Who Is Jesus?

 

I’m pretty excited and more than a little intimidated as I prepare this reflection because this Sunday I have been invited to my former parish Holy Family in North Java to preach to the children at the church outdoor picnic about the gospel that asked the disciples: “Who is Jesus?

 

Renee their teacher warned me that she has a dozen kids ages 8 to 14. who get excited about coming to her religion class. So I will bring my special puppet Spinach and we ask the children this question: “Who is Jesus?”

 

What would your response be? Do you ever get the urge to go beyond the churchy language and really wrestle with what your faith in Jesus means and why it’s important to you? Certainly, some will say they call upon Jesus in time of need and find him a comforter and a helper. Others might say they look to Jesus as the model of the Godly life. I like that last part, but our gospel lesson shows us he’s a petty weird model to follow—a model who tells us he’s going to be rejected and killed and then urges us to deny ourselves and take up our cross in order to be his followers.

 

What is it, exactly, that Jesus models? What tells us about who he is? He’s certainly rather modest. He doesn’t want his identity to be made known. He lowers himself to wash the feet of his disciples like a slave would do. He looks silly riding into Jerusalem on a baby donkey. He clearly has empathy for others. He breaks society’s rules and hangs out with the “wrong” crowd and accepts unacceptable people. He tells people they’re forgiven. He preaches non-violence and love for the poor and for enemies. He reminds us that everyone is our neighbor. And he talks back to authority.

 

In the gospel reading Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus doesn’t deny this, but he doesn’t want this bit of news to be spread around. I always figured that Jesus knows people will misinterpret that title. For Peter, the anointed one of God would be a political leader and a real badass warrior who would vanquish the enemies of the nation.

 

It seems that for a lot of folks living in America today, that is exactly how they see Jesus. As Christianity slips out of the mainstream of American life a breed of Christian jihadists has sprung up to fight what they perceive are the forces of Satan. They will rescue unborn babies, revoke LGBTQ+ rights, ban books, dictate curriculum to teachers, put the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, eliminate inclusive language, and champion a whole truckload of their other cultural priorities—and do it with a screaming zeal that would seem excessive from the Taliban.

 

What should I tell these children about Who Jesus Is?  Spinach will have their attention and I will share these thoughts. Jesus is someone who will never scold you. He will always will be with you when you are having a bad day. When you cry because someone was a bully and called you a nasty name, Jesus will wipe your tears and tell you He loves you. Like on the cross when he said, Father, forgive them they know not what they do.” Who is Jesus? He is kind, gentle, humble, forgiving and accepts us just as we are, tatoos, wrinkles and rings in our ears and nose. I want these kids to confirm a living faith, not just conform to an institutional church.

 

Who do you say Jesus is? What do your actions, your words, and the way you live your life say about you and Jesus? What are we telling your kids and grandkids about who Jesus is?

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that we take time to have a little talk with Jesus. May we pray in our hearts that our actions and words model Who Jesus Is.

 

 

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Going Out of Our Way

 

A FedEx package arrived at my home that was labelled for my next door neighbor. When I delivered it to Maggie, she asked me to open and inside was a replacement for her emergency alert button. The vendor forwarded an alert replacement so that she could wear around her neck to call in case of an emergency. Sadly, the instructions were not user friendly. Maggie had no clue how to activate the new alarm system. So I stayed to review the manuel and just as confused, called customer service for help to activate her new emergency alarm.

 

Going out of your way. Think about when that happens, when someone goes out of their way for you – the effect that can have.  When a nurse is overly caring and attentive to the person suffering an illness when they are patient – we see that as “going out of their way” and it can change our perception of the medical profession. When a teacher takes the time to help a student understand the math problem or a resident care staff goes out of their way to help a physically challenged adult resident get comfortable in their home. 

 

Going out of your way. How often do we think that God does that for us? Do we perceive that? Or do we see him as distant, removed from us? The reality is our God is a God who constantly goes out of His way for each of us. But so often we miss it or don’t recognize it.

 

Like in this Gospel we read this Sunday. Another cool Jesus miracle story. It’s nice Jesus took care of this deaf and mute guy. Not being biblical scholars we might have missed a little nugget that St. Mark threw in there.  At the very beginning of the passage we hear Jesus left Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee.   A friend who, unlike me is a biblical scholar and who has visited the Holy Land numerous times had mentioned that this journey was completely out of the way. It was an indirect route that would have meant Jesus would have had to travel for weeks (possibly months) just to reach this place.

 

We don’t know for certain why Jesus goes out of His way to this next stop on His journey.  But for the apostles and disciples who witnessed all of this first hand and recounted it, what was obvious was that after that lengthy trip, what Jesus does.  He cures this man’s affliction. But not in any ordinary miraculous way. Jesus puts his fingers in the guy’s ears and spitting, touching his tongue as He restores the man’s hearing and speech. Why was that? We heard stories of Jesus feeding over 5000 with a few loaves and fishes – water being turned into wine – people being brought back from the dead simply with Jesus’ words being spoken. So it’s not like Jesus had to perform this miracle in this way.

 

But maybe Jesus was going out of his way to reach out to this man through His gentle touch this poor soul who couldn’t hear or speak how God thinks about you, God sees you, God knows the pains, the weaknesses, the brokenness you’re suffering from. God loves you. 

 

God went out of his way on the Cross to say that to all humanity.  The sad reality is that this is a message that many don’t feel, don’t recognize, or maybe don’t even really believe in.

 

Maybe you’re going through a really rough time right now that makes it hard to believe, to remember or perceive these things about God. 

 

Jesus is counting on those of us whose hearing and speech he has already touched to go out of our way for those who are suffering, who are skeptical, who are troubled by doubts. The miracle he performs reminds us that discipleship calls each of us to go out of our way and to listen and to speak out. 

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who go out of their way for others to listen to people’s pain, to listen to their fears, to listen to their doubts, to listen to their cries.  To listen to our own.  To listen to Jesus… To listen to Him in prayer… To listen to Him with the ears of our hearts so that we can then speak…Speak words of acceptance. Speak words of comfort. Speak words of forgiveness, of healing… of God’s eternal, unwavering, selfless, unconditional love.