Reflection on Matthew 16:13-20

 

“Who do you say that I am?”

I have answered this question many ways throughout my life.

I am certain that there was a time in my life where I saw Jesus as some sort of cosmic Santa Clause who could give me whatever I wanted in life if only I prayed.  I am looking at you Blue BMX dirt bike with grey dust covers.

“Who do you say that I am?”

The clearest impression that I have of Jesus from my childhood is that of Jesus as a friend.  Maybe I was a weird child, or maybe I was just lonely with few friends, but I would talk with Jesus constantly.  I was always told by my Sunday school teacher that Jesus was right with me, and I believed that completely.  So, I would go about my days talking to Jesus in my head about the things that brought me joy.  I would talk to Jesus about things that would make me sad.  Jesus would be there as I tried to work through my frustrations.  Jesus heard a lot about cleaning my room.  And, I would talk to Jesus sometimes just because I could; no asking and no needs.  Today, we would call this prayer, but I never thought of it that way.  Jesus was my friend, and he went into the mud looking for worms with me.

According to the Bible, Jesus is our friend.  “I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father” (John 15:15).  So, I might not have been too far afield in my conversations. 

“Who do you say that I am?”

In Jesus’ time, some thought that Jesus, the Son of Man, was John the Baptist.  I understand how this might be.  John the Baptist preached that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and Jesus picked right up where John left off, preaching the same thing.  I never confused John and Jesus, but I can see how it could happen.

“Who do you say that I am?”

Elijah seems like an obvious choice since Jesus’ multiplication of the loaves and fishes is so similar to Elijah’s multiplication of the oil.  Furthermore, Jesus’ ability to bring a little girl back to life makes us think of Elijah laying on a boy in prayer and bringing him back to life.  If we were to put bets on who Jesus was, my bet would probably be on Elijah.

“Who do you say that I am?”

Jesus is either Elijah, or one of the prophets; maybe the great prophet Moses.  There was a time in my life in which I struggled with the idea of Jesus having miraculous super powers of sorts.  I did not stop following Jesus during this doubtful time in life.  I simply looked at Jesus in a different way. 

During this time, Jesus’ ethical teachings became extremely important to me.  Many people made fun of the “What would Jesus do?” movement in its day, but the question was something that I thought about a lot.  I wanted to be like Jesus.  I still do I guess, but at the time Jesus was mainly a prophet and a teacher to me, bringing heavenly, ethical wisdom down from the mountaintop like Moses. 

This also is not without a biblical basis, of course.  The gospel of Matthew gives a big amount of space to Jesus’ ethical teachings found in the Sermon on the Mount.  Like Moses, Jesus teaches us from the Mountain and instructs us concerning things that I found very important such as blessing the poor in spirit, meditating instead of worrying, and loving God and others.  I was all about acting like Jesus, and I was convinced that if others would do the same, the world would be a much better place.

“Who do you say that I am?”

This is what is so fascinating about Simon Peter, because, to Peter, Jesus has been all of these things.  Peter got the gift of answered prayer when his mother-in-law was sick.  Peter is Jesus’ closest friend.  Peter has been a part of Jesus’ ministry of bringing the kingdom near, taking part in the healing and feedings ministries of Jesus.  Peter has seen the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.  And, Peter has had the chance to have face to face instruction concerning Jesus’ interpretations of the laws of Moses.  How I would love to be in Peter’s sandals!

Yet, when Peter is asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter does not call Jesus a preacher, not a prophet, nor a teacher, nor does he mistake Jesus for Santa Clause.  Sorry, no Blue BMX dirt bike with grey dust covers for me!

“Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).

When Peter looks at Jesus and all that Jesus has done, he sees “the Messiah.”

Now, I have been preaching this story for twenty years, and you have likely heard this story preached to you even more times than that, but this is the first time that I ever stopped to ask, “What is a Messiah?”

What is a Messiah?  More to the point, what did the people of Jesus’ time expect to see when they encountered the Messiah?  I have never thought to ask this question before.  So, I looked at some rabbinic writings from the time and I found some amazing stuff. 

The rabbis expected the Messiah to be and do things like: to be a descendant of David, to be a mighty warrior, to judge the people well, to be sitting among the poor lepers untying their bandages, to be found among those who need healing, to be despised by some but revealed to be bright and beautiful to others, to come to us riding on the clouds if the people of God have been faithful, but riding on a donkey if the people of God have not been faithful, to be a great teacher who interprets the Torah wisely, to be anointed with oil, and to bring about a new age where everything is right again in the world.

If your are anything like me, your head is swimming with all of the connections between who Jesus was and who the rabbis expected the Messiah to be.  I imagine that God caused Peter’s head to swim, seeing these connections as well. 

When Peter sees and hears all that Jesus is doing, he sees the one who will bring back the Garden of Eden.  He sees the one who will bring about an age of healing and peace.  He sees the one who will finally crush the head of the snake and restore order to chaos.  He sees the Messiah who we also desire to see.

What if our world could be restored again to peace?

What if the pain could be gone and the world could eat from the tree that heals all the nations?

What if your pain and trouble could be healed?

“You are the Messiah,” Peter declares.  Peter sees Jesus as the one who is starting to straighten out the world again.  Peter sees Jesus as the one who is saving us from our chaotic and hurtful ways.  And Peter’s declaration falls now on your ears, so that you can hear and believe that God cares about you too.  “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).

Did you know that you are invited into this restored garden?  Did you know that you have been trusted to tend the garden and participate in the garden’s healing and peaceful ways?  Did you know that the keys of the kingdom of heaven have been handed over to us? 

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19).

Did you know that we are allowed to unlock those gates of healing and peace and forgiveness and love any time that we want?  Did you know that the garden is springing up wherever we step when we allow that kingdom to be unlocked for those around us?  Did you know that Jesus has unlocked that kingdom for you?

Open the gate.  Find your healing.  Find your forgiveness.  Feel the soft grass of the garden on your feet.  Eat of the tree that heals all that is broken.  Discover your Messiah walking with you toward the tree of life.  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).

Reflection on Matthew 15:10-28 (Originally Posted Sunday, August 16th, 2020)

 

Whenever we hear Jesus say, “Great is your faith,” we should pay close attention.  It means that the person to whom Jesus is talking is someone who can likely teach us a great deal about following Jesus.  So, today our attention is drawn to what makes the Canaanite woman unique in her ability to trust in Jesus.

First, this unnamed, indigenous woman to the gentile region of Tyre and Sidon knows that Jesus can heal her daughter.  And, I do not mean that she knows in the manner that she looked up “miracle workers” in the yellow pages and saw a listing that said, “Jesus, the cure for all your diseases!” so she thought, “Hey, why not give it a shot?”  Rather, I mean that she has a deep trust that Jesus can intervene in some way in the tragic situation of her daughter. 

Her daughter is tormented by a demon; a condition that we have seen before in the Bible that can drive a grown man to live a life naked in the tombs.  Imagine what the condition can do to a child.  With a deep love for her child, she desperately asks Jesus over and over again, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David.”

Now, I am going to get very specific with you about what the Bible says concerning the woman’s request.  After-all, she is being lifted up as a model for your own discipleship, so understanding the nature of her faith is important for your own. 

Notice that the woman does not ever tell Jesus what to do.  Rather, this is what she says: “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon."  She asks, as others have before her, that the Lord have mercy on her…that the Lord show compassion on her.  Then she tells Jesus the situation, “my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 

She does not tell Jesus what to do about the situation.  She does not insist that Jesus heal her daughter.  She does not tell him to head over to her house.  She just trusts that if Jesus knows what was going on, he will be able to help.

Have you ever considered just telling Jesus the problem?  Often our prayers can be pretty specific.  “Get rid of the cancer.”  “Let me get the job.”  “Let me win the Reese Peanut-Butter cup sweepstakes contest that would allow me to have those delectable little treats for an entire year.” 

Now, do not hear me incorrectly, it is not that you can pray wrong.  God hears your prayers and the needs of your heart no matter what.  But, how the woman differs from a lot of my prayers is that she doesn’t feel the need to have the answer.  She just tells Jesus her problem, and trusts deeply that the Lord will provide the answer. 

There is something very freeing about that.  After-all, is not God going to answer your prayer however God sees best anyway?  Rather than expecting God to act in a certain way, and being disappointed when God does not do things your way, there is a certain sort of soul releasing freedom that comes with being open to whatever God does in the end.  Part of the woman’s great faith is this great trust.  “Thy will be done.”

Then there is the part of the woman’s life of faith that I just love.  It is just so striking.  She is persistent.

Actually, it is her persistence that gets her in trouble with the disciples in the first place.  She keeps asking, continually, for Jesus to show mercy.  Everywhere he and the disciples step, she is there, asking for mercy.  She is like your younger sibling, following you around through every room, asking you to go to the kitchen, reach up, and grab the cookies from on top of the cabinets.

The disciples finally have had enough of this clingy child and seek some sort of relief from Jesus, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us."

Now, here is the part of the story that is somewhat confusing, but at the same time, it is the part of the story that you have likely experienced in your own faith life.  Instead of answering the woman with a miracle, Jesus answers, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."  These are painfully dismissive words from Lord of mercy and love.  In other words he saying, “You are not my problem.”

Why does not Jesus provide some sort of act of mercy right away?  Some have suggested that he is testing the woman’s faith in some way.  Other have suggested that Jesus did not yet know that his mission should include the gentiles, and God uses the woman to reveal this aspect of his mission.  Others think that Jesus is simply being racist and sexist like the other men of his time.  I am not sure that is it.  Still others think that Jesus is intentionally making a point for the benefit of his disciples, so that they will change their minds, as he does, about helping the gentiles and showing mercy on women and children in particular. 

Quite frankly, I do not know what Jesus is doing here.  All I know is that it is true.  I have been a pastor for 17 years, and I have to tell you, those 17 years are filled with people asking God for help and not receiving an answer in anything that we would consider a timely manner.  What is God up to?  Is God golfing?  Is God attending to other more important activities?  Maybe, it just is not the right time.  I do not know, I cannot peer into the mind of God and the woman cannot peer into the mind of Jesus.

Though I do not know what Jesus is doing with this woman, I do know what impresses Jesus about this woman: she is persistent.  Her faith is one that does not give up.  Her faith is one that will not let up until she has some sort of answer for her child.  It is one that loves and insists on solutions to the pain of the world.

"It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the family dog," Jesus says, resisting her efforts even further.  She persists, "Yes, Lord, yet even family dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."  She may be a woman and a gentile, but mercy is for even the likes of her.  She is persistent.  She is insistent.  She does not give up on her cause of mercy and healing.  She is a mother in the purest sense that will do anything for her child.

Though we do not know what Jesus was thinking earlier in the story, we certainly know what he thinks in the end.  Jesus lifts the woman up to his disciples and to us as a person of “great faith.”  She is worthy of emulating. 

Not only does the woman have a deep trust that the Lord is merciful, which he is; not only is the woman open to whatever the Lord will do for her, which he will; she is persistent in asking Jesus to intervene. 

After-all, we have a Lord whose mercy inspires in us a deep faith, a deep trust in the words, “thy will be done,” and a persistence that does not give up until the Lord acts.  As followers of Jesus, we deeply trust and we persevere.  As followers of Jesus, we are the Canaanite woman.

Reflection on Matthew 14:22-33

 

“You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Jesus asks Peter, pulling him into the safety of the boat after sinking into the water. 

“You of little faith, why did you doubt?”  Another way you could put it according to the Greek is: “You trust too little, why did you waver?” 

“You trust too little, why did you waver?”

Peter’s fear on the stormy seas and the fear that I imagine on his face transports my mind to the fear on the face of a little one who was taking one of his first toddler swims in our pool.  Isaac was very young, but just old enough to know that water can be dangerous.  Anticipating the fear that he may have, I held onto Isaac tight as we waded into the waters of the pool.  His back was against my stomach and my arms were wrapped around his entire mid-section. 

Understand, there was no way that Isaac was in any danger.  I had him.  It would have taken a meteor, falling from the sky and striking me directly at that very moment for me to have dropped him into the two and a half foot deep pool of water.  In case you were wondering, being struck by a meteor is a 1 in 250,000 chance.  It was not going to happen.  Isaac had nothing to worry about.

Yet, the small ripples generated from the pump of the pool must have looked like the gigantic waves of Peter’s storm.  Isaac started to panic as the water started to rise upon his body.  He felt as if he was in danger.  He felt as if he were alone as he stared at the waves.  He felt as if he needed saving.

And, Isaac is not alone in this feeling.  We have so many phrases in the English language to describe this very feeling.  “I feel over my head” as if the waters are taking over.  “I feel pulled under.”  “I feel awash.”  “I feel overcome.”  “I have a sinking feeling.”  “My life is being Petered.” 

“Alright, I just made up that last one, but it should be a phrase because Isaac was just like Peter.  He was looking out at the massively dangerous ripples upon the depths of the two and a half foot deep swimming pool, and he felt as if he was going to sink to his demise.  His life was being Petered. 

And, I have felt the same way as a flood of grief has overtaken me, or the depths of depression have pulled my under, or the cascading wave of expectation has curled over my life, threatening to crash.

Remember that Peter did not always feel that way though.  Peter bravely asked Jesus if he could walk to him on the waters, and Jesus responded, “Come.”  And, all was good at first.  He was walking toward Jesus on the water.  He was standing upon the chaos below without wavering.  He was in control of his world, in the same was as Jesus.  They were both walking on the water.

But, the Bible says, “When he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened” (Matthew 14:30).

“Noticed the wind,” is so gentle of a translation, as if he was walking among the flowers and notices the breeze flowing across the flowers in gentle ripples.  No!  Peter’s realization sound a lot more like: “But suddenly becoming aware of the tempestuous winds, he was paralyzed with fear and was sinking…” 

Peter was just fine, but when he became aware of the storm he was walking in, he began to sink.

This is going to happen to Peter again.  When Jesus is facing death on a cross, Peter will declare that he will go with Jesus all the way, he will never abandon Jesus.  Yet, when the enormous storm of Jesus’ death starts to blow, Peter suddenly becomes aware of the winds and, in fear for his life, denies Jesus three times.  He runs away.

And though infant Isaac loved the water of the pool, toddler Isaac became aware of the waters and the dangers that they pose, and he started whipping his arms and legs everywhere, crying out in fear.  He was like a scared octopus, his tentacles flailing all over the place.

But here is the thing: nothing was going to happen to him.  I had my arms wrapped tightly around Isaac’s entire midsection.  I was right there.  And, as he flailed his arms and legs all over the place I realized what the problem was.  The problem was that Isaac was not looking at me.  For a brief moment, Isaac thought that he was alone in that water with no one to help.  For a brief moment, Isaac thought that he would sink.  If only he had looked at me.

So, I turned Isaac around and let him cling his arms and legs around me as I held onto him.  He was fine entering into the water while he was clinging to me.  He was fine when looking at me.  He was able to enter into the fearful waters only when he was facing me.

Notice that Peter’s problems started when he took his eyes off Jesus.  Peter looked over, and became aware of the strength of the winds.  And, though the winds and the waves were truly threatening, Jesus was there the entire time. 

Jesus is not afraid of the winds and the waters.  Jesus helped put those winds and waters in their place at the beginning of creation.  Jesus is able to calm the storm.  Jesus is able to walk upon the storm unscathed.  And, that same Jesus was with Peter the entire time.

“Peter cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him” (Matthew 14:30-31).

That “hand” that Jesus uses to pull Peter out in the Greek language is so much more than a “hand.”  It is the divine hand.  It is the divine hand that calmed the chaos waters and created the world.  It is the divine hand that saves God’s people in battle.  It is the divine hand that both creates and destroys.  It is the divine hand that controls the destinies of humankind.  It is the hand of the one who will literally grab and take possession of Peter, pulling him close and shaping his destiny.  It is the hand of the one who calms the storm.

I do not know if you need to hear this or not, but Jesus has his hand out as he stands on the waters of your storm too.  Undoubtedly, you are focused on the turbulence of the storm.  Do not worry if that is true.  Peter stared at the turbulence also.  Fear may be drawing your focus into the depths where you are terrified that you will drown, but Jesus’ attention is on you.  Jesus is standing on the waters of your storm, reaching out for you with his divine hand. 

“Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid,” Jesus says to you. (Matthew 14:27)

“Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Isaac got much better by the way.  Brandishing a nice pair of orange goggles Isaac now fearlessly plunges into the waters and swims like a fish.  He has overcome his fear of the waters.  My wife or I are nearby, of course, to grab him when he swims into trouble.  But, he knows that.  He knows that we are there.  With that sort of trust, he spins and summersaults through the water, a master of his fear.

And, Peter will get there too.  He will become the “rock” of the early church.  He will trust more and more that Jesus is there.  He will trust more and more that Jesus saves.  He will trust more and more not to fear.  But, it is not because he himself becomes great.  It is because Jesus is great, and Peter learns more and more to cling to him.

After-all, the storms and floods of terror will burst into our lives again and again.  Opportunities to crumble into fear will sweep across our lives continually.  But, we have not built our house on sand, where the waters will beat and wash it away.  We have built our house on rock.  We have built our house on the one who can walk on the waters.  We have built our house on the one who can calm the waters.  We have put our trust in Jesus.  Jesus is our rock.  And, standing on him, may we never waver. 

But, if we do, if we ever feel like our life is being “Petered,” we know who walks on the storm waters and cannot sink; the one who rose up from the dead; Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Truly he is the Son of God.

Reflection on Matthew 14:13-21 (First Preached Sunday, August 6, 2017)

 

“You give them something to eat,” Jesus demands of his disciples when the hour is late and the 5,000 men plus women and children…so around 40,000 people… become hungry.  “You give them something to eat.” 

I worked at a hospital as a chaplain for a summer, and I remember a sweltering day when a couple of women came into the office and asked for the chaplain on duty.  “How can I help you?” I asked, noticing that one of the women was barefoot.  “We jumped into the car when we heard our sister was sick and drove right up,” they began their story.  “We weren’t thinking.  We didn’t grab our purses, and I didn’t even think to grab my shoes.  Now we are here, 200 miles from home with no money for gas or food, no money for a hotel, and I can’t even buy a cheap pair of flip flops.  Can you help us?”

Understand, the hospital had given no money to the chaplaincy department for such things, and what I got paid as a chaplain for the entire summer was in the low hundreds of dollars, not the thousands.  Thoughts of how stupid these women could possibly be raced through my head.  “Why is your stupidity my emergency?” I pondered, staring at the bare feet on the invisibly germ infested hospital floor.  “How much intelligence do you need to at least put on a pair of shoes before you embark on a journey of over 200 miles?  Maybe it was all a scam for some drug cash?” I thought.  And, yet the command from Jesus echoed through my head, “You give them something to eat.”

Because, here is the thing.  About 40,000 people were so enamored by and in need of Jesus that they followed him far into a deserted place without even considering bringing what they would need once they got there.  40,000 stupid people.  And, on top of that, if you consider that 2.5 percent on average of a population has a prison history, that means that 1,000 of those people are probably criminals of some sort.  .5 percent, or 200 of those people are just plain old beggars who do not even try to work.  And, 1 percent, so 400 of those people are most likely immoral prostitutes who have hitched a ride to make a profit off of the crowd.  So, there is all of that to consider before any help should be given.  You know what would be easiest: why not just send them all into town to buy some food for themselves?  That way we are not morally culpable for helping sinners.  This is what the disciples suggest.  “Jesus, send the crowds away…”

Yet, even with all of that, Jesus demands, “You give them something to eat.”

That sounds great and noble Jesus, but there is the simple reality that we are just not enough.  The world is huge.  The hurt and need is huge.  And, we are just little.  When I was a chaplain I only had a few hundred dollars to live on for the entire summer, the disciples only had 5 loaves and 2 fish, and we just are not enough to even make a dent in all the pain in the world.  We simply are not.  It is not out of a sense of cruelty that we turn them away, it is just plain logic.  The 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish (that we wisely packed for ourselves I should note) just is not enough.  So, why even try? 

Yet, Jesus still demands, “You give them something to eat.”

Here’s the thing: none of these excuses matter.  When Jesus looks at someone, he does not see a stupid idiot, or a criminal, or a societal leach, or a prostitute.  He sees a brother or sister who God molded and shaped, as if from soft clay, with God’s very hands.  When Jesus looks at the crowds, he sees siblings in need.

My younger brother could be an idiot sometimes.  Once we went on a trip out west, but before we left my parents gave us a list of things to pack that definitely included underwear.  It was listed three separate times, just in case we might have missed it.  But, as we travelled and the inevitable stomach cramps hit my younger brother, guess what he did not have.  His underwear of course! 

Now you tell me; when he had nothing to change into after the underwear blowout, did our parents just say to him, “You were supposed to pack them.  Tough luck kid!”?  Of course, not!  After the required scolding, they had compassion and bought the underwear, not because he deserved it, but because he needed it.

That is the way God is.  Jesus has compassion on us, not because we deserve it, but because we need it.  We need Jesus’ grace.  We need Jesus’ mercy.  We need to be saved from ourselves.  We need the new life that comes after the cross and death.  We need second chances.  And, sometimes we need something to eat.  “You give them something to eat.”

There is still the notion that we do not have enough and that we are not enough.  “Jesus, I hear you.  I am the one who has been given the job to feed.  I hear you.  But, that still does not help the fact that I only have 5 loaves and two fish.  It does not help the fact that I am only me and we together here are only we.  It is not enough.”

To that, Jesus said, "’Give the little bit that you have to me.’  Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.  And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.  And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

“Give the little bit that you have to me,” Jesus says to us.  And, so I did.  I reached in my wallet metaphorically, gave the two women a meal in the cafeteria, paid for their gas, and even gave a few dollars for some cheap flipflops.  It was not much, but it was enough.  And, minutes later I got a call from a friend that he wanted to take a group of us out to lunch.  His treat.  I am not saying that was a miracle just for me.  It was probably just a coincidence that would have happened anyway.  But, I am saying that Jesus provides enough.  We may not trust that we…our lowly selves…can make a difference, but Jesus provides enough.  We may not think that our little churches…our little Christian communities can make an impact on anything, but Jesus provides enough.  When we give it over to Jesus, there will be enough. 

I know, that trust thing is hard.  I am certain that the disciples felt inadequate and a little crazy as they took their baskets of bread and fish scraps around to the people.  But, they did it because Jesus said they should.  And, with Jesus, there was enough. 

You see, where we and the disciples see limitations, Jesus sees possibilities.  Jesus takes what there is, gives thanks, and then trusts that God will make it enough.  His compassion allows him to never lose hope.  So, you too should not lose hope because Jesus will take what you have, give thanks for it, and make it more than enough.  You are more than enough because of God.