Welcome, brothers and sisters, and peace be with you. May the words on my lips and the meditations in our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen. I was once on a bus in Colombia, travelling down the Andes from Bogota to the tropical village of Melgar. The journey was long, the road was winding, and the bus was crowded. As we descended an elderly woman sitting across from me asked me where I was going, and I told her. She smiled and said Ah I know that place. My family comes from there. We began talking about the village, and I asked Do you know the people who live there? She laughed and replied some of them. But knowing someone's name doesn't necessarily mean that I know them. That reply has stayed with me for over forty years. It is so true. We can know about someone without really knowing them. And that is exactly the issue at the heart of today's gospel Matthew chapter sixteen verses thirteen to twenty. Jesus asks his disciples a remarkably simple question Who do people say that the Son of Man is? They give him the answers that they have heard. Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. In other words, people have different opinions about you, Jesus. Then Jesus makes the question personal. But who do you say that I am? This is the question that changes everything, because Jesus isn't interested simply in what other people think about him. He wants to know what we think. The disciples' initial responses to Jesus' questioning, John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, a prophet were not silly answers. They were genuine attempts to understand who Jesus was. The people had seen his miracles. They had heard his teaching. They had watched him heal the sick, forgive sinners, feed the hungry, and challenge the religious authorities. They knew Jesus was extraordinary, but they hadn't yet understood exactly who he was. Perhaps that is still true today. Ask people who Jesus is and you will get many answers. Some will say he was a great moral teacher. Others will say he was a revolutionary. Some will say he was a prophet. Others will say he was a wonderful example of compassion. Some will say Jesus is important historically, but not particularly relevant to our lives today. And some will simply say, I don't know. However, Jesus doesn't leave his question there. He turns to his disciples and suddenly, this isn't a question about what other people believe. It becomes a question about us. But who do you say I am? Please notice the word you, not your parents, not your priest, pastor, or minister, not your friends, not the people on television or social media, not the people who write books about Christianity, not even the people with you in your faith community. You who do you say Jesus is? For me, this is one of the most important questions anyone can ever face. Because Christianity is not simply about knowing facts about Jesus. It is about encountering Jesus. We can know the Christmas story, we can know the parables, we can know the beatitudes, we can know the stories of the miracles, we can even know the words of Scripture. But eventually Jesus asks, Who do you say that I am? Peter answers You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Jesus tells Peter that this isn't something that he has worked out simply through human intelligence. It has been revealed to him by God. And so we see how Peter has moved from information to faith, from knowing about Jesus to recognizing who Jesus really is. Peter's answer is enormously important. You are the Messiah, the promised one, the one God's people have been waiting for. Peter goes even further, the Son of the Living God. Jesus is not merely another prophet, not merely another teacher, not merely another religious leader. He is God's son. It is this confession that becomes the foundation of our Christian faith. I would like us to notice something else. Peter does not make this confession in a theological classroom. He makes it in the middle of ordinary life. They are travelling, they are talking, they are asking questions, and suddenly Jesus asks the question that changes everything. This is often how faith works. We may expect God to speak to us through spectacular experiences, but sometimes the most important spiritual moments come through an ordinary question, a conversation, a sermon, a Bible passage, a moment of silence, a crisis, a decision. Yes, somewhere in the middle of ordinary life, Jesus asks each of us, Who do you say that I am? How we answer changes how we live. Our confession isn't simply a statement of belief. It has consequences. To you and me, if Jesus really is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, then he cannot, he cannot simply be an interesting figure from history. If Jesus is Lord, then he has a claim upon our lives. It changes the way we treat people, the way we respond to those who hurt us, how we deal with money and possessions, how we respond to the poor, how we think about forgiveness, how we use our time, what we do when nobody is watching, and perhaps most importantly, it changes what we do when life becomes difficult. You see, if Jesus truly is the Son of the Living God, for you and me, then we never face life alone. So imagine Jesus standing or sitting among us this morning. He looks around this faith community, he looks at you. He asks the same question he asked the disciples nearly two thousand years ago. And so how would you answer? Perhaps you might say you are my Saviour You are my Lord. You are the one who forgives me. You are the one who gives me hope. You are the one who walks with me when I am afraid. You are the one who calls me to love even those I find difficult to love. You are the Son of the Living God. Whatever words we use, the question demands more than an intellectual answer. Our answers should be reflected in our lives and in the way that we look at the world. Remember that elderly woman on that Colombian bus? Remember, she said knowing someone's name doesn't necessarily mean you actually know them. We can know Jesus' name. We can know his stories, we can know his teachings, we can know the history surrounding his life, but but Jesus invites us to something much deeper. He invites us to know him, to trust him, to follow him, to listen to him, to walk with him, and to make Peter's confession our own. You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. So today, don't worry too much about what everybody else says about Jesus. Rather focus on his personal question Who do you say that I am? I pray that my answer and yours may not only be on our lips, but also in our lives. And that answer will be You truly are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Ironga Itengoa Oteatua te matua teama metewa ruatapu ahamine.
