Day 13—Wednesday
But Who Do You Say That I Am?
Mark 8:27-30

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?” (Mark 8:27-29a)

Caesarea Philippi is a pilgrimage destination filled with statues of Greek and Roman deities.   There are natural springs and waterfalls that feed the Jordan River.  It is peaceful and attractive for religious worship.  The city was given by Caesar Augustus to King Herod the Great, who built a magnificent temple to honor Caesar.  Herod’s son Philip expanded it and dedicated it to his imperial benefactor Tiberius Caesar, and gave it the name Caesarea Philippi.

Jesus’ question, “But who do you say that I am?” is set in a context of many competing god’s, chief among them being Caesar. Consider the context in which our lives are set.  It is filled with competing god’s.  

Martin Luther describe our true god this way, “whatever your heart clings to and relies upon, that is your God; trust and faith of the heart alone make both God and idol.” 

I, too, am surrounded by competing god’s that I am place my trust in and look to for things like security and various ego needs.  When Jesus asks me, “Who do you say that I am?” he is inviting me to place my ultimate trust (and ultimate allegiance) in him.

Question #6 Whom Are You Looking For?

Read John 18:1-8

First reaction to the reading:  I feel like I have arrived at Good Friday too soon.  I don’t feel ready to ponder the betrayal and death of Jesus. 

The people in the John 18 story have been following Jesus for three years hoping to find what they are looking for.  They’re probably not ready to ponder his death either. 

After three years, Jesus finally says, “The answer to your ‘What?’ question is a ‘Who?’.  You have been searching for something and I will answer you with someone.

What are we looking for?  We search among a pile of things.  Our striving for things like security, purpose, acceptance, meaning, success, victory, vindication, absolution, contentment and happiness have us filling our lives with busyness.  There is just a whole lot of rushing around going on.  Let me acknowledge that much of our striving will result in good things for ourselves and our families.  But somehow, the question is still being asked, “What am I looking for?”

Both the soldiers in John 18 and Mary in John 20 are looking for Jesus.  They are looking for a ‘someone’, not a ‘something’, but they are not quite sure that they have found him.  Even when they see him face to face, they are not sure that he really is the one they are looking for.  Finally, when they are paying full attention to him, Jesus shows himself to us.

Hold my attention, Lord, just long enough to hear you say my name.

Question #5 – Do you want to be made well?

Read John 5:2-9

Do you want to be made well?

Yes!  Of course!  This will change my life!  I’ll walk and run and dance.  I won’t have to depend on the help and kindness of others.  I won’t be a burden on my family.  I’ll be able to take care of myself.

But wait…just exactly how will I take care of myself?  My family will expect me to pull my own weight and contribute to the welfare of the household.  How will I do that?  I have not worked in 38 years.

Maybe the question that Jesus asked is harder than it sounds.  Thirty-eight years is more than enough to settle into a routine.  Sometimes we prefer the comfort of the status quo that we know over the unknown future that change will bring, even if the change is positive and a decided improvement! 

Do you have a persistent issue that resists resolution?  Do you have a recurring habit that holds you back or even harms you?  What if conquering the issue or changing the habit will usher in a potentially promising but uncomfortably unknown future?

Later, Jesus will find the man in the temple and tell him not to sin anymore.  Jesus is reminding him that his world has changed.  Don’t go back to the old patterns.  Imagine someone coming out of prison and having to return to the same environment that encouraged the bad behavior that resulted in his imprisonment.  Note also that Jesus e said this in the Temple, which was the very foundation for old patterns of a badly broken status quo.

“Do you want to be made well?” Yes, of course.  But is there something holding me back?  Heal me of my fears, too, Jesus.

Question #3  What Can You Give in Return for Your Life?  Read Mark 8:34-37

In verse 35 “life” is translated from the Greek word psyche¸ meaning one’s very being, true self.  So verse 37 is, “What can people give in exchange for their true, authentic self?”

Jesus seems to know two things:  1) People have already lost their lives; and 2) People want their lives back

When have you had the sense that the person God created you to be seems to have been buried under several layers of selves that have somehow been piled on top of the real you?  Or perhaps circumstances have torn away something vital to your sense of self.  You experience something like the woman with the twelve year flow of blood:  I want my husband back;  I want my wife back;  I want my child back;  I want my job, my house, my health back.  I want my life back.

Last fall wine maker Chateau Ste. Michelle fired up a Facebook campaign asking women to customize an equation to sum up what makes them want a glass. “Me + a glass of wine - juice boxes + quiet time for 15 minutes = My Chateau.”  The tagline: “It’s where you become you again”. 

But that begs the question – When the glass is empty do you lose yourself?”  Fifteen minutes after the wine is gone and the kids are crying and the laundry is still not clean and you have 10 new emails to answer from work and your car still doesn’t run right, are you right back to saying, “I want my life back?”  Is there wine that does not run out?

“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.” 

What if losing ourselves for the right things is exactly what fulfills life and offers meaning and purpose within which I am my most true self – the person God created me to be?

Your true self cannot be taken from you.  You might lose it; you might misplace it; you might be buried under a pile of demands and expectations that you become someone other than the person God made you to be.  You might even want or try to be someone else

You may find an expression of yourself with in a relationship.  And if that relationship is lost, a true part of you will have been lost.  Even still, your life cannot be taken away from you.

You may find an expression of your true self within your job.  And if that job is lost, a true part of you will have been lost.  Even still, your life cannot be taken away from you.

Maybe Chateau Ste. Michelle is just tapping into a trend that began among God’s people long ago.  We call it “Word and Sacrament”.  Receive the Word.  Receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ.  Let Him pull your true self out from under everything that has been piled on top of you.

Sixty minutes of Word and wine and you remember who (and whose) who you are. 

Question #2 "Who touched me?" See Luke 8:40-48

The woman’s illness made her ritually unclean. Powerful social and religious sanction prohibited her from any physical contact with any human being or any object that another human might also touch. That is devastating isolation.

How would this woman answer the question of the week, “What are you looking for?”

Certainly, her immediate answer would be, “I am looking for healing.”

There is a deeper answer to the question. I think the woman’s deeper answer would be something like this:

“I am looking for my life. It has been taken away from me by this disease. Want do I want? What hope bubbled up within me when I heard that Jesus was near? What do I hunger for? What do I want?”

“I want my life back.”

“I hunger for life. I have been surviving, yes. But I have not known life for 12 years.”

“I want to wash my husband’s feet when he comes home. I want to touch my son’s face. I want to hold my daughter when she is sick. I want to cook food for my family. I want to buy wheat in the market. I want to live. I want to touch Jesus and get my life back.”

She never gave up.

Sometimes I want to touch Jesus and will even take a risk to stay close to Jesus.  Sometimes I'd rather keep my distance.  In some situations I stop trying - I give up. In other situations I keep trying. What is the difference? Could it be that I leave God out of some areas of life and invite God into other areas? I think that could be it.

Question 1 “What are you looking for?” See John 1:35-39

My most common answer to this question is, “My reading glasses.” But when you remind me that this is more of an existential question, I have to stop and think for quite a while. That's a deeper question.

The NIV translation of this question is “What do you want?” My guess is that the translators want to draw out the aspect of desire and motive that is part of the Greek word zēteite.
“What do you want?” is a much easier question to answer. We all have an up to date list of our wants that we carry right in our pocket.

What do I want?

“That’s easy. I have my list right here. Let’s see….I want warmer weather, please. And I want another piece of cake, thank you. And Jesus, as long as you’re asking, I want a little more time to read and some new exercise equipment. In fact if you can hook my Kindle up to the new elliptical machine that would pretty much take care of the list that I have today.”

But Jesus didn't say “want”. He said zēteite. The disciples understood that Jesus wasn't asking about the list of wants they had in pockets. He was asking them about the deep yearnings that bubbled up to the surface when they saw Jesus walk by. What did they see in Jesus that motivated them to walk in his direction? What promise did they imagine Jesus would fulfill? What hope did Jesus kindle in them? What were they looking for?

Just like you and I, they couldn't quite define it. So they answered, “Where are you staying?”
That’s a pretty good answer.

“What am I looking for?” If you’re like me, you’ll say, “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it sure seems like Jesus is headed where I want to be, so I’ll just stick close to him.”