Who Do You Say I Am?

Grace and peace to you from God our Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and from the Holy Spirit, who gives us life, Amen.
How many of you have seen the movie, The Bourne Identity? To give a quick recap the movie begins with an amnesiac, Jason Bourne, who is rescued at sea by the crew of an Italian fishing boat. Nearly dead, he carries nothing but the bullets in his back and a bank account number embedded in his hip. Although completely without identity or background, he discovers he possesses an array of extraordinary talents in fighting, linguistics and self-defense that speaks of a dangerous past. In the present he is disoriented and wary as he is forced into an urgent search to discover who he is and why his life has taken a hazardous turn. This becomes the basis for three movies as he slowly and finally discovers who he is and how he came to be the person he is now. Granted the movie is violent but I think it speaks to a deep-seated need that we all have to define who we are.
On the other hand we see in the gospel lesson that Jesus had no need to be defined. It says that as soon as he came out of the water the heavens split open, a spirit like a dove descends on him, and a voice declares him to be his son, with whom he is well pleased. The gospel writer wastes no time to identify Jesus as the Son of God! Plain and simple. And though his baptism must certainly have been a significant experience it may be hard for us to interpret it this way. We do not get many clues from this text. We cannot be certain that the writer is speculating about the nature of Jesus call, or that is was the confirmation of a vocation already accepted or even about how Jesus understood the role that was being laid upon him. Unlike the other gospel writers, Mark’s purpose here is not to write a spiritual biography, but rather it is to make a christological statement. In other words the story provides a setting for the revelation of Jesus identity, spelled out in the terms of the descent of the spirit and the words addressed to Jesus from heaven. Mark does no waste many words here. In the first 11 verses of his book, we get who this person Jesus is. BAM this is who Jesus is. Son of God.
Which is quite ironic because for the rest of the book of Mark, no one else gets it. The disciples don’t get it. The scribes and Pharisees don’t get it. The crowds that surround him don’t get it. The folks in his hometown don’t get it. Even his own brothers and sisters don’t get it. They all call him by various other names or titles. He is tagged with labels like; Rabbi, teacher, healer, prophet, King of the Jews, he is even called Beelzebub which means Satan. Paradoxically it is only the demons and unclean spirits that recognize Jesus for who he really is. One of them actually cries out “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." Jesus himself half way through the narrative asks his disciples, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." Even then the disciples still don’t have it quite right. Peter’s affirmation only suggests that his understanding of Jesus was that he was to redeem Israel. And although in a sense this is right, it still does not truly identify Jesus for who he really is. We also have a scene at towards the end where Jesus stands before the Sanhedrin and the chief priest asks him if he is the Messiah and the Son of the Blessed One, meaning God. Jesus answers in the affirmative. But here too the leadership declares that this is blasphemy and it is for this reason that they put him to death. They do not want to believe what Jesus has told them. It is only at the end of the book that we find someone who recognizes Jesus for who he is: Mark 15:39 9 Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he (that is Jesus)1 breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was God's Son!" And this is the final irony. It wasn’t a Jew that identifies Jesus but a gentile!. It was one outside of the faith that would truly confess Jesus as who he really was.
Which leads me to this question. Who do people say you are? In your baptism do people know that you are Christian? Do they know that you are also a child of God? I ask this in light of how the people of Jesus time saw him. Either they truly did not recognize him or they chose not to believe that he was the Son of God. You see, the same holds true today. The world out there does not want to confess Jesus as you confess him here each week. They only want to put other labels on him, such as prophet, healer, teacher, or rabbi so as to deny Jesus his true identity. And in doing so they are also denying your identity as Child of God. And because they either do not recognize or chose not to believe that Jesus was the Son of God, they want to put other labels on you that will identify and define you in ways that negate your status with God. How many times have you been asked, “Well what do you do”? As if doing something, or anything defines your identity as a person. Seriously, what is meant by that question? Are they speaking of occupation? Vocation? Tasks that you perform everyday? What time frame are they speaking of? For instance there are many things that I do each day, and not all of them are things that I would consider part of my identity. Is eating lunch, or driving to and from work, or using the restroom tied to whom I see myself as? I don’t think so.
Maybe the better question to ask is the same one Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Who do you say you are? Do you go along with what the outside world tells you who you are? Do you try to match up with the constant barrage of images that are played out before us, telling us we can be younger, more beautiful, more virile, and more interesting if we look a certain way, or buy a certain product? I tried playing that game when I was younger and ended up being slightly schizophrenic. I really had no idea who I was. How could I define myself if I had no discernable identity? I had in effect become an amnesiac to what my true identity was.
Who do you say you are? Do you return to your baptism recognizing that it isn’t how other people see you, but how is it that God sees you? There are many great things about being here in this community of faith that is called Peace Lutheran church. One great thing is the fact that you publish the names of those who are celebrating their baptism in “The Tidings”. [So for instance we can give a shout out today to Karrie Swenson who was baptized on this date a few years ago. And although the Tidings doesn’t publish the baptism dates of the interns, I will tell you that tomorrow I will be 50, in baptismal years]. In having our names published each month, we are reminded of who we are and whose we are. We are reminded that, unlike Jason Bourne, we do not have to search high and low for our missing identity. We are reminded that we are defined not by what the outside world sees or imagines we are, but rather we are defined by the Son of God who by dying on the cross took our sins upon himself, and through his resurrection we have new life daily. And it is by this we can take to heart the same words that Jesus heard at his baptism “You are my son, you are my daughter, with you I am well pleased”. Amen.

And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.