Communion mediatation ReBzmaxy March 7, 1965
Luke 9:2a%% |6--27

Le 3

In many ways, we in the contemporary church, are like the disciples of Jesus
cee ae

when they happened upon him while he was praying, and then found themselves asked

a very embarrassing question.| It is easy to romanticize fhese twelve men: and endue

them with powers and status far above ourse|ve \ ie ‘hink of them as very religious
; a Ae &@ wrekl<> vi

men: as intellégent, courageous and strong men.\TA fat¢, they were special men, for

Jesus had chosen them to be hés disciples./But still they were quite ordinary. \ Just

hew ordinary they were, and how much like us they were, ig indicated in the remarkable

passage | have read from Luke's Go spel

[ts extremely difficult to knew when this significant intershange took place
within the time span of Jesus’ ninistry.| But we are safe in assuming that it occurred
samexzkam somewhere in the middle, after the disciples had been with him for several
months. \ Howl strange it is, then, for him to be asking them; \"Who do you say that

I on.) If 18 posstbte that they had been following him around for almost a year

withouf a clear idea wha of who he was?

| said intially that we are very much like the disciples in this instence.|
are committed in one way or another to the church of Jesug chridt.\In egery group of

Christians there are some who are deeply loyal to the church and its work.| Others are

a bit milder, faithful but not overly so,| And there are those who remain on the

periphery, attending occassionally, participating sporadically 4 But one thing that
has ee Singe Jar
is common to us all and to the discidles twenty centuries ago, is the lack of a
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definitive conviction about this question:| "Who do you say that | am.?" /

Jesus intiated the discussion by asking: "Who do men say that | am?"/For months

-

he had been traveling throughout Palestine, teaching, predching and healing: he

wanted to know what the people were saying about him. | te answer he got is interesting;

Seem were saying John the Baptist, a very popular preacher who so threatened Herod

that it cost him his head, pthers said Elijah., the hero-prohpet who was to return

to prepare the way for the lessiah.| S111 others thought he was one of the Old Testament
oo -

‘rophets returned from the dod. (Al of these answers demonstrate that Jesus impact
had been considerable: people knew about him and talked about him.\aut are hi ghéy
compjementary: he was held in high esteen.| Sut them, without comment, as if if
didn't matter what the peeple thought, he turned the question to his diciples,
his 12 friends who were completely identified with him.

|

The world still thinks highly of ai te chureh-had-—en-—tmpaet—on—+fe—fn—man y

areas, A common sampling of opiniom would probably reveal that the average

Amemitcan regards Jesus as the best man who ever lived. \ Some would say that he was
the world's greatest teacher. \The historically minded would identify him with the
instiution that beers his name, and rank him with Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar
and Charlemagne, as one of Histories movers of men and events.

But now, as then, what the world thinks is not the important question{ Rather

it is KzszXzx what his friends, his followers are thinking that gengezmed is important.

The disciples followed Jesus for months without answering the quest ion.| When they

could avoid it no longer, when he asked them, Peter answeron theirb behal f.| But even
then they quickly demonstarted that they really didn't comprehend: or they really
didn't beleive the confession Peter had made for them.

Likewise, today —- it is possibel to be a follower, a member of fhe church, and
E > eens "4

avaoid answering the question, "Who do you say that | am?) In fact, | think at times
that the church is ifs own worst enemy inn this respect. \We are so very busy building
buildings and attending meetings and studying the mission of the church: that we don't

have time for the question: and if it is asked we are too occurppied to answer.

But suddenly, thinking about this passage, we see that the question and our answer
to jt - is really the heart of the whole matter During the Lenten season i t becomes
rae ;

increasingly difficult to igmewe coming to some conclusion regarding the identity of

this man.

: ( \ne me '
9) oath ben < a thle questi of Wheel | really v \ +
| 4 Abe. « Mea water of “Ah “; Ne ws = ee es
m< w ber ‘> \, » We gus v “tk
. \ ha! \e ua \ ky ei vw “\u mousy o's wit, . “4 ‘7 \A i 4. a \ °

» yeu san Hel DT are f . . oo. .
~ There are only a few really uhtimate questions a man must answer in his life-time.
FO A ALL ——_

!
Among them might be: a vocational decésion, or the choice of husband of alias ne

most of the decisions we make are secondary: what kind of car to by byy, where to go

on vaca ten what clubs to Join ets very great or significant hinges on the decisins

77.
we make “Of of the time.

There is one question that is ultimae , however, a question that every man
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must answer end which every man does answer one way or another. las the drama of the

Passion unfolds in the Lenten season it is impossible not, to hear the question For

twenty centuries the church has been stating its case: even today as we celebrate his

Jesus aldowed his disciples a period ot gree the same manner the work of
the church continues without constantly demanding an answer to this quest ion| But

the
there comes a time when we, like Patere, find ourselves face to face with xzs claims .

the historic testaimony | of the church, the man himself, and his demand that we

decide: "Who do you say that | am?"

In view of what we claim about him, it is an ultimate question.\ For we are sayiing

that to compare him with great men of the past, the John's and Elijah's, is not

4

enough. | We are claiming that he was the Chitrst of God: a Iman who contained in

himself the person of God: a man who, ultimately, above all ames revealed to men

\iee at e le losop hes

We are not melebrating the deqth of a misunderstood

the nature of Almighty coa,|

martyr like Joan of Are, or a persecuted teacher like Seciates -\ we are celebrating the

fact that God Almighty took on human flesh and died the death of humanity.] We look
on that event , not as one of the tragedies of history, but as the focal poigmh of
history, the central event in the story of God and non. | ane then we are celebrating

our conviction that death did not contain him: that the cruci fixion did not settle

the matter as it should nave. We have the supreme audacity to claim that he rose

from his grave, and that in his complete participation in humanity he has become

Agoe

the bridge between God and ourselves.

-_

‘ "Who do you say that | em?" Whan that question was first asked these claims

had not yet been made.) Today we make them: and today every man answers the question

~— ———

in light of them, \We don't have as many options as the disciples.\We can no longer

call him prophet or teacher .| To us the question becomes ultimate.

As we procedd through the Lenten season you will be hearing tamakx what the church

not ask for a theological disertation: he simply aeked—“Whe-do_you-say—thet—f-am?"

teaches about him: we will discuss atonement, forgiveness, salvation.|Sut Jesus did

du ine _ \o War oe pu We \ve 4 ‘Tu i\ Ors A hon ik; AV ce un Me k VOE

\ \ es , MA ye \nad Clanue 4 ime Cs Abe x VAC 5 \ ef GAs, d
Vs Vw clin ~

oskea “ Lhe Cho wou say fic aed \ O ;