We Follow Jesus by Cheri Holdridge (with an assist by Patti Lusher)

Imagine we are meeting for the first time. Perhaps we are at a mutual friend’s backyard BBQ. Or maybe we are at a picnic for all the people who work for the same company. We are having a casual conversation. You say, “Cheri, tell me about yourself.” And I say, “I have a husband, and two kids, we live in the Old West End, and I’m a Christian.” That tells you a lot. You know I’m straight. You know I’m a mother. If you know anything about the Old West End you know I love urban and diverse living, or maybe I’m just into old houses. But what does it say to you when I say I’m a Christian? Wow. That can mean lots of things, right? It can mean I’m a Bible thumper. It can mean I’m judgmental. It can mean I fight for prayer in the schools. Or maybe it means I am a pacifist. Maybe I don’t play cards, smoke or cuss. Maybe it means I love all people and think we should all be treated with dignity and compassion. Maybe I love creation and work to protect our environment. Maybe I know we are all imperfect people and I have a heart for broken people in need of God’s forgiveness. Saying I’m a Christian can mean all sorts of things. If you really want to know what I mean when I say I’m a Christian, you really have to ask me what I mean by that, right?

One day, Jesus was with his disciples. It was a turning point in his ministry. He decided to ask them: “Who do people say that I am?” Meaning what does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? “Some say ‘John the Baptizer,’” they said. “Others say ‘Elijah.’ Still others say ‘one of the prophets.’”

This meant that the people in the crowds thought that Jesus was pointing the way to the Messiah. The Jewish people had been waiting for the Messiah – a Savior who would make life better for them – who would draw them closer to God. A Messiah would make things right in the world and establish God’s reign on earth. The people thought Jesus was another prophet preparing the way for this Messiah. They didn’t realize he WAS the Messiah.

Then Jesus asked the crucial question to his disciples. “Who do YOU say that I am?”

Peter gave the answer: “You are the Christ, the Messiah.”

This shows that the disciples had figured it out. They knew that he was the Son of God, the one who had come to redeem the world.

But then Jesus did a kind of peculiar thing. He told them to keep this quiet. It was not time for the news to get out.

Scripture says that “Jesus then began explaining things to them: “It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the elders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and after three days rise up alive.” He said this simply and clearly so they couldn’t miss it.

^32-33 But Peter grabbed him in protest. Turning and seeing his disciples wavering, wondering what to believe, Jesus confronted Peter. “Peter, get out of my way! Satan, get lost! You have no idea how God works.”

Peter did not want to hear that Jesus would have to suffer and die. Jesus had to put Peter in his place. He had to show his authority over Peter.

But then Jesus goes on to explain what it means to be one of his followers. This is what it means to be a Christian.

“Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?

³⁸ “If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I’m leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you’ll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels.”

Self-sacrifice is the way to saving yourself. This made no more sense to them at the time than it makes to us now. They were expecting a Messiah to be like a King -- someone to rule with power and wealth. These are things we value today too. Money and power are what we aspire to in our world. We know that with money and power comes respect and prestige. People listen to you when you have money and power. After all, money talks.

What do we tell our children? Get a good education so you can get a good job and make plenty of money. Money will give you security. Who has power in our society? Big business because they run the economy. Who controls the decision making in Washington DC? Those who have the money to lobby the decision makers.

Here is the problem. Money and power fail us. Our Congress in Washington is the most dysfunctional institution on the planet. Wall Street is filled with corruption. When the stock market crashes, the wealthy are left in a panic because they have put all their faith in things of this world. And things of this world will always fail us.

Jesus came to offer us another way. Jesus said “Don’t run from suffering, embrace it.” Why did he say that? Because in our suffering, we find our humanity. In our suffering, we learn to care for one another. We learn compassion. And most of all, we remember to depend on God. When we suffer, we realize that we can’t make it on our own. WE NEED GOD. And when we suffer, God weeps with us. God does not cause the suffering in order to teach us a lesson. But when the suffering comes, Jesus says, we should embrace it, because the suffering draws us closer to God.

We are coming up on the anniversary of September 11. Do you remember where you were that day? Do you remember watching those images on the television? We as a nation were terrorized. We could not move. We could not take our eyes off the pictures. We wanted to help. We wanted to donate blood to help the victims. Some of us wanted to jump in our cars and go to NYC, and Washington DC and Pennsylvania and help dig through the rubble. Mostly, we felt helpless. Churches and synagogues were filled on the weekend after September 11. As a nation, we turned to God. The suffering drew us closer to God.

On that day when Jesus was teaching the crowd he also told them this: “Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self.” This is what it means to be a Jesus follower. We give ourselves away. We give ourselves to others. When faced with a choice to do something for ourselves or something for someone else, we will choose to help another person. This is why you go help a friend move on a Saturday when you could be doing something more fun. This is why we go make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on a Friday night, in order to feed hungry people. There are much better things we could do with a Friday night. This is why, late at night, when a friend calls crying, you answer the phone, and listen and offer comfort and support, rather than ignoring the call. This is why you take a friend to a doctor’s appointment so she does not have to go alone, even though you might have something better to do with your day. These are the little sacrifices that Jesus’ followers make.

In this way, we save ourselves.

Jesus said, “Who do you say that I am?” The question is this: Who do we say that Jesus is with our lives? Because we claim to be Christians. And so by our lives, we show others what it means to be a Christian. We are the only picture of Jesus that some people see. So, what picture of Jesus do they see when they see us?

This is what I hope they see. I hope they see people who are self-sacrificing. People who will put the needs of others ahead of our own needs. I hope they will see people who are compassionate, and caring.  People who go out of their way to offer acts of kindness to our neighbors. I hope they will see people who are generous. People who give without expecting anything in return. I hope they will see people who are forgiving. People who understand that people make mistakes and need a second chance. These are the traits of Jesus that I want people to see in us.

Who do you say Jesus is, with your life? That is our question for today. I invite you to ponder that question now, and as the day goes on. Remember that others see Jesus in you. And let them see the Jesus you want them to see. Amen.