June 23 2013
Zech 12:10-11; Gal 3:26-29; Luke 9:18-24
In today’s Gospel, we hear the story of Peter’s confession of faith in Jesus. It comes at the midpoint of the Gospel; in fact, the same story comes at the midpoint of the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, as well as Luke. In Luke, the story comes shortly after Herod has heard about Jesus and his disciples curing people and casting out demons. Herod was the Roman puppet king who had murdered John the Baptist. He hears the rumors that Jesus might be John come back to life or the prophet Elijah, and he is worried; either one would be a threat to his reign.
Now comes today’s Gospel passage. The question about who Jesus is, which is put into Jesus’ own mouth in the Gospels, is not something Jesus would have asked. Rather, it is a challenge directed to everyone who hears the Gospel, to us: “Who do you say that I am?” When Jesus confronts the disciples with this question, I can imagine there was some hemming and hawing. If I had been there, I might have waffled and said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Peter was the one who had the courage—or the nerve—to say what they had probably been thinking or hoping or even whispering to each other. In this translation, Peter answers and says, “The Christ of God.”
We all know today that “Christ” is a title; Jesus Christ was not the son of Joseph and Mary Christ. What does that title mean? Another translation would be “The Messiah of God.” Christos in Greek or Mashiach in Hebrew mean “The anointed one.” Anointing was part of the ceremony of installing the king of Israel. The Messiah, in the expectation of many, would be a new leader who would—many hoped—kick out the Roman occupation, reestablish the kingdom of Israel as a major power, and be anointed as king. The Messiah of God would be the legitimate king, anointed by God, not a Roman puppet like Herod. Peter, speaking for the disciples, confesses his belief that Jesus, a carpenter from Galilee, is in fact the Messiah so many people have been waiting for.
And then Jesus tells him not to tell anybody. Why not? What is the point of having a Messiah if nobody knows who he is? In the rest of today’s Gospel passage, Jesus tells his disciples—and us—that there is more than one step in confessing the Messiah. Only when you have completed all three steps are you ready to tell people he is the Messiah.
Peter has taken the first step: You are the Messiah of God. The second step is to recognize that the Messiah will not be a king like Herod. He will suffer greatly—uh oh. He will go to Jerusalem and will be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes—not a good beginning for an up and coming king. And he will be killed—that’s definitely not in the job description of the Messiah. The third step is to follow Jesus—not as hangers-on swept into power along with the new king, but by denying oneself daily. By following these three simple steps, we become ready to tell other people about Jesus.
That’s a tall order. The disciples were not able to do it until after the resurrection. The current successor to Peter, Pope Francis, seems like a good model of how to do it. Years ago, when he became an auxiliary bishop in Buenos Aires, he was invited to dinner at a seminary as guest of honor. After dinner the head of the seminary asked if the new auxiliary bishop would like to say a few words to the seminarians. He accepted the invitation. His words were, “I’ll do the dishes tonight.” They say that since then, the faculty clears the tables after dinner every evening.
“Who do you say that I am?” It’s just as much a challenge today as it was then. Who was that man? And what does it mean to be his disciple?