My
grandfather has always been a man of shadows, a mystery man. A while ago I
decided to Google his name and came up with a real person, who went to
Westminster School, studied theology at London University through The Jews
College in London, and became a principal of a college in Ramsgate. His name
was Samuel. He was my grandfather who I never met. My eldest daughter is called
Sam, I also studied theology at London University. He is part of my identity,
of who I am.
Because
of him when I went to the concentration camp at Buchenfeld in Germany, I knew
as a second generation Jew I would have been gassed. This makes me very
sensitive to people being marginalized and singled out as a problem because of
their identity.
The question of who you are is
more important today than ever before. Are you From EU or not. Do you suffer problems going though immigration?
The answers to questions of
identity determine our place in British society and in the world, how people
treat you. Unfortunately.
But God sees things
differently. He introduces the Upside down kingdom and Jesus focused on bringing people who were
on the edge of society to the centre and giving them self worth and dignity.
Jesus himself was from the
Middle East, a Jew, a young male, unmarried, a wandering, itinerant rabbi, uneducated, he hadn’t
been to theological college, and a miracle worker. Today how would we view him?
(would we stop him at immigration from coming into the country!)
The passage
In
the gospel reading in Mark we heard, Jesus is with his disciples in the
district of Caesarea Philippi, at the base of Mount Hermon and some 50
kilometers North of Galilee, a Gentile non Jewish town, and it still is today.
The
story of Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi (now known as Banais, on the
borders of Israel and Lebanon) is a turning point in the gospels. It was
rebuilt by King Herod Philip and renamed as Caesarea. I went there. It is
beautiful spot with fallen statues to Greek gods, like Pan, people sit and eat
their sandwiches on them like I did. So we are talking about a real place.
As
they were walking, normally disciples asked rabbis questions but Jesus is
asking them a question. “Who do people say that I am?” he says, to test out the
water, to find out the gossip on the street.
The Jews at the time of Jesus
were expecting a Messiah to save them and there were two different prophesies
in the Old Testament about this coming Messiah. They were confusing;
The Messiah
would be a warrior king or
He would be a
suffering servant, humble, a bruised reed he would not break, such was his
gentleness (Isaiah).
The Jews of the 1st
century had chosen the Jewish Messiah prophesy and hoped he would be a strong military
leader who would challenge the Romans under whose rule the Palestinians lived. Occupation
like Palestine today.
Neither
the crowds, nor the religious leaders, recognized that Jesus was the messiah.
They
were devaluing who Jesus, like we can be devalued today for who we are.
"But
what about you?" Jesus says to them, who do you think I am? And Peter
answers "You're the Christ", the anointed one, the messiah, the Son
of the living God" …which separates this God from the other dead gods
whose statues were around them.
Peter's
confession expressed what all the disciples thought…that Jesus was the messiah.
And its a shocking
answer and it will eventually cost Peter his life!
The truth can be
very costly and many don’t want to hear it and react violently to truth.
And Jesus tells
them to keep quiet because he knows this knowledge is very dangerous. He wants
this secret kept and to keep a low profile with regard to his messianic credentials
because the political situation is explosive. There’s a time for secrets and a
time for exposure. There’s the worlds time and there’s Gods time, Kairos time.
And
it’s the same for us. People may think we are one thing but we know we are
someone else and we may struggle to release ourselves from the script other
people impose on us, our families, our friends, even the church.
And
he asked this question, “on the way” because for all of us we learn as we
journey, as we are traveling on in life.
Jesus’
himself knows that he is someone who has come to challenge the authority of the
political and religious leaders and because of it he will be condemned and
crucified.
Peters
however cant get his head around this because his understanding, his script of the
Messiah is different and so he reacts and in turn is fiercely told off, by
Jesus. He needs to get with the program as my daughter would say!
We
also have to be who we know we are and do what we know we must do despite
people around us even close friends and family disagreeing with us.
Then Jesus says to them;
You must take up
your cross-a person condemned to be crucified, had to literally take up his
cross, naked, and suffer public humiliation as a deterrent to others. Trouble
makers and dissidents were crucified in this way, the lower classes, the unruly
elements especially in Judea. Jesus life was in danger because of who he was.
It’s political and religious.
Don’t mix
religion and politics people say! But Jesus did!
And Jesus then
offers them a spiritual paradox,
If you hang on
to the things of this world you will lose your life/soul. But if you follow
your soul you will gain your life. Have you ever experienced this? Chosen the
wrong path and in turn lost yourself, lost your soul, who you are?
So
who are you?
Where
have you come from and where are you going?
Many
people have become or feel invisible and they dont know who they are.
They’ve
lost their roots, their identity, which is why communities stick together to
hold on to their identity.
In
some cultures you have a role simply because of your gender or place in the
family or caste. But none of that answers the real question of who are you?
Do
you know your calling in this life? Its difficult to discern often. It may be
simple humble but very important as a building block of change. We all have a
distinct identity given to us by God like our unique thumb prints and a destiny
with that identity. Nobody else’s life will be like ours. The closer we get to
finding out who we really are, the closer we get to God, and to our God given
destiny. Who are you and where are you going in this life that God has given
you?
Who
you are matters. God is in our stories, our communities. Your story matters and
is important to us all and God.
Where
are you going?
To get us through the rough times we need something
very powerful to sustain us!
Florence NIghtingale, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther
King, Nelson Mandela were all awesome people because of what they did and all
of them were inspired by this Jesus, this Son of the Living God, and its this
that gets them with and sustains them on the program!
Our
calling will be very different!
Whoever
we are what age we are 0-95! , our education, our cultural identity is
unique and significant and precious to God. To work it out we may need others to
help us, we need to pray, we need to boldly embrace who we are and let God use
us.
I
did a course with a photographer in London. His brother was killed in knife
crime. He was inspired by God and the need to do something to change the script
of gang culture, so he did what he knew best. He did a photographic exhibition about knife
crime for his brother and to combat knife crime. He was getting with the
program.
We
like Jesus are each on a journey, to discover who we are and what God wants
from us, our own pilgrimage. Like Jesus we will face our deserts, our wilderness
times, we will face temptation and danger from wild beasts, and demonic powers,
but also experience angels who minister to us, as part of for the plan that God
has for us.
So
what are you called to be? What is your special place in Gods kingdom however
humble?
Servant Christ help us to follow you
Into that place of quietness,
Where we face beasts and wildness
But we know the presence of angels
Even in the desert wastes. Amen.
