Proper 24, Year B

Spotted Alive!

Readings: Proverbs 1:20-33; Psalm 19; James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38

“Michael Jackson spotted alive!” What do you do when you read such a rumour? That was the caption in the subject line of an email that I got this week. It took me to a video on YouTube. I realized because of who sent it to me that it was a joke. But you know! Michael Jackson still alive! Who wouldn’t read a little further or stay tuned to find out what the story is? So I went to check it out. What I discovered was that despite the funeral being viewed by millions of people, there are a myriad of rumours about Michael Jackson still being alive.

One of the videos, supposedly of him hopping out of the back of the coroner’s van, has had nearly two million hits despite the fact that you can scarcely tell what vehicle it is, never mind who is getting out of the back of the van. There have been eye witness accounts of his crossing the border into Mexico, of his lounging around a pool chatting with his friends, and of him working with the CIA. There have been theories put forward that he was hiding out in a bunker somewhere hoping to escape his financial problems. It has taken over from the “King”!

Rumours have always been a problem. There is James warning the early Christians to be careful of what they say about other people. His admonition is not simply about being tactful or holding back what we really think, but a reminder that we are made in God’s image, and our attitudes towards other people should reflect our understanding of what that means and our faith.

What would be the fastest way to start a rumour or story? These days of text messaging it is very easy. It only takes a moment to pass on the news to everyone on your contact list. Of course, we all know that it pays to “Snope” it out before you hit send.

If someone spread an untrue or confusing rumour about you, how would you fight it or persuade people to accept your word and truth? How might the stories or inaccuracies affect your life in rather negative ways? It is good to know what people are actually saying about you. Maybe some of those things are behind Jesus’ question to the disciples in today’s gospel. After all, there were many misconceptions about who Jesus was. Even the disciples were not always clear. And so Jesus asks them, “Who do people say that I am?”

Often we are the last one’s to hear the rumours in the rumour mill. Jesus is wise to check it out with his followers who are more likely to hear what is going on than he. And he gets back a rather ominous list. John and Elijah and the prophets were all on pretty dangerous paths. If popular opinion was right, then the future could be pretty precarious for Jesus.

The conversation does not stop there. Jesus asks a further question, a far more important one for Peter to respond to. “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus knows human nature. What we have heard about people often informs our own opinions of them and of what they have accomplished. He needs to know how his followers view him. It is one of the great moments in the gospel, a time for commitment, for soul searching, for decision making.

Peter answers. He answers intuitively. He answers from the heart. “You are the Messiah, the anointed one.” He knew what it meant, at least to a certain extent. It must have been a shock to him to hear it coming out of his mouth. He must have begun to realize the implications of being a follower of Jesus. If he did not get the full impact of his statement, certainly Jesus’ words about suffering and dying and rising again would give him pause for reflection. That is why Peter rebukes him. He cannot face reality. He cannot yet face the cost of discipleship.

We all come to the point where we need to honestly answer Jesus’ question. He is standing there, asking each one of us, “Who do you say that I am?” There are so many answers. I realize that over my lifetime I have changed my mind many times about who Jesus is. Is Jesus a freedom fighter? That was probably in Peter’s mind. There are many who see Jesus as liberator. Saviour, redeemer, creator, nurturer, friend, brother, companion, Lord, God, Almighty, King!

As it did for Peter and the disciples, it comes down to the real question. “Are you going to deny yourself and follow me?” As with Peter it needs to sink in to us not only who Jesus is but what the cost will be of following him.

Self denial is difficult for all of us. Sacrificing ourselves in the sense of denying the self in our lives is difficult enough. We live in a society where so much is available to us that we come to have a sense of entitlement for anything we might want. It stops being about what we need and becomes far more about needing everything our heart desires. If we find it difficult to deny ourselves things that we crave how much more do we resist the thought of giving ourselves over to God?

Bob Dylan talks about it in his own life. “Jesus tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Bob, why are you resisting me?” I said, “I'm not resisting you!” He said, “You gonna follow me?” I said, “I've never thought about that before!” He said, “When you're not following me, you're resisting me.”

What if everything we have done in our religious living and personal relationship with God has been for all the wrong reasons? What if we do what we do because we are looking for rewards, for Brownie points? What if we are following Jesus simply because we think it will be a way to avoid suffering, persecution and death? What if we are simply trying to cover all the bases?

That is why the question is so important. It is only when we accept who Jesus is that he can begin to teach us the consequences of our allegiance. What is Jesus teaching us? It is about our identity as Christians. It is about wearing that mark of allegiance as Christians. “I sign you with the sign of the cross and mark you as Christ’s own.” Those are the words we use at Baptism. We take chrism oil and make the sign of the cross on the forehead of the newly baptized. I always remind the children and their parents that they have an invisible marker on their forehead. They belong to Christ. It needs to result in action in our lives. We need to be servants of Christ. We need to deny ourselves and follow Christ.

Dorothy Day, a contemporary American saint started the Catholic Worker movement, opened homes for the homeless and community farms for the poor. She was special. She did extraordinary things. Yet she became quite indignant when told that.

“You say that I am special because you don’t want to do what you see me do. You can easily do what I do, but by convincing yourself that I am someone special you can escape from your own responsibility. We are not so different. You can do what I do.”

What is the cost of discipleship? It costs everything. It requires becoming a servant. It requires action. It requires sacrificing ourselves. That is difficult. Somehow it is easier to leave it all to Jesus, and to join him in a kind of fan club. But God does not intend us to be mere spectators. We are co-responsible. And what Jesus is saying so clearly in this passage is that when we take responsibility, when we deny ourselves, when we become disciples, we become more truly human. We discover our true self.

The gospel warrants a few choice rumours being spread around. “Jesus spotted alive in Meadowvale Church” the headline reads. The article goes on to talk about the wonderful things that are happening in our lives here in this parish. We are hearing and responding to the word of God. We are witnessing to our faith. We are reaching out into the community. We are growing in grace. Amen