Who do you say I am?
This sermon can be listened to here
Gate Pa – Year B 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time,
Readings:
Psalm Psalm 19
First Reading:
Prov
1:20-33
Second Reading:
James
3:1-12
Gospel:
Mark
8:27-38
What I want to say:
I want to use the questions
Jesus used with the disciples to explore our response, and what that might
reveal about who God is for us and what it means to be followers or disciples
of this God
What I want to happen:
I
want people to explore their own responses to the questions and what that
reveals about their image of God and what it means to be a follower
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
Poor old Peter.
One minute he is
top of the class
-
somehow he has
guessed it
-
Jesus is the Christ,
the messiah
and he doesn’t get
a gold star or a congratulations
at least not in Mark (its different in
Matthew, but that is another sermon)
in Mark he is
rebuked
-
word translated as
sternly ordered is more usually translated “rebuked”
translators have
felt like Peter was right so rebuked no fit
begs question
in Mark, was
Peter right?
hmmmm
They are a great
group of questions aren’t they.
shall we see how
we would answer them and if we would fare any better.
2. Who do people say Jesus is?
discuss in small
groups
then offer some
thoughts around the names offered in Mark
-
these are not
just random names of cool people
-
these come with
certain hopes and expectations
-
and certain assumptions
about the nature of God
-
they are code for
particular understandings of what is happening and where God is in all this.
-
e.g. Elijah – one
only 2 people to not die in First Testament
o Malachi 4 - “5 Lo, I will
send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord
comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of
children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a
curse.[b].”
-
What expectations
and hopes go with these?
-
What pictures of
God go with these?
è plenary
3. Who do we say Jesus is?
discuss in small
groups
brief plenary
then offer some
thoughts around the Peter’s answer in Mark
-
This is where
Peter gets into trouble
-
he doesn’t get it
o
his use of term
Messiah again came with whole load of hopes and expectations that were rife at
the time
o
end Roman rule
o
end corrupt
temple leadership
§ as it says in Malachi 4 “when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble”
§ Peter was hoping to be one of those who “revere God’s- on them the
sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out
leaping like calves from the stall
o
none of which
Jesus had offered any hint that he was in business of doing
§ one commentaries suggested you can hear John
and James sniggering in background – Peter you fool
-
clearly not what
Jesus is offering
-
clue is story
just before this
o healing of blind man who says on first time “I can see
people, but they look like trees, walking.”
-
so they are
rebuked to say nothing – because it is wrong
So discuss
-
What expectations
and hopes go with our names?
-
What pictures of
God go with these?
Plenary
4. Followers
How do our images compare with Peters and with
what Jesus then offers?
Jesus offers an alternative vision
-
way of powerlessness,
vulnerability, death
-
way of letting go
of some their deepest hopes and desires
-
way of generosity,
compassion, love
Peters problem with this is that
-
this does not
match his hope of being among the rulers living the life
-
he is a follower
o
that means
following where ever Jesus is going
o
and he does not
like the sound of where Jesus is going
o
nor should we
o
so question for
us is
o
what does it mean
for us to be followers of this Jesus today?
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