us despite our "correct" answer. However, it is standing in the midst of our pluralistic society with so many spiritual options that our God, who is a jealous God, asks us today, "Whom will you serve? In whom will you believe? In whom will you put your eternal trust?"
With life being so fragile and unpredictable, we do well to pause today and answer that most important question asked of Jesus, "Who do you say that I am?"
ANOTHER VIEW
By Paul Bresnahan
The Holy Wisdom Of God
There is an especially beautiful quality to Wisdom as we read about her in the scripture today. The Wisdom of God takes on a feminine dimension in the holy writings. In Greek the name for Wisdom is "Sophia." She is extolled with pure poetic devotion in today's lesson from the Wisdom of Solomon.
She is more beautiful than the sun,
and excels every constellation of the stars.
Compared with the light she is found to be superior,
for it is succeeded by the night,
In these words from "The Wisdom of Solomon" she is pure poetry. Anyone who devotes himself or herself to the acquisition of Wisdom will find a blessing from God, and will be loved by God in a way that we don't often hear about in the scripture. Usually the biblical mandate goes the other way around. We are usually the ones called on to love God. But in this instance, once we are devoted to Wisdom, something especially beautiful happens to us.
In every generation she passes into holy souls
and makes them friends of God, and prophets;
for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.
We are told that anyone who seeks Wisdom will look closely into the nature of God's very being because what we see there is a reflection of the Glory of God.
For wisdom is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of his goodness.
To many, thinking of God in the feminine has a dissonant sound to it. In Protestant Christianity we tend to have a more masculine image for God in our mind's eye. We think more of the "Mighty Fortress" mould when we think of God. Even in Catholic theology we have an exquisite image of God in the Sistine Chapel in which God's finger reaches out in a powerful and dynamic way to Adam. There the spark of life is given in the Mighty Act of Creation. You cannot get much more masculine than that image.
But there are more feminine forms in our imagery for God as well. There is the fact of the Holy Family, for instance. There is the Holiness of Mary, a pure virgin giving birth to the Savior of the world. She is held in deep reverence by many particularly in Eastern Christianity and by our friends in Roman Catholicism. In the former we have the cult of the "Theotokos" or the Mother of God, and in the latter we have the cult of Mary itself. These devotions are not tangential to faith but are at the core of how millions understand the divinity of God.
In Eastern Christianity, which found its center in Constantinople for hundreds of years, a magnificent church was built under the authority of the Justinian in 537A.D. She was dedicated to the "Hagia Sophia" or the to the "Holy Wisdom of God." When the Byzantine Church lost that building to the Islamic world in 1453A.D. the Orthodox world suffered a loss that it has never quite recovered from. Orthodoxy's devotion to the Holy Wisdom of God has never abated. And the scripture commends it to the faithful throughout the Christian world. In fact the notion of wisdom is not just found in Apocryphal literature in the Bible, but is mentioned 174 times throughout the biblical text. Thus our love for the Holy Wisdom of God is very much in the mainstream of our theological view of God. And it gives a lovely and gracious balance to our predominantly masculine theological bias. And Sophia is poetically reflective of the Glory of God.
Wisdom continues to be near to the heart of Christian folk both in the East and to the West. The Wisdom of Solomon will always strike a deeply resonant sound to the ear and to the soul of the Christian world. If ever there were a time for a recovery of the notion of the Holy Wisdom of God, now is the time.
When Jesus took his disciples up to Caesarea Philippi, he asked them who people said that he was. It was an area where the cult of the irrepressibly quixotic god, Pan, was very popular. The competition for devotion to the gods of the Ancient Near Eastern world was intense. In the country of the Gerasenes, Artemis was a big hit. And so it went throughout the popular cult figures of the time. Each had a temple or a shrine dedicated to the cult associated with it.
And so then there was Jesus. Here was somebody who healed the sick, embraced the outcast, loved the children, the aged, the widows, the prostitutes, the tax collectors, and set the world he lived in upside down with a teaching about God that required a radical kind of love for God and God's people. And all he did was die, in the end, the kind of death reserved for the most despised of outcasts -- blasphemers and the like.
It would require a double measure of Wisdom to make the right choice when asked the all-important question; "Who do people say that I am?"... And yet another double measure when put to an even greater test; "Who do YOU say that I am?"
We may not worship Pan or Artemis any more, but there is the GDP: the Gross Domestic Product. We are a world where the almighty dollar is still god in a globalized economy. We are a world that still has its outcasts, its poor, its own endless supply of sinners of all sorts, how much transformational love is there from the godly and human heart that can honestly answer, "You are the anointed one of God!"
Today we pray for the Holy Wisdom of God. It is not just an ancient prayer for an ancient people. It is as contemporary as today. It is as urgently needed as the courage that will be required for living in these times. May God grant us the vision and the courage of the pure poet to see the beauty of the Holy Wisdom of God.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Jesus asked the disciples, "...who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Messiah" (Mark 8:28-29). Actually, that was only one of the names by which Jesus was called. Jesus was called by many names; each suggested a story that was a dramatic witness to some aspect of the saving work that God was doing in Jesus Christ and that God is still doing. God finds us where we are and then reaches out to us to do in our lives what we need to have done to move us toward wholeness. To call Jesus the Messiah suggests the story of the coming of a new ruler who comes to bring a new possibility. To speak of Jesus as the atonement suggests a story of a sacrifice through which God's forgiving grace is bestowed.
There is another name by which Jesus was called that may very well have embodied his own understanding of his purpose. It is the name, "servant of God" (in Hebrew, Ebed Yahweh). The people of Israel believed that God sought human servants who would be so totally committed to the purpose of God, that God could work through that person to accomplish God's purpose. It was generally understood that one who was so totally committed to God would suffer in the process of serving God's purpose. The service would be costly. Moses, David, Isaiah, and others were thought to have served that purpose, though imperfectly. Many scholars believe that, when Jesus came to John to be baptized, he was acting out a commitment to the purpose which he had come to believe was his calling and purpose, to be the servant of God, one who would live in total and costly commitment to the purpose of God so that God could do God's saving work through him.
Not only did Jesus play the role of the servant of God himself, he also called us to play that role. He expressed that calling in the words, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34). But we need to understand that this, like the other saving works of God, is a gift given to meet a need, a redemptive interaction intended to lead us to wholeness. This is the saving work by which God reaches out to the strong and the free who are wasting their lives in trivial selfishness or aimless drifting and moves them toward a life of real substance and significance.
-- From James L. Killen, Jr. Who do you say that I Am, (Macon Georgia, Smyth and Helwys, 2001)
***
Dr. Heather Morris, who teaches in a seminary in Northern Ireland tells of one of the heroic things that some Christians are doing to try to end the strife that has ripped that country apart and multiplying hate and suffering between Catholics and Protestants. A group of Quakers became aware that Catholic workers were riding a particular bus through a Protestant part of town on the way to work each morning. They knew it would be only a matter of time until some Protestant militants would shoot into the bus in the hope of killing some of the Catholics. So they began to take turns riding the bus with the Catholics so that no one could shoot at the bus without running the risk of killing a Protestant. They risked their lives in the hope of accomplishing reconciliation.
***
Adam Hamilton, the pastor of The Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, where attendance often exceeds 5,000, wrote a book setting the great issues of our day into the perspective of the Christian Faith. The book is, Confronting the Controversies (Nashville, Abingdon, revised 2001).
In dealing with the abortion issue, he tells the story of a young girl who became pregnant out of wedlock and might well have opted to have an abortion. She became pregnant as a teenager as a result of a youthful mistake. Her father was furious. He insisted that she should have an abortion. Since abortions were illegal at that time, he arranged to fly her to Switzerland for the procedure. When she refused, he disowned her and put her out of the family home. She knew full well that she was sacrificing her chance to go to college and to have the kind of future life that most young people want. But she was determined. She kept her baby and married her young boy friend. The marriage did not last long. She had to live a very hard life, working hard for a low salary, raising her child as a single mother. But she said she never regretted her decision. She loved her child very much. She found great satisfaction in her relationship with him. Yes, it was a sacrificial act that changed the shape of her life. But she was not sorry. At the end of a letter from the mother that Hamilton included in the book, it became apparent that Hamilton was quoting a letter from his own mother. Adam Hamilton was the child who could have been aborted if his mother had not chosen to make a costly commitment of love.
***
I don't know Who -- or what -- put the question, I don't know when it was put. I don't even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer YES to Someone -- or Something -- and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, my life, in self-surrender, had a go.
From that moment I have known what it means "not to look back," and "to take no thought for the morrow."
Led by the Ariadne's thread of my answer through the labyrinth of Live, I came to a time and place where I realized the Way leads to a triumph which is a catastrophe, and to a catastrophe which is a triumph, that the price for committing one's life would be reproach, and that the only elevation possible to [one] lies in the depths of humiliation. After that, the word "courage" lost its meaning, since nothing could be taken from me.
As I continued along the Way, I learned, step by step, word by word, that behind every saying in the Gospels stands ONE man and ONE man's experience. Also behind the prayer that the cup might pass from him and his promise to drink it. Also behind each of the words from the Cross.
-- Dag Hammarskjold, "Markings"
***
We were pretty sure we know you
until you asked us who you were...
We thought we had you figured out
until you started mentioning
those things none of us want to think about...
We thought we knew where you were going
until you crossed to the wrong side of the street...
We thought we knew everything.
Give us wisdom
so we might find the willingness
to follow you;
Give us wisdom
so we might cradle
your uncomfortable words
in our hearts...
Give us wisdom
so we might know you,
and in knowing,
tell others of your glory.
Give us wisdom...
Wisdom's Brother.
***
Two men were part of a small Lenten sharing group in their church. They were discussing personal commitment to Christ and how we translate it into our everyday life, our relationships, our business affairs. One man asked, "What would happen to me if I should undertake to carry on my business as Christ would want me to? It might mean financial ruin."
There was a moment of silence, and then one of the other men replied, "And what will happen if you don't? What kind of ruin do you want?"
-- Donald J. Shelby, "Meeting the Messiah"
***
Last Sunday we remembered that this year is the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor and theologian who was martyred by the Nazis during World War II for taking part in a plot to end the life of the man who ordered the death of millions of people, Adolf Hitler.
Bonhoeffer reminds us in his book The Cost of Discipleship that our Lord's call to us is a serious call. He writes:
When the Lord calls [us] he bids [us] come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him... only [those] dead to [their] own will can follow Christ. In fact every command of Jesus is a call to die... The call of Christ sets the Christian in the middle of the daily arena against sin and the devil... The wounds and scars [we] receive in the fray are living tokens of [our] participation in the cross of [our] Lord.
-- Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (Macmillan, 1969), 99
***
Jesus calls us to deny our own self, to take up our cross, and to follow him. Bonhoeffer writes:
To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us... He leads the way, keep close to him... Only when we become completely oblivious of self are we ready to bear the cross for his sake... He has enabled us to receive even a word as hard as this as a word of grace. It comes to us in the joy of discipleship and confirms us in it. To endure the cross is not a tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ.
-- The Cost of Discipleship, 97-98
***
Jesus said that those who want to save their life will lose it; but those who lose their life for his sake and for the sake of the gospel will save it. Bonhoeffer writes that we are disciples only insofar as we share our Lord's suffering and rejection and crucifixion. Discipleship means that we hold to the person of Jesus, and therefore submit to him, which is the way of the cross. The "must" of suffering applies to us, his disciples, no less than to himself.
When Jesus begins to unfold this inescapable truth to his disciples, he once more sets them free to choose or reject him. "If [anyone] would come after me," he says. That is, if anyone is prepared to spurn all other offers in order to follow him.
-- The Cost of Discipleship, 96-97
WORSHIP RESOURCES
Thom Shuman
Call To Worship
Leader: We are not our own:
People: so, neither our will nor our wisdom
should get in the way
of God's hopes for us.
Leader: We are not on our own:
People: so, we should not choose what is easiest
or the most gratifying way to live.
Leader: We are not our own,
we are God's:
People: so, let us choose to live for God,
and serve all of God's children.
Leader: We are not on our own,
as we walk the streets of God's kingdom:
People: so, as far as is possible,
we will forget ourselves
and follow Jesus Christ.
Prayer Of The Day
All around us, O God,
creation preaches a silent sermon
about your glory.
The full, orange moon
declares you constant watchfulness;
the early morning mist
over a schoolyard
speaks of your steadfast love;
the cool breeze
through slowly changing leaves
whispers of your grace.
Holy Jesus,
you ask questions
which turn us speechless;
you tell us things about yourself
we imagine we need to correct;
you offer us a way of life
we dare not refuse.
Spirit of Wisdom,
you stand in the midst
of rush hour traffic
crying out to us
about our fascination with foolishness
and stretch out your hand
to point to the One
who walks toward us
offering a cross.
God in Community, Holy in One,
in this time together,
may we hear you in the silence
and the songs,
and discover you in the people around us,
even as we pray as Jesus teaches us, saying,
Our Father...
Call To Reconciliation
We all make mistakes, many of them. We hurt
ourselves, we hurt others, we hurt God with
our words and deeds, with our silence and
inaction. Let us confess to God our sins,
trusting in the One who blesses us with mercy.
Unison Prayer Of Confession
Spring of Wisdom, we confess that we have
not denied ourselves and followed. We turn
our backs on your outstretched hands of grace,
and stumble into the arms of the world. We
speak poisonous gossip about others, rather
than tell of their glory as your child. We fire off
words that find no rest until they pierce
another's heart.
Forgive us, Rock and Redeemer. Give us
speech which flows like cool water through
another's parched spirit; give us silence with
which to witness your wonders; give us words
to proclaim Jesus is the Christ, our Lord and
our Savior, the One who leads us to life.
(Silent prayers may be offered.)
Assurance Of Pardon
Leader: With gentleness, God speaks to us;
with graciousness, God forgives us;
with joy, God embraces us.
People: With our lips, we praise God;
with our words, we thank God;
with our silence, we find God
in our hearts. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Blessing
Leader: Go now with God:
People: who covers us with tender mercies;
Leader: Go now with Christ our Lord:
People: who is our good companion;
Leader: Go now with the Spirit
People: who gives us good food at the Table
and living water to nourish us.
Leader: Go knowing that God with direct your path
People: bringing us joy and delight
as we continue on our journey of faith.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Who am I?
Object: with a volunteer, cover his eyes with your hands and ask: "Who am I?"
Good morning, boys and girls. Do you like to play guessing games? (let them answer) I like to play them. I asked (name the child or adult) to volunteer for a guessing game we are going to play. Have you ever done this? (Have the volunteer stand in front of you. Cover that person's eyes with your hands and ask the person, "Who am I?" The volunteer will answer you.)
Have any of you ever played this game? It's fun to play when you have a large group. (Play it again. Pick a child and have the volunteer really try to guess who the other person is.)
This guessing game makes me think of this morning's lesson. In the lesson Jesus and his followers were going on a trip to do some preaching and teaching. They were headed to Galilee. As they walked along, Jesus started a guessing game with his friends. He said to them, "People are trying to guess who I really am. What answers are they coming up with?"
Jesus' friends knew some answers. They had been listening to what people were saying. They knew that people were having a hard time guessing the right answer. Since Jesus did so many wonderful and amazing things, they thought he might be a famous person. They thought he might be Moses or Elijah.
Peter had the right answer for Jesus. Peter answered: "You are the Messiah." Peter knew that Jesus was sent from God. Peter knew that Jesus was God's son. The next time you play a guessing game remember who Jesus is -- Jesus was sent from God. Jesus is God's son.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, September 17, 2006, issue.
Copyright 2006 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
What Does It Mean To Be Ready
THE WORLD
Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, was killed in a freak accident with what most consider a very placid animal -- a stingray. Despite its ominous name and poisonous barb, stingray attacks are very rare.
With this news report, not only do we mourn the loss of an international celebrity and a vivacious entertainer but we also come face to face with something much more personal. If an "expert" on exotic and dangerous animals can die in this most unpredictable manner, what chances do we have with everyday life? A simple drive down to the grocery store or a routine ladder climb to clean the gutters or an annual physical with the family doctor -- what do we take for granted? We might not be wrestling crocodiles or swimming with sharks but if Irwin can die in an environment where he is an "expert," what risks do we take every day with our own fleeting mortality?
THE WORD
The setting for the reading in Mark 8 is Caesarea Philippi. This is significant. Up to this point, Jesus' popularity had grown. He was known as a teacher, healer, and miracle worker. But now time was running out. He must soon travel to Jerusalem to face his destiny on the cross. But first he must draw a line in the sand for his disciples. So Jesus chooses Caesarea Philippi as the backdrop for a very important question, "Who do people say that I am?" Why Caesarea? Because it was a city filled with religious options. They had a great white marble temple dedicated to the worship of Caesar. According to Greek mythology, this was the birthplace of Pan, the god of nature. And, it was an ancient site for Baal worship. Standing in the middle of all these options, Jesus asked the question, "Who do people say that I am?" It is a fair question. He is asking the disciples what they are hearing on the street. What are people saying?
Many offer a guess: John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets. There are a lot of rumors spreading around -- particularly in the eclectic city of Caesarea Philippi. But then Jesus rephrases the question. "Who do you say that I am?" That is a more important question. It is a question that all of us must answer one day either on this side or the other side of Paradise. With so many options surrounding you, who do you say that I am? Not what your church teaches or what your parents say or what your pastor preaches. But you, who do you say that I am? There comes a time in which we can no longer dodge that question.
It is finally Peter who hits it on the head. "You are the Christ." Good answer, Peter. You would expect Jesus' closest friend and future leader of the church to get it right. "You are the Christ." With so many options available to him, Peter chose wisely.
And then Jesus goes on to define just what that means to be the Christ. It means that he must suffer, be rejected, and killed by the religious leaders. It means that he must be torn away from his disciples. It means that he will never ride the white horse, never defeat Rome, never rule over Israel, and never appoint them as cabinet leaders of his new administration.
Do you see? Peter answered with the right word but he had no idea what that meant. So he rebukes Jesus. He rebukes him. Don't let that strong word pass too quickly. That is a harsh word. You rebuke demons when you cast them out. You rebuke sinners by pointing out their faults. You rebuke the disobedient to get them to toe the line. And Peter rebukes Jesus, "God forbid, Lord. This shall never happen to you." Handed over? Suffer? Die? I've left everything for you. We are on a roll. The people are behind us. Rome is scared. The time is right. Don't talk nonsense, Jesus. Surely there has to be a different way, a safer way, a more reasonable way than a cross. God forbid, Lord.
Jesus returned fire and, using the same word, he rebuked Peter. And not only did Jesus rebuke Peter but he called him the worst name in the book, "Satan. Get behind me, Satan. For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of people.
Why so harsh? Because Peter is doing the very thing Satan did -- tempting Jesus to settle for an easier and safer path. And what better tactic of Satan than to get your best friend, Peter, the Rock of the church, to talk you out of a cross? Peter is only doing Jesus a favor. Peter is only looking out for Jesus' best interest. No one seeks out a cross, not even Jesus! A cross is to be avoided at all costs. Surely there must be an easier, safer way than a cross! But Jesus didn't come to this world to be easy and safe. He came to die.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Everyday, we are surrounded by spiritual options. In fact, compared to Caesarea Philippi, our options are far greater in number. When does that day come in which you draw a line in the sand and proclaim who Jesus is? Not what your parents believe. Not what your denomination teaches. Not what your pastor preaches. "But you. Who do you say that I am?"
I suspect for many people, they leave that question unanswered. After all, there doesn't seem to be any pressing reason to take that stand. Not yet, anyway. Unless you are well advanced in years or battling a life threatening disease, the urgency for most of us is lost. And so we dodge the question yet one more time.
And then we hear about Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. One instant he is talking wide-eyed into the camera, amazed at how beautiful this huge stingray is and how it appears to fly effortlessly through the water. The next instant he is pulling a poisonous barb out of his chest. Once we get over the initial shock and the news coverage there comes that moment when you realize how fragile life is. None of us knows the moment. None of us can count our finale breath. It happens in a blink of an eye. For that reason alone we do well to be ready.
What does that mean, to be ready? Certainly it means to work on mending relationship and righting that which is wrong. Certainly it means to work towards peace and justice. Certainly that means a life of serving rather than being served. But our gospel text reminds us that there is one more thing that should be at the top of our list for preparedness -- one more thing that can no longer be avoided, and that is an answer to Jesus' most pointed and direct question, "Who do you say that I am?"
But lest you think that your answer will determine your eternal destination, remember that Peter got it right -- and wrong at the same time. He got the word right -- Jesus is the Christ. He just had no idea what that mean. And yet God took this uneducated, impetuous, bumbling idiot of a fisherman and built a church.
If God can do great things with the likes of Peter, what things does he have in store for you? We are all cracked vessels. We all see through a mirror dimly. We all get it wrong at times. And yet God's grace comes to us despite our "correct" answer. However, it is standing in the midst of our pluralistic society with so many spiritual options that our God, who is a jealous God, asks us today, "Whom will you serve? In whom will you believe? In whom will you put your eternal trust?"
With life being so fragile and unpredictable, we do well to pause today and answer that most important question asked of Jesus, "Who do you say that I am?"
ANOTHER VIEW
By Paul Bresnahan
The Holy Wisdom Of God
There is an especially beautiful quality to Wisdom as we read about her in the scripture today. The Wisdom of God takes on a feminine dimension in the holy writings. In Greek the name for Wisdom is "Sophia." She is extolled with pure poetic devotion in today's lesson from the Wisdom of Solomon.
She is more beautiful than the sun,
and excels every constellation of the stars.
Compared with the light she is found to be superior,
for it is succeeded by the night,
In these words from "The Wisdom of Solomon" she is pure poetry. Anyone who devotes himself or herself to the acquisition of Wisdom will find a blessing from God, and will be loved by God in a way that we don't often hear about in the scripture. Usually the biblical mandate goes the other way around. We are usually the ones called on to love God. But in this instance, once we are devoted to Wisdom, something especially beautiful happens to us.
In every generation she passes into holy souls
and makes them friends of God, and prophets;
for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.
We are told that anyone who seeks Wisdom will look closely into the nature of God's very being because what we see there is a reflection of the Glory of God.
For wisdom is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of his goodness.
To many, thinking of God in the feminine has a dissonant sound to it. In Protestant Christianity we tend to have a more masculine image for God in our mind's eye. We think more of the "Mighty Fortress" mould when we think of God. Even in Catholic theology we have an exquisite image of God in the Sistine Chapel in which God's finger reaches out in a powerful and dynamic way to Adam. There the spark of life is given in the Mighty Act of Creation. You cannot get much more masculine than that image.
But there are more feminine forms in our imagery for God as well. There is the fact of the Holy Family, for instance. There is the Holiness of Mary, a pure virgin giving birth to the Savior of the world. She is held in deep reverence by many particularly in Eastern Christianity and by our friends in Roman Catholicism. In the former we have the cult of the "Theotokos" or the Mother of God, and in the latter we have the cult of Mary itself. These devotions are not tangential to faith but are at the core of how millions understand the divinity of God.
In Eastern Christianity, which found its center in Constantinople for hundreds of years, a magnificent church was built under the authority of the Justinian in 537A.D. She was dedicated to the "Hagia Sophia" or the to the "Holy Wisdom of God." When the Byzantine Church lost that building to the Islamic world in 1453A.D. the Orthodox world suffered a loss that it has never quite recovered from. Orthodoxy's devotion to the Holy Wisdom of God has never abated. And the scripture commends it to the faithful throughout the Christian world. In fact the notion of wisdom is not just found in Apocryphal literature in the Bible, but is mentioned 174 times throughout the biblical text. Thus our love for the Holy Wisdom of God is very much in the mainstream of our theological view of God. And it gives a lovely and gracious balance to our predominantly masculine theological bias. And Sophia is poetically reflective of the Glory of God.
Wisdom continues to be near to the heart of Christian folk both in the East and to the West. The Wisdom of Solomon will always strike a deeply resonant sound to the ear and to the soul of the Christian world. If ever there were a time for a recovery of the notion of the Holy Wisdom of God, now is the time.
When Jesus took his disciples up to Caesarea Philippi, he asked them who people said that he was. It was an area where the cult of the irrepressibly quixotic god, Pan, was very popular. The competition for devotion to the gods of the Ancient Near Eastern world was intense. In the country of the Gerasenes, Artemis was a big hit. And so it went throughout the popular cult figures of the time. Each had a temple or a shrine dedicated to the cult associated with it.
And so then there was Jesus. Here was somebody who healed the sick, embraced the outcast, loved the children, the aged, the widows, the prostitutes, the tax collectors, and set the world he lived in upside down with a teaching about God that required a radical kind of love for God and God's people. And all he did was die, in the end, the kind of death reserved for the most despised of outcasts -- blasphemers and the like.
It would require a double measure of Wisdom to make the right choice when asked the all-important question; "Who do people say that I am?"... And yet another double measure when put to an even greater test; "Who do YOU say that I am?"
We may not worship Pan or Artemis any more, but there is the GDP: the Gross Domestic Product. We are a world where the almighty dollar is still god in a globalized economy. We are a world that still has its outcasts, its poor, its own endless supply of sinners of all sorts, how much transformational love is there from the godly and human heart that can honestly answer, "You are the anointed one of God!"
Today we pray for the Holy Wisdom of God. It is not just an ancient prayer for an ancient people. It is as contemporary as today. It is as urgently needed as the courage that will be required for living in these times. May God grant us the vision and the courage of the pure poet to see the beauty of the Holy Wisdom of God.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Jesus asked the disciples, "...who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Messiah" (Mark 8:28-29). Actually, that was only one of the names by which Jesus was called. Jesus was called by many names; each suggested a story that was a dramatic witness to some aspect of the saving work that God was doing in Jesus Christ and that God is still doing. God finds us where we are and then reaches out to us to do in our lives what we need to have done to move us toward wholeness. To call Jesus the Messiah suggests the story of the coming of a new ruler who comes to bring a new possibility. To speak of Jesus as the atonement suggests a story of a sacrifice through which God's forgiving grace is bestowed.
There is another name by which Jesus was called that may very well have embodied his own understanding of his purpose. It is the name, "servant of God" (in Hebrew, Ebed Yahweh). The people of Israel believed that God sought human servants who would be so totally committed to the purpose of God, that God could work through that person to accomplish God's purpose. It was generally understood that one who was so totally committed to God would suffer in the process of serving God's purpose. The service would be costly. Moses, David, Isaiah, and others were thought to have served that purpose, though imperfectly. Many scholars believe that, when Jesus came to John to be baptized, he was acting out a commitment to the purpose which he had come to believe was his calling and purpose, to be the servant of God, one who would live in total and costly commitment to the purpose of God so that God could do God's saving work through him.
Not only did Jesus play the role of the servant of God himself, he also called us to play that role. He expressed that calling in the words, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34). But we need to understand that this, like the other saving works of God, is a gift given to meet a need, a redemptive interaction intended to lead us to wholeness. This is the saving work by which God reaches out to the strong and the free who are wasting their lives in trivial selfishness or aimless drifting and moves them toward a life of real substance and significance.
-- From James L. Killen, Jr. Who do you say that I Am, (Macon Georgia, Smyth and Helwys, 2001)
***
Dr. Heather Morris, who teaches in a seminary in Northern Ireland tells of one of the heroic things that some Christians are doing to try to end the strife that has ripped that country apart and multiplying hate and suffering between Catholics and Protestants. A group of Quakers became aware that Catholic workers were riding a particular bus through a Protestant part of town on the way to work each morning. They knew it would be only a matter of time until some Protestant militants would shoot into the bus in the hope of killing some of the Catholics. So they began to take turns riding the bus with the Catholics so that no one could shoot at the bus without running the risk of killing a Protestant. They risked their lives in the hope of accomplishing reconciliation.
***
Adam Hamilton, the pastor of The Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, where attendance often exceeds 5,000, wrote a book setting the great issues of our day into the perspective of the Christian Faith. The book is, Confronting the Controversies (Nashville, Abingdon, revised 2001).
In dealing with the abortion issue, he tells the story of a young girl who became pregnant out of wedlock and might well have opted to have an abortion. She became pregnant as a teenager as a result of a youthful mistake. Her father was furious. He insisted that she should have an abortion. Since abortions were illegal at that time, he arranged to fly her to Switzerland for the procedure. When she refused, he disowned her and put her out of the family home. She knew full well that she was sacrificing her chance to go to college and to have the kind of future life that most young people want. But she was determined. She kept her baby and married her young boy friend. The marriage did not last long. She had to live a very hard life, working hard for a low salary, raising her child as a single mother. But she said she never regretted her decision. She loved her child very much. She found great satisfaction in her relationship with him. Yes, it was a sacrificial act that changed the shape of her life. But she was not sorry. At the end of a letter from the mother that Hamilton included in the book, it became apparent that Hamilton was quoting a letter from his own mother. Adam Hamilton was the child who could have been aborted if his mother had not chosen to make a costly commitment of love.
***
I don't know Who -- or what -- put the question, I don't know when it was put. I don't even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer YES to Someone -- or Something -- and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, my life, in self-surrender, had a go.
From that moment I have known what it means "not to look back," and "to take no thought for the morrow."
Led by the Ariadne's thread of my answer through the labyrinth of Live, I came to a time and place where I realized the Way leads to a triumph which is a catastrophe, and to a catastrophe which is a triumph, that the price for committing one's life would be reproach, and that the only elevation possible to [one] lies in the depths of humiliation. After that, the word "courage" lost its meaning, since nothing could be taken from me.
As I continued along the Way, I learned, step by step, word by word, that behind every saying in the Gospels stands ONE man and ONE man's experience. Also behind the prayer that the cup might pass from him and his promise to drink it. Also behind each of the words from the Cross.
-- Dag Hammarskjold, "Markings"
***
We were pretty sure we know you
until you asked us who you were...
We thought we had you figured out
until you started mentioning
those things none of us want to think about...
We thought we knew where you were going
until you crossed to the wrong side of the street...
We thought we knew everything.
Give us wisdom
so we might find the willingness
to follow you;
Give us wisdom
so we might cradle
your uncomfortable words
in our hearts...
Give us wisdom
so we might know you,
and in knowing,
tell others of your glory.
Give us wisdom...
Wisdom's Brother.
***
Two men were part of a small Lenten sharing group in their church. They were discussing personal commitment to Christ and how we translate it into our everyday life, our relationships, our business affairs. One man asked, "What would happen to me if I should undertake to carry on my business as Christ would want me to? It might mean financial ruin."
There was a moment of silence, and then one of the other men replied, "And what will happen if you don't? What kind of ruin do you want?"
-- Donald J. Shelby, "Meeting the Messiah"
***
Last Sunday we remembered that this year is the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor and theologian who was martyred by the Nazis during World War II for taking part in a plot to end the life of the man who ordered the death of millions of people, Adolf Hitler.
Bonhoeffer reminds us in his book The Cost of Discipleship that our Lord's call to us is a serious call. He writes:
When the Lord calls [us] he bids [us] come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him... only [those] dead to [their] own will can follow Christ. In fact every command of Jesus is a call to die... The call of Christ sets the Christian in the middle of the daily arena against sin and the devil... The wounds and scars [we] receive in the fray are living tokens of [our] participation in the cross of [our] Lord.
-- Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (Macmillan, 1969), 99
***
Jesus calls us to deny our own self, to take up our cross, and to follow him. Bonhoeffer writes:
To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us... He leads the way, keep close to him... Only when we become completely oblivious of self are we ready to bear the cross for his sake... He has enabled us to receive even a word as hard as this as a word of grace. It comes to us in the joy of discipleship and confirms us in it. To endure the cross is not a tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ.
-- The Cost of Discipleship, 97-98
***
Jesus said that those who want to save their life will lose it; but those who lose their life for his sake and for the sake of the gospel will save it. Bonhoeffer writes that we are disciples only insofar as we share our Lord's suffering and rejection and crucifixion. Discipleship means that we hold to the person of Jesus, and therefore submit to him, which is the way of the cross. The "must" of suffering applies to us, his disciples, no less than to himself.
When Jesus begins to unfold this inescapable truth to his disciples, he once more sets them free to choose or reject him. "If [anyone] would come after me," he says. That is, if anyone is prepared to spurn all other offers in order to follow him.
-- The Cost of Discipleship, 96-97
WORSHIP RESOURCES
Thom Shuman
Call To Worship
Leader: We are not our own:
People: so, neither our will nor our wisdom
should get in the way
of God's hopes for us.
Leader: We are not on our own:
People: so, we should not choose what is easiest
or the most gratifying way to live.
Leader: We are not our own,
we are God's:
People: so, let us choose to live for God,
and serve all of God's children.
Leader: We are not on our own,
as we walk the streets of God's kingdom:
People: so, as far as is possible,
we will forget ourselves
and follow Jesus Christ.
Prayer Of The Day
All around us, O God,
creation preaches a silent sermon
about your glory.
The full, orange moon
declares you constant watchfulness;
the early morning mist
over a schoolyard
speaks of your steadfast love;
the cool breeze
through slowly changing leaves
whispers of your grace.
Holy Jesus,
you ask questions
which turn us speechless;
you tell us things about yourself
we imagine we need to correct;
you offer us a way of life
we dare not refuse.
Spirit of Wisdom,
you stand in the midst
of rush hour traffic
crying out to us
about our fascination with foolishness
and stretch out your hand
to point to the One
who walks toward us
offering a cross.
God in Community, Holy in One,
in this time together,
may we hear you in the silence
and the songs,
and discover you in the people around us,
even as we pray as Jesus teaches us, saying,
Our Father...
Call To Reconciliation
We all make mistakes, many of them. We hurt
ourselves, we hurt others, we hurt God with
our words and deeds, with our silence and
inaction. Let us confess to God our sins,
trusting in the One who blesses us with mercy.
Unison Prayer Of Confession
Spring of Wisdom, we confess that we have
not denied ourselves and followed. We turn
our backs on your outstretched hands of grace,
and stumble into the arms of the world. We
speak poisonous gossip about others, rather
than tell of their glory as your child. We fire off
words that find no rest until they pierce
another's heart.
Forgive us, Rock and Redeemer. Give us
speech which flows like cool water through
another's parched spirit; give us silence with
which to witness your wonders; give us words
to proclaim Jesus is the Christ, our Lord and
our Savior, the One who leads us to life.
(Silent prayers may be offered.)
Assurance Of Pardon
Leader: With gentleness, God speaks to us;
with graciousness, God forgives us;
with joy, God embraces us.
People: With our lips, we praise God;
with our words, we thank God;
with our silence, we find God
in our hearts. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Blessing
Leader: Go now with God:
People: who covers us with tender mercies;
Leader: Go now with Christ our Lord:
People: who is our good companion;
Leader: Go now with the Spirit
People: who gives us good food at the Table
and living water to nourish us.
Leader: Go knowing that God with direct your path
People: bringing us joy and delight
as we continue on our journey of faith.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Who am I?
Object: with a volunteer, cover his eyes with your hands and ask: "Who am I?"
Good morning, boys and girls. Do you like to play guessing games? (let them answer) I like to play them. I asked (name the child or adult) to volunteer for a guessing game we are going to play. Have you ever done this? (Have the volunteer stand in front of you. Cover that person's eyes with your hands and ask the person, "Who am I?" The volunteer will answer you.)
Have any of you ever played this game? It's fun to play when you have a large group. (Play it again. Pick a child and have the volunteer really try to guess who the other person is.)
This guessing game makes me think of this morning's lesson. In the lesson Jesus and his followers were going on a trip to do some preaching and teaching. They were headed to Galilee. As they walked along, Jesus started a guessing game with his friends. He said to them, "People are trying to guess who I really am. What answers are they coming up with?"
Jesus' friends knew some answers. They had been listening to what people were saying. They knew that people were having a hard time guessing the right answer. Since Jesus did so many wonderful and amazing things, they thought he might be a famous person. They thought he might be Moses or Elijah.
Peter had the right answer for Jesus. Peter answered: "You are the Messiah." Peter knew that Jesus was sent from God. Peter knew that Jesus was God's son. The next time you play a guessing game remember who Jesus is -- Jesus was sent from God. Jesus is God's son.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, September 17, 2006, issue.
Copyright 2006 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
