Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost

August 27, 2023

Matthew 16,13-20

Rev. Neli Miranda

 

Today’s Gospel takes us to Caesarea Philippi, an ancient town situated at the foot of Mount Hermon in northern Israel. In the Old Testament it was known as a Canaanite sanctuary dedicated to the god Baal. Later, during the Hellenistic period, the cult of Baal was replaced with the worship of Greek gods, particularly the god Pan to whom sacrifices of animals and people were offered. The Roman Emperor Augustus granted this territory to Herod the Great (20 BC), and Herod’s son, Philip the Tetrarch, who inherited the northern area around this site, rebuilt the city and named it after Tiberius Caesar, the Roman Emperor. Phillip added his name to distinguish it from Caesarea Maritima and erected a marble temple on the sanctuary site in honor of the emperor Tiberius who was recognized as the “Emperor Tiberius Caesar Agustus, son of God.

Matthew tells us today that in this region, controlled by the political and religious power of Philip and Caesar, Jesus was questioning his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of man is?” (Matthew 16,13). (“Son of man” is a title which Jesus uses to refer to himself as human/humanity and some scholars interpret this title with a messianic meaning). In Greek, Jesus’ question is posed using the progressive sense, “Who are the people saying that the Son of man is?” This is much more than a “pop quiz” that emerges in Caesarea Philippi; it is an ongoing question, a continuous, important conversation Jesus is having with his disciples as they travel along the way. While Jesus proclaims the Kingdom of God, heals the sick and feeds the hungry, people are chatting with each other and wondering who Jesus is. So, Jesus’ question is easily answered by the disciples as they are traveling with Jesus and listening to what the people are saying about him: some are saying that Jesus is the resurrected John the Baptist, others are saying that Jesus is a prophet like Elijah or Jeremiah.

Having heard his disciples’ answers and quite possibly with the view of the temple of Caesar at the distance, Jesus questions his disciples’ faith by asking, “But, who are you saying that I am…?” Jesus’ question implies that the disciples have been talking about Jesus’ identity as they accompany him during his ministry. In the preceding chapters, in the middle of the sea of Galilee, the disciples had already worshiped Jesus as the son of God. Now, in the midst of a place where humans and animal sacrifices are offered to the god Pan and where Caesar is worshiped as son of God, Jesus challenges them to reaffirm their faith. His question is addressed to the whole community of disciples, but Peter gives voice to the community saying, “You are the Messiah the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16,16). This confession challenges the whole system, both religious and political.  Jesus is the Son of the living God not Caesar!

Dear sisters and brothers, today’s Gospel speaks to us as Jesus’ disciples to practice a continuous exercise that requires us to reflect on his questions: What are people saying about Jesus today? How are we contributing to peoples’ understanding of Jesus? Are we ourselves clear who Jesus is? Reflecting on these questions strengthens our faith and prepares us to confess that Jesus is the Son of the living God amid a world coopted by the gods of the oppressive system: power, money, market, religion, consumerism, social media, and body image, among others. Daily, many innocent lives are sacrificed to these gods to maintain the system. Can we confront this evil system by confessing our faith in the Son of the Living God?

Every Sunday, within the four walls of the church, we reaffirm our faith in the Living God by saying together the Nicene Creed; we proclaim God our Creator, Jesus the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit giver of Life. However, Jesus invites us today to leave the four walls and proclaim the Living God among those places and people serving gods that produce death.  He invites us to proclaim Life in the face of death, violence, authoritarianism, dehumanization, marginalization, discrimination, and enslavement.  He invites us to confess our faith at home, at work, at school, at the offices of corrupt government, in the street markets, and in all the places coopted by the evil powers that inflict death in our world.  

I leave you with this question, “Who are you saying that Jesus is?”  AMEN.