Mark 8:27-38
In today’s Gospel reading, Mark presents a scene after Jesus and his disciples have fed the 5000. The Pharisees still ask him for a sign. I can imagine that Jesus is frustrated by this. Thousands have just witnessed a miracle. But Jesus knows that the Pharisees are blind and cannot see. In the passage just before today’s reading (Mark 8: 22-26), after crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus comes to Bethsaida. There, Jesus is asked by a blind man’s friends to restore the man’s sight. Jesus takes the man to a private space. He spits onto his hands and places them on the man’s shoulders. He asks if this blind man can see, but the man says that he sees people moving like trees. Jesus touches the man’s eyes, fully restoring his sight. He tells the man not to return to his village.
The distance from Bethsaida to Caesarea Philippi is about 30 miles. This walk would have taken about 10 hours. It is during that journey that today’s passage, often referred to as” Peter’s Confession,” represents one of the most quoted in the gospels.
Jesus begins his dialogue with the disciples by asking what they have heard people say about him. Certainly, people have been talking about him. Jesus asks, “Who do people say that I am?” The disciples tell him that people have said that he is the reincarnated prophet Elijah or John the Baptist. Peter then proclaims, “You are the Messiah.”
After we tell someone our name, people generally probe further. Where are you from? Where do you live? What do you do for work? Are you married? Do you have kids or grandkids? Where did you go to school? Nearly one year ago this Sunday, I tried to answer these questions about myself before this congregation as a candidate to be considered by this congregation as your Pastor. Your vote affirmed the decision of the Search Committee. Three hundred sixty-three days later, I remain delighted at your invitation to serve as your Pastor. I am proud when I am asked what I do for work. But saying I am a Pastor serving this church changes how people continue their conversations with me. I tell people how welcoming and kind the church is. I try to live out this role.
On Wednesday, September 10th, I finished my mile swim at the Whitin Recreation Center. As I left the locker room, an older man lurched out from the lockers with his hand on his chest. He said, “I think I am having a heart attack.” I asked him his name. In pain, he said his name. I sat Howard on a bench, and he asked me to call 911. I did. I sat with him, laid him back, and held his hand. I was prepared to start CPR. However, in minutes, the police arrived with a defibrillator, and the EMTs were not far behind. I thought it best to get out of the way so the professionals could attend to him. I let go of his hand and walked away while the EMTs loaded him onto their gurney. He thanked me as I let him be attended to.
A stranger turns into an acquaintance, and we get a sense of who the other person is when we gain context. But if the relationship develops, there are other insights to be gained: the values that shape behavior and decisions, the vision of success that provides a sense of direction, the awareness of whether the other is trustworthy, has integrity, and treats people with dignity and compassion. Yesterday, I asked how Howard was doing. The desk attendant said that, indeed, he had a heart attack and remained in the hospital, but he was doing well. The person at the desk then said, “It was a miracle that you could make a call from the locker room. There is usually no signal. You may have saved his life.” I am grateful I was able to call for help. Did I witness a miracle? Did I participate in a miracle? I had no answer but was in the right place and time.
Jesus does not reject Peter’s naming him “Messiah.” But Jesus does what he always does in Mark. He “sternly” tells his followers to tell no one that he is the Messiah. Jesus hushes such notions. He does this for two reasons. On the surface, Jesus knows it is not yet time. There are signs to come and miracles of compassion for The Son of Man to do. But I also understand Jesus’s hushing those who call him Messiah, for such declarations are a danger to himself and his disciples, who will soon experience his suffering and death.
For yeast of the Good News to spread, his followers must not be swept up into martyrdom on crosses with him at Golgotha. Mass executions of dissidents who challenged Roman authority were common. Jesus then tells those who will remain closest to him that he, as the long-sought Messiah, will suffer and die at the hands of oppressors. Peter pulls Jesus aside and tells him that a suffering and dying servant does not fit his or any hopeful Jew’s definition of the liberating warrior king that is expected. Jesus is the Christ. His teaching will liberate those who believe in him and welcome eternal life. Jesus rebukes Peter. “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” This Satan reference refers to the “adversary,” not the dark angel who reigns in hell. Jesus refers to what tempts us not to serve God but our human desires. Peter may have the Messiah right but does not understand how the title Messiah defines Jesus. Peter cannot yet comprehend what Jesus says to him, just as humans cannot comprehend that a man could rise from the dead in three days. On the Night of Betrayal, Peter will deny knowing Jesus three times. The disciples will remain hushed until the women return from the empty tomb. All are offered eternal life in Christ. We must navigate our course to find the safe harbor offered by Christ.
We each bring our humanity to our relationship with Jesus. We see Jesus as the one who will sustain us and guide us to become who we hope to become.
But, like Peter, we find it difficult to set our minds on Divine things. In our relationship with Jesus, there is the promise and the hope that somehow divine wisdom will break through. Through Christ, God enables us to find a way different from the world and to discern how a person’s life can be fulfilled as God intends. We are to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him into a life of serving and giving. We are promised: “Those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” I stand with you, hopeful that we will find a future together. I offer myself to this community that we hope to call home.