The Gospel Reading
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.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
The Sermon
Who do you think I am?
When we are asked who someone is we
usually identify them by there job or at least something they are
well known for. If I was asked by someone “who is Daniel Scheets?”
I would reply, that he is our organist at St. Andrew's and he is also
the high school band instructor.
Jesus asked a simple question, “Who
do you say that I am.?” Peter, who is always the one to come right
out and say what he is thinking says, “You are the messiah, the Son
of the living God.”
The Jewish people had been waiting for
the messiah. They were certain the messiah would overthrow the Roman
army by raising his own army and the new age would come to fruition.
The prophet Isaiah is pretty clear where the messiah will come from,
how he will be treated and what his purpose will be. Jesus fit the
profile.
So, what do we say about Jesus. In a
few minutes we will recite the Nicene Creed. We will espouse his
divinity, that he always was and always will be, that he suffered on
the cross for our sake and we believe he will return.
Lets get a little personal here. Who is Jesus to you? Do you think about him during your day. Do you
pray to him at night? If you were able to design your own Jesus what
would he look like? What would change, what would stay the same, what
would be your vision. Each of us sees Jesus a little differently and
that makes a lot of sense. Jesus is there and available to all of us
and each of us is unique. Each of us has different needs and I
firmly believe Jesus will fill those different needs.
Let me start by giving you my picture
of Jesus. Physically, I have no idea what he looks like. I suppose
he looked like most middle eastern men but that doesn't matter to me.
I suppose if I were to put it in today's terms, Jesus is my life
coach. I feed on his wisdom and I look for Jesus to be my guide and
give me direction in the road map that is my life. Sometimes I follow
the road map just as I am supposed to and sometimes not. When I do
find myself on a side road and headed south when I should go north
Jesus gives me a nudge and gets me back on the right road. I am
deeply indebted to my life coach Jesus. I trust that he will get me
to my destination.
Fr. Fred Steinbach
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