"Answering through Action" - Sermon for 16th Sunday after Pentecost

Sermon:

Text:

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ who calls to answer through our actions.

         Last year at the Luther Center the theme for worship was “Who do you say that I am?” and it was based on this passage from our Gospel reading. They invited various people in to share their own answer to that question. I was invited once to do so, and I shared that Jesus is the one who walks with us, myself included.

         Throughout scripture I see how God has come deep, deep down to us, in moments of joy and thankfulness and also especially in moments of fear and trepidation, and grief and loss. We see God coming to Abraham and Sarah as they are old and calling them to start a new nation, we see coming to Jacob as he is fleeing in fear from his brother Esau, in a dream appearing to Jacob at the bottom of a ladder reaching to heaven, not at the top far and distant, but down below with Jacob, promising to walk with him wherever he goes. We see God walking with the Israelites through the desert to the promised land, calling to the Judges and Kings through the prophets. And finally, see God come to us directly in Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. Not just walking with us, but going through and experiencing our lives, the ups and downs, and then going through the most difficult, going to the cross and death as one of us. In so doing, Christ destroyed the power of death and gave to all of us the promise of life eternal.

         And as Lutherans we say that all of that is ours through faith, we don’t accomplish any of that, Christ already did that for us.

         Going back to our Gospel reading we see the first person to answer this question, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter, and he answers simply, but very powerfully, “You are The Messiah.” In Greek, Kristos, the Christ.

         In Hebrew meaning, the anointed one, who will save and liberate the people. Now, to Judaism, there have been other messiahs, many of the kings of Israel were anointed as messiah, saving the people from their enemies. One ruler of a foreign power, Cyrus the Great, King of Persia is referred to as a messiah for letting the people return home after Persia conquered Babylon, freeing the people from captivity. But, here is not a messiah, but the Messiah. Big old cap M. Peter calls Jesus the great Messiah, Christ, who will save them once and for all.

         But, then the text goes on as Jesus starts to then talk about going to the cross and dying. And Peter just can’t deal with it. If you are The Messiah, you can’t die! You need to live to conquer all! You are the great warrior who will destroy all enemies. The strong man who will over come all adversity, how can you do that dead!

         And Jesus tells him, get behind me Satan, you are putting your mind on human things, not divine things. To conquer the true enemy which is death, I must die. To become truly one of you and fully walk with you, I must walk through all that you do, life and death.

         Peter envisions a mighty general commanding an army, Jesus is instead a humble servant giving himself up for all of us, going to the cross and death for all of us, so that death is not victorious and it’s sting is no more.

         But, Jesus doesn’t stop there. Yes, Christ’s gift of his life and our salvation is accomplished through his work and we receive it through our faith, but Jesus then calls us to do more. Christ calls us to take up our own crosses and follow him. He blazes the trail and promises that we will be welcomed, but also calls us to walk.

         We do this all in response to what God has done for us. Our actions in this world are our answer to the question Who do you say that I am? You are the one who walks with us, who is our Messiah, who calls us to action in this world.

         This is the reason behind everything we do today. It’s the reason for our worship, where we come every week to give thanks and to be filled and renewed to again go out in service, whether through direct service projects, or by working in our various vocations in this world. It’s why we put together school kits today, so that we may help children all across the world find an education that allows them to see the love of Christ in their life. It’s why we have Sunday School, where our own children may learn and grow in love for God, each other, and the whole world that God created. It’s why we gather in meal together, eating together as the body of Christ, people of different gifts and abilities, being sent out like the first disciples to spread the Good News of God’s love shown through the life and death of Jesus our Messiah.

         We go from here, our Hymn of the Day thundering through our Souls, Christ, Take My life, that I may be consecrated Lord to thee. Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise.

         We go from here, full of the knowledge that in everything, all the things that God calls us to, all the moments and days, and whatever falls within them, God walks with us. God walks with us as sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, grandsons and granddaughters, and great grandkids are born. God walks with us as harvest comes closer. God walks with us as we travel, as kids head off to college. God walks with us as we hear news of cancer and disease, of death and loss. God walks with us everywhere we go, whatever we do, because God has sent Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, the Son, to us.

         And because of that we are saved no matter what befalls us, and because of that we are called to let the whole world know our answer to "Who do you say that I am?" And we answer by crying out, Take our lives, O Lord and use us in your world, to serve your people and care for your creation.

Amen.