Mark 8:27-9:1 (NRSV)

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"  And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets."  He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah."  And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.  Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.  But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan!  For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."  He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.  For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?  Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?  Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."  And he said to them, "Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power."

What stands out today is that Jesus calls Peter, “Satan!”  This is as if to say to Peter – if you try to stop what I must do to save the world from eternal damnation (or distance from God), then you are no better than the evil one (or the deceiver) that wants to destroy the world (separate it from God).

This passage, like the parallel in Luke 9:18-27 discussed on 2/19/2012, is Jesus soliciting 3rd party information about his perceived identity.  As we all know, we should be careful with 3rd party information.  Unsolicited, it can be a dangerous tool for triangulation and bad communication.  Unidentified, it can be destructive to all parties as it tears down the trust between them.  Jesus is very careful and talks “quite openly.”

Jesus instructs the disciple not to tell anyone about who he is.  I feel that this is because it will push Jesus’ inevitable demise up the timeline to a point that he is not able complete the work he needs to do.  If Jesus is arrested and killed early, then he is not able to fulfill the mission.

I feel that the call today is be to be bold in faith.  Jesus cautions and tells the disciples (and us) that it will not be easy to follow his teaching.  I feel that anything worth having is not ever easy to get.  A life united with God, and seeing the Kingdom come to fruition, is our eternal reward for following in the difficult way of Jesus.  Some think it is “stylish” to be agnostic or even deny Christ for social reasons.  I think that this is worse behavior than trying to follow him and falling short sometimes.  If we are bold in faith and have good intention to please God, then I think God recognizes it and is indeed pleased.

Luke 9:18-27 (NRSV)

Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, 'Who do the crowds say that I am?'  They answered, 'John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.'  He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?'  Peter answered, 'The Messiah of God.'  He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, 'The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.'  Then he said to them all, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.  For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.  What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?  Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.  But truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.'

Jesus asks, “who do you say that I am?”  Our readings today take the normal Sunday detour from the Gospel of John to the Gospel of Luke.  The story today isn’t one in the context of Jesus running from the Jews, but it is a question of Jesus’ identity.  Jesus asks his disciples about what people are saying and he gets all kinds of answers from John the Baptist to any other of the wide range of prophets.

It is Peter who steps forward in his boldness to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah of God.  Jesus is quick to put a damper on Peter’s proclamation, explaining that it’s not time yet.  Jesus makes the offer that if any want to become his followers, that they are welcome to deny themselves and take up their own cross and follow him.  He makes the claim that this self denial for his ways leads one to eternal life and the kingdom of God.

I feel that the call comes from Jesus’ direct words, “deny yourself and take up your cross daily and follow me.”  We are called to participate and learn from Jesus about the way that leads to eternal life.  We are given the chance to see the salvation of God through self denial and sacrifice to proclaim the good news.

Some have suggested that the hardships that we endure are somehow “our cross to bear.”  However, I don’t think that this is the point of Jesus’ offer.  The cross is Jesus’ fate and a symbol of his ultimate sacrifice.  Our way of participation is pure belief, self denial, and acceptance of Jesus’ way and his teaching.  Jesus is the messiah of God, and through following him we will see the kingdom of God.