Veronica M. Tierney
Proper 16, Year A, August 21, 2011
Exodus 1:8-2:10; Psalm 124; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20
St. Columba’s Chapel, Middletown, RI
+In the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
In one of the most famous speeches in all of English theatre, William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
addresses a very similar question. The characters and the setting are different, of course. Juliet stands
at her bedroom window and speaks to the night, trying to understand why it is that she cannot love
Romeo. They are the “star-crossed lovers” whose families are in a bitter feud. It is this feud that
makes the family names of “Capulet” and “Montague” utterly incompatible:
O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;-Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
O, be some other name!
Juliet recognizes the power of their names, and yet she fights that power. She desperately wishes that
her beloved Romeo belonged to some other family, that he had some other name, a name that would be
easier to bear. She even tries to convince herself that Romeo’s name is utterly irrelevant to the essence
of who and what Romeo is:
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
It seems reasonable enough. A name is just a series of sounds…isn’t it? And yet, for Romeo and
Juliet, the names of “Montague” and “Capulet” hold tremendous power over their lives, despite their
urgent wish that it could be otherwise.
The name of Jesus isn’t just a series of sounds either. In Matthew’s Gospel, which we have been
reading throughout the year, we learn the story behind Jesus’ name. When Joseph discovers that Mary
is pregnant, an angel visits him in a dream and tells him to take Mary as his wife and to name the child
“Jesus,” which means, “He will save.” The Gospel writer explains to us that this series of events
serves to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy:
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which
means “God is with us”.
In the span of a few short verses, we discover two fundamental truths about Jesus, that he is both “the
one who will save” and “God in our midst.”
As readers of Matthew’s Gospel, we learn who Jesus is LONG before his disciples do. In this
morning’s passage, Jesus asks them:
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but
others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do
YOU say that I am?”
Jesus is challenging their perception. It is a critical moment, the moment of truth. Jesus is asking them
to name him, to declare the fundamental truth of his identity.
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
It is, of course, the right answer. Finally! Jesus marks Simon Peter’s correct answer by re-naming
him. No longer is he Simon son of Jonah, but Peter, the “rock” upon whom Jesus will build his
church.
Jesus does not ask his question ONLY of those disciples long ago. He asks that question of every
disciple throughout time, including us. What is our answer? Who do WE say that Jesus is?
One of the most frequently used names for Jesus, both in the New Testament and throughout Christian
history, is “Lord.”
In Matthew’s Gospel, we have encountered many stories of people meeting Jesus. It has been the
outsiders who call Jesus “Lord” long before his disciples do: we have heard the leper, and the
centurion and even an unnamed would-be follower call Jesus “Lord” -- not “Lord” simply as a title of
polite address, but “Lord” in that Old Testament sense, “Lord” as a title for God, whose name is so
sacred that we dare not speak it.
And likewise, throughout the Church’s history, whenever someone becomes a Christian through the
sacrament of baptism, both the candidate and the community make the confession that Jesus is Lord.
But is it enough?
No. In fact it is NOT enough. As we will hear in the Gospel next Sunday, Peter will earn another
name from Jesus – “Satan.” You see, immediately following our passage this morning, Jesus begins to
give his disciples details of what awaits him, that he will have to go to Jerusalem to suffer, die and rise.
Peter tries to stand between Jesus and his mission to live up to his name. Remember, the name “Jesus”
means, “he will save.” Peter knows the truth of Jesus’ identity; he has proclaimed it in this morning’s
Gospel: You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. And yet “Messiah” is a name that Peter will
discover he cannot bear. He knows the truth that Jesus is the Messiah, and yet Peter does not know the
full truth revealed by that name.
Peter’s protest is like Juliet’s desperate wish for Romeo: Deny thy Father, and refuse thy name! It
sounds an awful lot like Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, doesn’t it? No wonder Jesus says, “Get
behind me Satan!”
And so it is not enough for us to know who Jesus is. It is not even enough for us to confess what we
know.
What IS enough?
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Jesus is the Lord, and that name reveals a fundamental truth. But, it isn’t just a truth about Jesus.
“Lord” is a word that defines a relationship. You can’t be a lord all by yourself. So if we claim that
Jesus is Lord, we are also saying something dramatic about ourselves. We are claiming to be subjects,
those people who submit to the Lordship of Jesus.
Sometimes our idea of Lordship falls short. To many of us in America, the idea of Lordship is not
only foreign, but is almost repulsive. Just think of the kinds of lords we hear about in the news: slum
lords, drug lords and warlords. To us, lords are people with power, and often people who use that
power in sinful ways.
Jesus IS the Lord, but not THIS kind of lord.
And if Jesus is the Lord, then we simply are NOT the Lord.
So what would it look like if we really LIVED as subjects under the Lordship of Jesus?
Would we continue to claim lordship for ourselves? To grasp at power that is not our own?
We are NOT the lords of creation: Look at the ways we decimate forests, pollute air and seas, and
constantly strive to accumulate more.
We are NOT the lords of each other: Think of the many ways in which we oppress each other through
social, political and economic injustice.
We are NOT the lords even of ourselves: Consider all our selfish ambitions and addictions to power
and the illusion of freedom.
We are NOT the Lord -- and THIS is Good News!
It is Good News because Jesus is the Lord, the only true Lord creation has ever seen.
As subjects, let us follow Jesus and empty ourselves rather than grasping for power.
Let us follow Jesus and sacrifice ourselves for the sake of others.
Let us follow Jesus and raise others up from the death of despair into the new life of hope.
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