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.