Father Gary’s Sermon

Inspired from Luke 9:18-24

Proclaimed on June 20, 2004

A humorist by the name of Sam Levinson, has said, “I pay my psychiatrist sixty dollars an hour and all he does is ask me the same questions my father use to ask me all the time: ‘Who do you think you are, anyway?’”

This is a very good question to ask, especially on this day we call Fathers’ Day. After all, it is a well-known fact that for better or worse, we receive much of our self identify from our fathers. At birth we receive our father’s name. Throughout life our fathers are the one’s that tend to drive us to new levels of performance, as well as provide us with necessary discipline. You can see this on the playground when a father is present with a child. When a child is on the Jungle Jim, it is the father who pushes the child to climb higher, while those children with their mothers are being cautioned to be careful and play closer to the ground. If the child falters, or even falls, the father will quickly see the child’s hurts, but then just as quickly send the child back to the task. Mothers, on the other hand, are ever ready to offer them care if they fall almost to the point of suffocation.

These qualities of the typical male are especially evident in our Gospel reading this morning. However, the typical male question of “Who do you think you are, anyway?” takes on a different twist when coming from the lips of Jesus. In this setting Jesus is asking his disciples about his identity. First he asks from the perspective of others: “Who do people say that I am?” Now this is a most important question to ask. After all, while most Jewish males were identified by the names of their fathers, Jesus was always identified as the son of Mary. He was popularly perceived as being of illegitimate birth. Therefore, people did not expect much from him. He would qualify for nothing higher than the lowest rung of the social ladder. The answers he was given by his disciples indicated that the issues surrounding his birth were now being eclipsed by the miracles he accomplished and the great teachings he proclaimed. He was now being identified as one among the prophets.

Then Jesus asks the same question again, this time from a more personal understanding: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter’s immediate response was to identify Jesus as the Messiah. Immediately Jesus tells his disciples to keep this conversation a secret. Why? Each answer provided reflected the pressure that Jesus was under. The expectations of others always apply additional pressure to any given circumstances. This is certainly true if we are expected to perform in certain ways and can expect punishment if we don’t. When Peter identified Jesus as the Messiah the understanding was that he would be a mighty king who would first conquer Israel and would then seize possession of the world. It is no small wonder why Jesus commanded his disciples not to share this information with anyone.

However, he did not stop with this injunction, Jesus also shared who he thought that he was. By providing his disciples with this announcement Jesus was literally shattering the expectations which they had for him. He was also risking their commitment to him, especially when he shared that he would be a suffering messiah. Furthermore, Jesus did not stop there. He declared that any who would follow him would most certainly suffer as well before they would receive any kind of glory. In essence, like the father standing at the bottom of the Jungle Jim encouraging his child to push even harder and higher, Jesus likewise was going upon his disciples to stretch beyond their limits. However, he did not call them to do anything that he would not do himself. Indeed, he did suffer a horrendous death at the hands of his enemies at the urging of his Father. In the end, however, sorrow was vindicated through his resurrection--an event that clearly showed that God could be trusted. Through this scenario Jesus revealed that there is more to life then self-indulgence; that greater things can be accomplished through self-giving.

Nevertheless, this same story goes on today. We continue to ask the same questions about the identity of Jesus. Not only that, but it is also true that our understandings are not much different from those of Jesus' disciples. Robert Capon, in his book Hunting with the Divine Fox, believes that most Americans perceive Jesus much like they view Superman. You know how it goes, “Faster than a speeding bullet; more powerful than a locomotive; able to leap buildings in a single bound! It’s Superman!!!” Capon goes on to make his point. In Superman we find a strange visitor from another planet. As an alien he has powers beyond that of mere mortals. Even so, he comes as the mild-mannered Clark Kent. Furthermore, he fights the never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way. Capon then asks the question, “Isn’t this somewhat of a popular version of Jesus?” He then goes on to detail his comparison, saying, “Jesus--gentle, meek and mild, but with secret souped-up, more than human insides--bumbles around for thirty-three years, nearly gets himself done in for good by the Kryptonite Kross, but at the last minute, struggles into the phone booth of the Empty Tomb, changes into his Easter suit and, with a single bound, leaps back up to planet Heaven. It’s got it all--including: He never once touches Lois Lane.” The other side of this perception, however, is that like Superman, many of us believe him to be about as real as the comic. He is just some sort of wish fulfillment; some sort of imaginary escape that some people have taken far too seriously.

Dietrich Bonhoffer who wrote The Cost of Discipleship, however, provides another perspective. He was a German minister who had been captured by the Nazis. His crime was that he proclaimed another gospel besides that of the super race, as was being commonly regularly proclaimed in Germany. He knew that they were missing the whole point of the suffering messiah. He also had no illusions about his situation. He knew that he would be killed for his faith. Indeed, his execution took place one day before the victorious American army arrived. But his teaching shaped the next generation of German theology by dispelling the former illusions of a Germanic super race. His writings made faith more realistic as he encouraged folks not to worship God for what they could get, but for what they could give.

This lesson, however, has also been a part of our own history in America. During the War Between the States there was a time when the fighting was going badly for both sides. Many wanted to give up the fight. However, had this happened, it would have meant that the soldiers who had died at Gettysburg had died for not. Abraham Lincoln was keenly aware of this as he penned the words for what would become the Gettysburg Address. A careful reading of this document reveals that it is not written from a partisan viewpoint. Rather it provided a vision for a new nation. This new nation would not be like the North, nor would it be like the South, but it was a vision of a greater nation being borne out of the struggle. And so it happened and continues to happen--the struggle to hand on something better.

So there you have it! The question goes on. Just who is this Jesus? However we answer it, our reply will say a whole lot about who we are, as well as how we live our lives! On this Fathers’ Day, however, we honor God our Father, who is also our Creator. As our Father, God encourages us to push higher and harder for the sake of the Kingdom. Though we may suffer in the process, we can plainly see the great work he did with our oldest brother Jesus by taking him through all of the pain and struggles to the point of death, then raising him from the dead and transforming him into a new Being. God is indeed the Father whom all fathers would do well to imitate.