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spent1703
Endurance
Text:
Mark 8:27-35
Date: Pentecost 17
10/5/03 fifa 2006 no cd crak
The first two scripture readings today give us direction
in our handling of the Gospel reading. For, our answer to our Lord’s
question, “Who do you say that I am?” will say just as much about
who we are as his followers. Of whom, after all, is Isaiah speaking
when he writes, “I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks
to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace
and spitting. But the Lord God helps me”? Certainly those words
conjure up in the Christian’s mind images of Jesus’ suffering. But
is he talking only about Jesus? Consider the words of our second
reading from James speaking of the Christian life: “Count it all
joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you
know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” The
Alleluia Verse for the day makes the transition and delivers us
to the Gospel with the words, “Whatever was written in former days
was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through
the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” [Romans
15:4 (ESV)]. The words of our Lord in today’s Gospel aim at giving
us hope and encouragement and the endurance of faith to “hang in
there,” to remain faithful, to be able to put whatever difficulties,
challenges or sufferings we may encounter into the perspective of
our certain and ultimate victory of eternal life in the Kingdom
of God.
To endure in the faith means that faith, first, needs
to be right faith. And this is especially true of those Jesus called
then and calls to this day to preach and proclaim and witness to
the faith. Up to this point in Mark’s Gospel Jesus had done and
taught a lot of things. He healed the sick and the demon-possessed
and preached in the synagogues. As he went all around Galilee people
had various opinions about who Jesus was. While great crowds began
to follow him rejoicing in his miracles, others, namely the Pharisees
and the officials of the Roman government, saw him as at least a
troublemaker and even a blasphemer and false teacher. Over and over
again he not only left people to their own opinions but even commanded
some he healed to remain silent and tell no one about him. Only
now, however, does he begin to speak plainly to his disciples concerning
who he is and the real reason for which he came.
The first point of today’s text is that there can be
no true, saving faith except as a result of God revealing himself
through his own Word. You know, you’d think that the task of making
disciples and preaching the Gospel would be easier if people were
just a blank slate when it comes to religion. As it is, preaching,
teaching or witnessing to the Gospel requires just as much effort
at tearing down all the false impressions people have. Look at the
crazy ideas people had about who Jesus is when he asked his disciples.
They told him many were entertaining the idea that he was John the
Baptist raised from the dead. At least that’s what King Herod thought
as his guilt over the murder of John began to make him entertain
fearsome, superstitious and ghostly thoughts. Others guessed Jesus
must be Elijah, the prophet the Bible said would appear again before
the Messiah came. Or maybe Jesus is one of the other prophets. In
a sense these were all pretty good answers. They were at least thinking
in the right direction. But is Jesus just a forerunner of the kingdom?
And what of today? Who do people say Jesus is today?
What are the popular opinions? Apart from the direct revelation
of God’s Word you can only get close to the right answer. Islam
believes in Jesus, but only as a human prophet. Mormons and Jehovah
Witnesses believe in Jesus, but again, only as a religious teacher.
But let’s not just highlight the obviously false religions. For
many, even among Christians, see Jesus as anything from a liberator
to an example of good will or as a miracle worker. From those points
of view “the Gospel,” then, is reduced to anything from political
activism to social services to a magic sideshow.
None of these opinions are adequate, however, especially
for those whom he would ordain and send to be his representatives,
preachers and witnesses. So he makes the question personal: “But
you, who do you say that I am?”
Here I would remind you that we are hearing this crucial
question-and-answer session not from Matthew or Luke, this year,
but from Mark. You can picture Peter standing over Mark’s shoulder
as he writes. Maybe that’s why Peter’s inspired answer, “You are
the Christ,” is shorter than the other Gospels and his account of
Peter’s Satanic rebuke of Jesus has more detail! —a sort of humble
confession of sin!
When Peter said, “You are the Christ,” Jesus “strictly
charged them to tell no one about him.” Once again we encounter
the famous so-called “Messianic Secret.” Why, we wonder, would Jesus
forbid their witness here when, at the end, he would ordain and
commission them to be his witnesses to the whole world? It is because
his disciples, though they were right in identifying Jesus as the
Messiah, did not yet understand fully what it meant for him to be
the Christ. And, we might add, if we do not understand fully what
it meant for Jesus to be the Christ, we will not understand fully
what it means for us to be his Christians.
Back to the inadequate opinions of yesteryear and of
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