Pop Quiz

A Sermon by Donel McClellan
First Congregational United Church of Christ
Bellingham, Washington

27 Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” 30 And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Myron Madden comments on this little story in Mark’s Gospel. He sums it up in two sentences. “So Peter got it and he didn’t get it. He got the Christ part but not the cross part.”^{^[1]} If we were to look at Mark’s Gospel as a teeter totter, this is the center, the fulcrum, the point at which the Gospel begins to tip in another direction. Prior to this passage, Jesus has been traveling about preaching, teaching, and healing. From this point forward, the path leads to Jerusalem and the shadow of the cross is over every incident.

Mark sets the transformation point on this simple “pop quiz.” The disciples are on the road again and Jesus asks: “Who do people say that I am?” I suppose he is attempting a simple poll. It’s the kind of thing a political candidate might do. How many people prefer me to the opponent? What are the numbers out there in the grass roots.

It’s an easy question. The disciples tell what they have heard. Folks seem to be confused. Clearly Jesus has made an extraordinary impact on the public. They seek to find ways to explain the charisma and power of this unknown traveling teacher. Some think he is John the Baptist. There were rumors that John wasn’t really killed by Herod. It was a kind of first century Elvis Presley myth. Other people thought Jesus was Elijah come to life again or another of the great prophets.

Then Jesus asked the disciples a tougher question, “Who do you say that I am?”

Jesus told them to keep his identity under their hats. And then he told them quite candidly about the meaning of being the Messiah: the “Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”

Peter couldn’t stand it. He took Jesus aside and quietly tried to talk some sense into him. Jesus angrily rebuked Peter, calling him Satan and telling him that his mind was focused on human, temporal events and not on the larger perspective of God.

It was a painful moment for Jesus and for Peter, who got the Christ part but not the cross part.

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with understanding the Christ part and the Cross part.

On National Public Radio, a few weeks ago there was a story of a father who started to feel guilty about the fact that he hadn't been raising his child with stories of his own Christian faith. The father decided to do something about this. He bought a children's book of Bible stories and began reading them before bed to his young child , who was fascinated with this person Jesus had lived so long ago, but who seemed so wise.

All went well with the venture until he and his child were driving past a church on the way to a music lesson. This particular church had not only a cross outside the building, but also a body on the cross, a crucifix. The young child innocently asked the father, "Daddy, what is that body doing on the cross at a church."

The father gulped, having realized that he had not ever had a chance to explain the end of the story about Jesus. He stumbled into the conversation, "Well, that's Jesus up on the cross. You see, he was killed."

"Killed!" the young child gasped, "Why would anyone want to kill Jesus?" and in a more threatening tone, "Who killed him?"

The father blundered on, "Well, the things that Jesus said upset a lot of the people who liked things the way that they were, and because people were paying attention to what Jesus was saying . . ."

By this point, the father thought to himself that he wished that his wife had decided to drive their child to music lessons today.

"Er, well, yes, you and I know that he was right, but the government and the religious leaders thought he was dangerous . . ."

"What are you talking about? The church and the government killed Jesus! I can't believe this."

The father ended lamely, "Well, I guess that's why we still tell stories about Jesus." ^{^[2]}

Kudos for the father who wanted to give his child some important cultural literacy. The father got the Christ part but not the cross part.”

I believe that is the central question for the Christian. It is the question with which we live from our baptism until our death. Over the years we will probably give very different answers to the question. The important thing is not our answer, but our willingness to keep the question alive in our daily journey.

People have answered the question in a number of ways. Let me mention three resources for exploring the question of who Jesus is.

The first, of course, is the Bible. Yesterday in the Seattle Times, Dale Turner talked about the tendency in our society to over simplify complex issues. He notes that some believe in a “simple gospel” where one reads the Bible and takes to heart exactly what it says. This is an attractive way to seek an answer to who Jesus is. ^{^[3]}

The problem with using the Bible as a simple source is that it is an amazingly complex book. Those who insist that it be taken with absolute literalness distort the message which is clothed in the tastes, smells and sounds of another century. To believe that we can understand what was going on behind the scenes in the Bible story is as naive as believing that if we were transported back into biblical times we could understand that world without speaking Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic.

To understand the Bible Story we need translators, scholars who help us understand the all-important context of the stories we read.

The Bible is a critically important resource for understanding who Jesus is. But by itself, the Bible is not enough.

A second source of understanding who Jesus is, lies in the creedal and theological reflections of Christians over the centuries. We can simply go to the creeds and catechisms of the church to find compressed images of Jesus.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, light from light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

Alright, alright, I agree that the creed doesn’t clarify much. But it does compress all the important elements of Christology into a brief and memorable form.

In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth,
our crucified and risen Savior,
you [God] have come to us
and shared our common lot,
conquering sin and death
and reconciling the world to yourself.

Remembering the creeds and reading theology is another way to understand who Jesus is. The limitation is that this approach can become pretty much of a head trip. It is easy to intellectualize about Jesus and to put understanding in the place of devotion and discipleship.

A third resource for understanding Jesus is our own encounter with Jesus. Most Christians pray. When we pray, we may address the prayers to God, or to the Holy Spirit, or to Jesus, but we understand that somehow we are addressing one God. And in the listening to that One God we may get glimpses of who Jesus is. In one sense this is the most satisfying avenue to exploring the question because it is the way of the heart rather than the way of the head alone. Prayer generally leaves me with feelings rather than thoughts, implications rather than conclusions, leanings rather than certainties.

Our personal relationship with Jesus is a great gift as we seek further understanding. But such personal relationships can suffer the distortions and misunderstandings present in all relationships. At the United Church of Christ General Synod meeting in Minneapolis this summer, Lillian Daniel, pastor of Church of the Redeemer UCC in New Haven, Connecticut preached at the evening worship service. Her text was Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John, —“If you abide in me, . . . ask what you wish, and it will be done for you.” She pointed out that “We can tell Jesus what we want,” she said, “but Jesus tells us what He wants. And this divine intimacy won’t be cheap.” ^{^[4]}

Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” It is your homework assignment to live into an answer to that question. Although there is no due date on the assignment, I presume that God wishes to see some progress from time to time.

I suggest that you consider the three resources that I have mentioned as a starting place. Read the Bible, but more than that, study it. Use the wonderful resources of this congregation. Last Wednesday night 20 people wrestled with the tough questions raised by the first chapters of the book of Job. They will continue the discussion this week and next. You are welcome to come and if you are the least bit bored I’ll be amazed.

But supplement your work with the Bible by reading the creeds and some of the ponderings of faithful theologians. Use them to raise questions for your pursuit and investigation.

And do pray about specific issues and concerns that are on your mind. But when you have finished speaking to God, spend at least that much time listening.

As your life of faith becomes a journey with the question, “Who do you say that I am?” allow it to be open to two great mysteries which you may never be able to satisfactorily solve. They are these eternal questions. How was Jesus God’s Messiah? And, Why was the cross necessary?

I don’t have clear answers to these questions, but I am constantly exploring and enlarging them. If any of you want to chat about them I would be delighted to spend time with you.

With God’s help, I pray that we will begin to get both the Christ part and the cross part.

[1]. Myron C. Madden, Lectionary Homeletics, Proper 19, “ Pastoral Implications”.

[2]. Thanks to The Reverend Renée Marie Rico, Christ Presbyterian Church in Terra Linda, who remembered this NPR report.

[3]. Seattle Times, Saturday, September 13, 2003 - The Rev. Dale Turner, Simple answers are rarely the key that can unlock mysteries in the word of God

[4]. Sermon reported on the UCC website: http://www.ucc.org/synod/news/wed-daniels.htm