Whose Are We?
You can listen to this sermon here
Gate Pa – Year A 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, 2020
Readings:
What I want to say:
What I want to happen:
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
· Whose are we?
· Who are we?
· What is ours to do?
Temptation is to jump straight to what should we do.
But I firmly believe that as people who seek to live the Way of Jesus, we need to stop and first think about who God is for us
- Starting point for me is The God we meet in person of Jesus?
o In what gospels teach us about God revealed in life and ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus
- What Bible teach us about nature of God?
- How have we experienced God in crucified and risen Christ?
Then in light of that, who are we invited to be
- For me is to walk in way of Christ in footsteps of Francis and Clare
Finally out of all that – what is our to do in this time and place.
Want to suggest that these questions help us into today’s readings.
2. Peters Confession
Jesus taken disciples to Caesarea Philippi
Number commentators don’t think this is random piece of geographical information
Story takes place here for a reason
- Head waters for Jordan River
o Temple to Greek god Pan
o Symbolic of whole Greek and Roman polytheistic religion
- on major trade route to Damascus
- built by Herod Great in honour of Caesar Augustus
o Roman Emperor and Lord of this land
o entitled son of God
- at time of Jesus was administrative centre for Philip Tetrarch – one Herod’s sons
o half-brother to Herod Antipas – the Herod Jesus is sent to in his trial
- by time Mathew wrote gospel become centre Roman occupation
o Roman legions returned to celebrate the fall of Jerusalem
o as they enslaved and expelled many thousands of Jews.
- In that place how would you answer “who is God?
o Residents would say there are many gods including Caesar
o God or gods reward rich and powerful with more wealth and power
o Important keep gods happy and on your side
o In this place or power, even Jewish would answer in very similar vein
Keeping that in mind let’s look at the story
One ways to understand this story is Jesus is asking what people say about him in the conversation the disciples have with others
- Great leaders or prophets of past
- Some seen forerunners to one who would defeat Herodians and Romans
o Restore God’s reign
Then Jesus asks “what do you say about me in those conversations?”
- Peter replies "You're the Christ, The Anointed One, the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
We know that Peter really doesn’t know what he is saying
- When Jesus goes on to say he must go to Jerusalem to die, Peter forbids it
But out of his experience of Jesus
- Feeding of huge crowds
- Eating with all kinds of people no rabbi should associate with
- Healing of so many sick
- Freeing the possessed
- Calming the spirit churned seas
- Walking on those same spirit churned seas
Peter had met God of abundant compassion and generosity for all
Peter had experienced God’s abundant life and mercy for all
Peter had experienced God’s abundant justice and mercy for all
He had met the Living God
He was being freed from old ways understanding God
Freed many ways of understanding god represented in city this took place
Ultimately change him
He would join God’s work of liberation with Jesus
And on that Jesus would build his community
And to that community grows out of God’s abundance
Jesus give authority to interpret – to bind and loose – understanding scripture
3. Paul
In passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans
- we see this same change at work
Paul talks about our minds being renewed
Which is learning to see like Peter
- see through the Abundant generosity, compassion, mercy and justice we experience in Jesus
o how we see God,
o how we see God’s world
o how we see ourselves
It means learning
As Peter had to learn
To receive this abundance
To live out this abundance for our selves
Because we learn from Jesus that God’s desire is for all to share in this abundance
Not always easy to receive this kind of abundance
It not always easy to live in this kind of abundance.
4. Living in abundance
So how do we live in this kind of abundance?
By doing what the women in the story of Exodus do
None of them had any grand plans
Not trying to do anything spectacular
They simply did what was theirs to do
- Midwives - Help mothers give birth to babies, male and female
o Help mothers care for their babies male and female
o Not give way to evil commands from Pharaoh
- Moses’ mother - Find a way for her son to stay alive and place him in river in floating basket
- Or Moses’ sister - standing from distance watching what happens to her brother and offering to find a wet nurse
- Or Pharaoh’s daughter
o choosing to not follow her fathers commands and to care for this one baby boy
Each act on its own quite small
Together changed how the story went
That is us
We don’t ned to set out to change the world with God’s abundant grace and love
But we can set out to live each day in God’s abundance
Being open to receive
Being open to the small ways we are invited to live that abundance for others
5. How about you?
So if you were in Peters shoes
What experiences of God’s abundant mercy, compassion, generosity and grace in Jesus would you speak from
How does that experience shape who you are?
And how you live each day in abundance?
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