21st Sunday After Pentecost
The Rev. Rod Sprange

‘Who do you say you are?’

Mark 10:35-45
I want to focus today on an important issue - the issue of identity. Our Identity, your identity. How we identify ourselves, to ourselves and to others, makes a difference in how we live our lives. Who I believe I am influences how I live and how I act. What we need is to know who we really are. To know our true identity.

How can we live as God would have us live if we forget or haven’t figured out who we are - and whose we are. Before considering today’s Gospel reading let’s start by looking at an earlier few verses in Mark (chapter 8:27-30).

One day while Jesus was on the road with his disciples he asked them who people said he was. They replied that many said he was a prophet, or John the Baptist, or Elijah - but he then asked them “But who do you say I am?”. That was a very pointed question. Not who do you think I am, but who do you say that I am. It was St. Peter, our patron saint, who blurted out “You are the Messiah”.

Today I have two questions for you. The first I would like you to go away and think about this week. The second I want you to think about now. The first is ‘Who do you say Jesus is?’ Not just, who do you think Jesus is, who do you say he is?”. Think about the implications of that question.

Now the question I want you to consider right now is ‘Who do YOU say YOU are? Suppose you are introduced to someone, they ask “Who are you?” Or perhaps, “What do you do?” How do you respond, who do you say you are? Or if they ask a more open ended question, “Tell me about yourself.” How will you describe yourself?

Will you tell them where you were born, or describe what you do - a sales manager, a plumber, a teacher...? Will you say you are a mother with three children, or perhaps “I am a retired engineer”?

Or will you be bold, and tell them who you really are? “I am a follower of Jesus of Nazareth? I am a Christian disciple”. You could go on to describe where you practice your Christian ministry - as an engineer, as a mother, as sales manager, as plumber.

Is it likely that many of us will do this if asked about who we are? Why not? Are we afraid? Afraid of what others might think? Afraid of offending someone? Are we embarrassed to say what we believe? Or has it just never occurred to us to proclaim, with great joy and conviction, just who we are? Perhaps we feel unworthy to proclaim these things. Maybe we think like Groucho Marks “I wouldn’t want to join any club that would have me as a member”.

Since the year 2000, I have worn a small silver cross on my jacket lapel. I wanted something, not overpowering, but visible, that would let others know I am a Christian; and I wanted it visible to me, to remind me, every day I wear it, to whom I belong. I wanted it to make me remember my responsibility. I mean, If we drive around in a car with a company sign on it, we need to remember our driving reflects on our company. If we advertise our membership in Christ’s family, we need to remember that what we do and what we say reflects on the family. But we don’t do this just from the point of view of image - we do it because we are committed to our part in bringing about God’s Kingdom on earth, sometimes called the Kingdom of Heaven, as a more pious way of describing God’s Kingdom. But make no mistake, that means a real earth, real creation, in time and space (a new or renewed creation), not some spiritual place with disembodied souls sitting around on clouds playing harps.

How we behave, how we act, what we say, what we don’t say, all has an impact on the building of the kingdom.

In what ways can we live out our Christian calling to be part of the building of this new world - while waiting for the event when it will be perfected in Christ’s return here? Everything we do should be oriented to the kingdom.

Tomorrow is a very important day in Canada. It is the day we elect our government. I think it is an important day to remember we are Christians and that we follow Jesus of Nazareth. Before we are conservative, or liberal, or NDP, or Green, we are Followers of Christ. As a priest I wear a collar - I am an honorary assistant at St. Peter’s. I can go home and take off the collar and be off duty. But I can’t stop being a priest, that does’t come off with the collar. I can’t stop being a disciple of Christ because baptism is permanent. (As an aside, that’s one of the reasons we should take baptismal preparation very seriously indeed).

None of us can decide to constrain our being Christian to church and particular activities, and not be a Christian when it’s inconvenient or feels embarrassing.

Not only can we not leave our christianity outside the door when we go into vote tomorrow, we should be highly alert to the reality of our Christian calling as we cast our precious, hard-earned, vote. We need to vote for what we believe will do most to help in building God’s kingdom.

Remembering who we are should have an impact on how we vote.

Some will say, the church should keep out of politics, or Christianity should have nothing to do with politics. Archbishop Desmond Tutu said something like this “Whenever I hear people saying that religion and politics don’t mix, I wonder which version of the Bible they are reading.?”

But don’t worry, I am not going to tell you who to vote for, not even who not to vote for but I do urge you to remember that as Christ’s disciples we are called to help build God’s kingdom on earth. N.T. Wright wrote in ‘Surprised by Hope’: “In particular, the present rule of the ascended Jesus Christ and the assurance of his final appearing in judgement should give us ... some clarity and realism in our political discourse...What would happen if we were to take seriously our stated belief that Jesus Christ is already the Lord of the world and that at his name, one day, every knee would bend”...he goes on to write “People who believe that Jesus is already Lord and that he will appear again as judge of the world are called and equipped ... to think and act quite differently in the world from those who don’t.”

A few weeks ago we sang one of my favourite hymns - ‘You are Salt for the Earth, O People, salt for the Kingdom of God’. When you are considering your vote perhaps the words of the refrain may be of help “Bring forth the kingdom of mercy, bring forth the kingdom of peace, bring forth the kingdom of justice bring forth the city of God!”

Apart from tomorrow being election day, and my current reading of NT Wright’s “Surprised By Hope” what got me doing a bit of a rant on Christian identity and Christian vocation or calling?

It was our Gospel reading this week. If you think church politics are something new read Mark’s passage again. And if you think Jesus wasn’t political re-read the four gospels. Jesus wasn’t killed because he went around healing people, and preaching love and peace. He was killed because he scared the daylights out of the ruling classes - he terrified the religious leaders; he frightened the head of the Roman occupying forces and their cronies the Herodians. He was preaching dangerous ways of thinking. If you are the High Priest, you don’t want to hear that the first shall be last! If you are King Herod, you don’t want to be told if you want to be the leader of all you need to be the servant of all. If you were a wealthy and powerful man you didn’t want to be told to sell your things and give the money to the poor. None of the establishment wanted to see people flocking to him excited about his revolutionary teaching.

To be fair to the powerful and rulers of the day - most of those who started following Jesus did think he was going to overthrow the governing Herodians, and defeat the Romans, and bring the leaders of the Temple to account before the poor and defenceless. Unfortunately they had the wrong idea about how the Messiah would bring about salvation. Even the disciples were still getting this wrong.

When James and John approached Jesus - asking that when he came into his glory they would be his right and left hand men - they weren’t thinking of the cross! They were thinking that when Jesus had overthrown the Roman enemy and was the reigning King of Israel - they would be in the positions of power and influence. They were thinking about their political future.

Naturally, when the other 10 heard about it they were furious - probably because they thought they had been outmaneuvered.

Jesus rebuked the lot of them. During this election, we have heard a lot about our economy, in this passage Jesus explains the economy of the kingdom - He told them about their identity: he told them, “you are not like the rest of the world where their appointed leaders lord it over those they lead” - he went on “and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many”. Their identity was to follow the servant King. And that’s our identity too.

Now, who do you say you are? If you say you are a follower of Christ - a Christian - then you are not like the rest of the world.

It’s not easy being countercultural:

• you are sitting here this morning - many won’t understand why you are here. (If you aren’t sure either, there is still time to come to Why Go to Church (Sunday after worship and Tuesdays at 7);
• according to statistics, as Christians, you probably gave more to charity than the average person or family;
• as Christians you have hope to share about our world and the future;
• As a disciple of Christ you take responsibility for your sins (that’s what we do in out general confession each week - stand and kneel and admit ours sins not blaming others, but acknowledging before God and our christian family that we are at fault and desire to do better);
• As a follower of Christ You pray. You may find it difficult, you may not pray as regularly as you think you should - but prayer is part of your identity it’s part of who you say you are.

What will you do when you confess who you are: Will you seek to do these ten things?

1. Will you continue to come to share the bread and wine each week and to hear the Good News?
2. Will you try your best to serve Christ by serving your brothers and sisters?
3. Will you try your best to love your neighbour as yourself?
4. Will you stand up for truth and justice. (Did you know that there is no regulation that says that political advertisements during an election must tell the truth?)
5. Will you be a peacemaker?
6. Will you share the Good News?
7. Will you let the Gospel of Christ and the Holy Spirit guide you in all that you do?
8. Will you carry a sign declares your identity and reminds you of who and whose you are?
9. Will you do your best to join in the work of Building God’s Kingdom on earth? (think about that as we pray ‘Your will be done, your Kingdom come, on Earth as it is in Heaven’)
10. Will you try to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your mind and with all your Strength?

I know that’s a lot, and none of them are easy - on our own we can’t do it. But remember Jesus said “with God, nothing is impossible”.

And that’s why it is so important to come to the table together and receive the bread and wine - the essence of Christ, to strengthen you and week by week transform you.

As you approach the table, whether you kneel or stand, whichever feels right for you, take heed of a traditional invitation: “Behold who you are; become what you receive”.

Thanks be to God. Amen