Monday 14 September 2015

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost-Year B - Br Simeon & Br luke


 Homily preached by Br. Luke at Springwood Sunday 13th September 2015




Andre-Rublev's Saviour




SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. YR B.



Gospel:  Mark 8: 27-35



Along the way Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?”  Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Christ . . .”


May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord my strength and my Redeemer. Amen.



This week's reading is quite interesting and even a bit odd. It shows how Our Lord teaches those who believe in Him and is quick to correct those who follow when their human thinking gets in the way.



Caesar Philippi was a bazaar of worship places and temples, with altars erected to every concept of the divinity from the gods of Greece to the godhead of Caesar. Amid this marketplace of gods, Jesus asks Peter and the Twelve, “Who do people say that I am? . . . Who do you say that I am?”  This is a turning point in Mark's Gospel:  Until now, Mark's Jesus has been reluctant to have people believe in him only because of his miracles.  Jesus talks, for the first time in Mark’s Gospel, about dark things ahead: rejection, suffering, death and resurrection (concepts that the disciples are unable to grasp).



In this incident (recorded by all three synoptics), Peter immediately confesses his faith in Jesus as the Messiah -- the Messiah of victory and salvation. But when Jesus begins to speak of a Messiah who will suffer rejection and death, Peter objects. Peter’s reaction is ours, as well:  We prefer to follow the popular, happy Jesus, the healing and comforting Jesus – but we back away from the suffering, humble, unsettling Jesus of the cross.



Every moment we live, every decision and choice we make, every good thing we do is our most revealing and telling response to the question, Who do you say I am? Our love for family and friends, our commitment to the highest moral and ethical standards, our willingness to take the first step toward reconciliation and forgiveness are, ultimately, our true confession of faith in Jesus Christ as the Love and Word of God incarnate.



Only in “denying ourselves” in order to imitate the servanthood of Christ do we experience the true depth of our faith; only in embracing his compassion and humility

in our lives do we enable the Spirit of God to renew and transform our world in God’s life and love.



We cannot belong to the company of Jesus unless we embrace the Crucified One’s spirit of selfless servanthood; we cannot stand with the Crucified Jesus unless we unconditionally and completely love and forgive others as he did; we cannot hope to share in the victory of the Risen Christ unless we "crucify" our fears, self-consciousness and prejudices that blind us from seeing him in the faces of every human being.



So my friends, I stand here before you at this pulpit and my question is to you and of course for me today...Who do you say that Jesus is? Of course, he is the Christ. But what does that mean to you? Do you want a Jesus for anything other than what he is? Are you looking for Jesus the healer? Who will always cure your diseases? Are you looking for Jesus the therapist? Who will help you work out all your “issues”? Are you seeking Jesus the job-provider, Jesus the child-rearing-advice-giver, Jesus the marriage counsellor, a Jesus who comes to simply solve your problems and answer your questions? Then you will not find him.



But in his word, and in his sacraments, you will find Jesus who is the Christ. And a Christ of the cross. A Jesus who suffered and died, for your forgiveness, a Jesus who rose from death to guarantee you life, a Jesus who ascended to heaven to rule for you there, and a Jesus who will come again to bring final victory and peace. A Jesus on his terms, not ours. A Jesus who deals with sin, the root of all our other problems. A Christ that we need, not that we think we want.


Nor do we come to this answer on our own. It is God who shows us, leads us, and brings us to faith by his Spirit. He gives the answer that we confess. We confess, like Peter, in our words, who Jesus is and what he has done. “Jesus Christ, God’s only Son our Lord… who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, died, was buried, descended into Hell, rose on the third day, ascended into heaven, sits at God’s right hand, and one day will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Asking the right question is important. So is getting the right answer.
“Who is Jesus?” “He is the Christ.” “What kind of Christ?” “A Christ of the Cross – a Saviour from sin – your saviour and mine.” Good questions, and good answers – all given by God.



Amen.
Written by Br Simeon
Preached by Br Luke