Who is Christ to You?
Matthew 16:13-20
Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” And they answered, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah” and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” Then come the potent question, “But who do you say that I am”. Isn’t that the question we all face? “Who do you say Jesus is?” or put in another way, “What is Jesus to you?
This reminds me of a sermon that I preached on August 3, 1980, on the occasion of the ninetieth anniversary of the parish of Holy Trinity, Killarney, Manitoba. (1890 to 1980). The text that I chose for that sermon was “What Think Ye of Christ?” It is a vital question for every one who wishes to follow Christ. It is a vital question for the Christian Community because who we are and how we act in the world depends on how we answer that question. “What do you think of the Christ” is basically the same question that we face in the Gospel today “Who do you say that I am?”
Who is Jesus?
Is he the one with authority to set up a powerful institution to rule peoples thinking and behavior, an institution centered in power and control?
or
Is he the one who calls people into a serving community to bring good news to the poor and all those in need; release to those who are held captive in many ways; recovery of sight to those who experience many different forms of blindness; freedom for those who are suffering hardship and forgiveness to those who are oppressed by guilt? Is he the one to set up a caring community of people centered on Justice and Mercy?
Did Jesus have official authority from the leadership of his people do the things that he did and say the things that he did, or was it more of a charismatic authority that rested on the devotion of his followers to the sacredness of his heroic lifestyle.
That kind of charismatic authority was a similar kind of authority exercised by Mahatma Gandhi:
When Gandhi visited England in the late twenties … some of the papers in England called attention to the fact that he held no official position in the Indian government and asked, “On whose authority does he come?” Gandhi never missed that kind of opportunity and replied, “I come clothed with authority-the authority of the needs of my people.”
(Harold Bosley in Preaching on Controversial Issues Harper & Brothers)
If God was in Christ, we see what God is really like – not a God that controls all things on earth but a God who works through human beings, people devoted to well being of all people. Jesus life presents to the world a God who shares the suffering of the world a God of Love which was deeply concerned with the needs of all people.
Who is Christ to you?
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