Monday, August 18, 2008

Today’s text

Matthew 16:13-16

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Phillipi he put this question to his disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of man is?' And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' 'But you,' he said, 'who do you say I am?' Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'

Prayer

I wonder, Jesus, how did you ask your question, and how did Peter respond? For years I have heard sermons that paint this moment in hues of high drama. Your question points a challenging finger directly at your friends. And brimming with blood-red passion, Peter immediately rises up on his hind feet to answer with surest conviction.

I have never been comfortable with this picture. It doesn’t seem right. Now that I am older, I am almost certain that the moment was nothing like this.

I wonder if the conversation came late in the evening when minds are tired and hearts unguarded. Or maybe it happened in the heat of day as you escaped the incessant sun and rested in the shade with friends.

You speculated with them about what people were saying about your little movement … and you. I doubt you raised your voice or that you intended your question as a pointed challenge. ‘And who do you say that I am?’

Did you know what they’d say, Jesus? Did you wonder if they understood anything about you? Or did you need some assurance yourself as your identity and mission were leading you down dangerous paths? Were you like us, needing encouragement from the hearts of your friends? You were human, too.

And Peter, did he speak with cocksure conviction? Or did he whisper his words into the darkness as your friends sat at a fire, half believing yet wondering if he was speaking utter craziness? Did he wonder and doubt, like us, speaking the truth through a divided soul?

There is nothing inspiring about my speculation Jesus, except maybe this. Faith in who you are most often comes not amid the strength of assurance but is laced with questions and uncertainty.

It arises in the hours when the heart is vulnerable and unguarded, allowing us to entertain thoughts about what is central to our lives, what shows us what life and truth are. And in those moments, you are always there, one way or another, asking, ‘who do you say that I am?’

Pr. David L. Miller