"Not Who You Think" a sermon for 2 Lent, 25 February 2024

           “Finding your Roots” is a favorite show of mine.  Genealogy fascinates me and I love to see the featured celebrities learn more about their identities.  Sometimes there can be huge shocks as stories are uncovered.  Julia Roberts, for example, learned that she is not Julia Roberts but Julia Mitchell!

Our Gospel has a similar shocking identity revelation.  To back up a little, Jesus and His companions are at Caesarea Philippi.  Jesus asks them about who the people say He is.  The obvious answers come fast: Elijah, a prophet, or even a resurrected John the Baptist.

Jesus then gets more personal.  He asks His followers who THEY say He is.  Peter is quick to speak up for the group.  “You are the Christ!”  Jesus tells them not to tell anyone.  Jesus also uses the moment to teach about what it truly means for Him to be the “Christ.”

Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew for Messiah, or “Anointed one.”  Based on the Prophets, the Anointed one would be the son of David and sit on David’s throne.  Israel would once again enjoy peace and prosperity.  Another Golden Age would follow for God’s people.

Jesus goes on to teach His friends that the Messiah, the Christ, is not who they think.  The Christ is not about power, pomp, and privilege.  Quite the opposite in fact.  To be more specific, Jesus tells them that the identity of God’s Anointed One means four things:

  The Christ must suffer many things, including betrayal and torture.

  Jesus must face rejection, even by His friends.

  The Christ must be unjustly condemned and put to death

              Jesus must ultimately rise again on the third day.

Peter does not like what Jesus has to say.  In fact, Peter gets angry with Jesus.  What Jesus says does not match up with the common expectations for the Anointed One.  Suffering and rejection?  Betrayal and death?  That is not how Peter imagines Jesus’ life and ministry as the Christ.

Jesus takes it further as He connects their identity with His.  Greatness is not about what is in our bank account.  Greatness is about humbling one’s self to serve others.  Much as Jesus will serve His friends by kneeling before them to wash their feet (John 13:3-16). 

Taking up our cross can be scary.  Not many of us like to make ourselves vulnerable as Jesus does.  I have here in our backpack a chain that has been weighing us down.  To open ourselves in self-less service to others means letting go of the chains of fear, shame, or guilt that hold us back. 

Archbishop of San Salvador and martyr, Oscar Romero, reminds us:

To each one of us, Christ is saying: if you want your life and mission to be fruitful, like mine, do as I.  Be converted into a seed that lets itself be buried.  Let yourself be killed.  Do not be afraid.  Those who shun suffering will remain alone.  No one is more alone than the selfish.  But if you give your life out of love for others, as I give mine for all, you will reap a great harvest.

            These are not mere words for Romero.  The Archbishop knew the truth of these words.  Romero knew the cost of following Jesus faithfully and fully.  He was a very vocal opponent of the civil war in El Salvador.  Oscar Romero was killed while celebrating the Holy Eucharist on March 24, 1980.

            Fortunately, following Jesus will not cost you and me our lives.  Or, at least the chances are very slim.  We live a somewhat sheltered and privileged existence in the United States.  There are other ways that our relationship to Jesus can cost us much in the  eyes of the world.

              Relationships with family and friends may become strained.

              Co-workers might label us as that “Jesus freak.”

              Unhealthy relationships may need to be given up, even if temporarily.

              Our actions and choices might conflict with popular culture.

            All of this is okay.  After all, our identity is not, or should not, depend on what others think of us.  So, here in the backpack is a Baptismal certificate and some chrism.  Our identity, our true identity, is found in the Baptismal covenant and in the promise that you and I are “marked as Christ’s own forever.”