Who do you say I Am

As Jesus and the disciples are walking along the road to the villages of Caesarea Philippi Jesus asked them, “Who do people say that I am?” Thinking themselves wise and informed, they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” Test passed, “we are good followers of the Master.” But, Jesus then turns, looks them in the eyes and asks, “But who do you say that I am?” I suspect their first answer was “wow, we sure didn’t see that one coming.” Peter, never the shy one answers, “You are the Messiah.”

I suspect Peter was proud of himself for giving the correct answer to his Lord, I certainly would have been. I doubt that feeling lasted very long, because as they walked, “Jesus 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. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Peter understood, but not completely.

How would you and I answer this question today? Who do we say Jesus is? Later in this passage which is taken from Mark 8:27-38, Jesus gives us instructions on how we can tell the world who Jesus is for us. “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 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.”

We are invited to pick up our crosses and follow Jesus; to surrender ourselves to God: to give up our selfishness and greed; to proclaim by our words and our actions the Good news of God in Jesus Christ, to be a part of the kingdom of God on earth.

This past week I attended an Open House for the Court Appointed Juvenile Advocate program (CAJA) and met a young woman who works for Family Services of North Alabama. She grew up in the Black Belt Section of Alabama, near Greensboro and attended Sawyerville Day Camp as a child. The camp is sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama Youth Department. The camp provides a camping and learning experience for children in one of the poorest areas of our state. As an adult she is the Victims Services Director for an organization that helps people put their lives back together for the benefit of their families and their communities. By her actions she has truly “picked up her cross and is following Jesus.”

By picking up our cross, by giving back, by welcoming the stranger and by respecting the dignity of every human being, we do what Jesus did, and we change the world. May we continue to walk in love as Christ loves us, and give ourselves as an offering and a sacrifice to God.

Rich and Poor have this in Common, The Lord is Maker of them All

As the letter of James continues (2:1-17) Jesus’ brother reminds us of the importance of treating others as we would like to be treated, and the all too common temptation to do otherwise.

“My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?”

James goes on to remind us of the importance of the great commandment, “you do well if you really fulfill the law according to scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Many years ago I was the Rector (Pastor) of an Episcopal Church in New Orleans facing the difficulty of following James’ challenge to love all people as Christ loves us. New Orleans is a city where rich and poor often live side by side and this makes for some interesting times in the churches of the city. We often had book studies and Bible Studies in the homes of church members. During one such book study, a church member who lived mostly on the streets and made his living selling used books showed up. The next week he brought a friend with him who worked as a dancer at a French Quarter Bar and a sometimes prostitute. She too became a member of our church. The hostess, and I understand where she was coming from, simply could not live into James’ instruction to treat all comers the same. We talked and decided to move the book study to the church, after which she quite attending the book study and finally left the church (temporarily). Through time and prayer and conversation, she came back to the church, we rebuilt our relationship and we remained friends for the remainder of her life.

It is not easy to follow James’ command to be “doers of the word and not merely hearers,” but through prayer and trust in God and in each other and haltingly doing our best to follow scripture and “love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, it can, through God’s grace, happen.

As the writer of the Book of Proverbs reminds us: (22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23)

“Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of anger will fail.

Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.

Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate;

for the Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them.

The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is the maker of them all.”

Be Doers of the Word and Not Merely Hearers

Jesus’ brother, James, helps us put faith and works in perspective by reminding us that for people of faith, one does not exist without the other. “Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. . . You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.”(James 1:17-27)

James goes on to teach that God calls us to be, not simply hearers of God’s Word, but “doers of the Word.” James tells us that by acting on God’s Word, by walking the walk as well as talking the talk, that we will be blessed in the doing, in the acting, in the living out of and living into the Word of God.

What does our doing look like? James tells us that it looks like “care for orphans and widows in their distress, keeping ourselves unstained by the world, and, perhaps the most difficult, “bridling our tongues.” (I do so hate it when preachers quit preaching and start to meddling, but, James does stop us in our tracks and force us to think about our actions.)

For those of us who are Christians today, this means that we hear the word and act; that we love one another as Christ loves us; that we feed the hungry, cloth the naked, welcome the stranger. It means that we fight for what we believe, based on our faith and our knowledge, but that we respect those whose opinions and beliefs differ from ours.

Who are the widows and orphans of our time? Who are the vulnerable in our world today? Who is God calling us to serve? To find out, we need only look to the margins of our society. To follow God’s will, we need only love and care for those who live there. May God give us the strength and courage to be doers of the word, and that by doing, to be blessed and to be a blessing!