The three most important
words in real estate are “location, location, location.” Location matters, even in the bible. This is certainly true with today’s gospel
reading. The text tells us Jesus is in Caesarea
Philippi. Now, this may not mean much to
you and me, but it meant a lot to his companions and to the early readers of
Matthew’s gospel. Just as we associate
car making with Detroit and Mardi Gras with New Orleans, Caesarea Philippi was
associated with several particular things.
The city is located
about twenty miles north of the Sea of Galilee and sits at the base of Mt.
Hermon. The Book of Enoch says this is
the site where fallen angels took humans as wives creating a race known as the nephilim,
who are described as being giants. There
is a cave on the side of the mountain in Caesarea thought to be
bottomless. Its opening is called the
Gates of Hades and myth holds the nephilim are consigned to its depths.
For centuries the city
and mountain are an important location for the worshippers of Baal. In Hellenistic times, it is renamed Paneas
and new temple structures are added for the worship of the Greek god Pan. You may be interested to know Pan had the
hindquarters, legs, hooves, and horns of a goat, but the torso and head of a
human. He enjoyed his afternoon naps and
if interrupted let out a terrifying scream which created a “panic” in those who
heard it. By Jesus’ day, the city is
expanded to include a large royal palace, and Philip, the region’s ruler,
renames it after Caesar and himself.
During the Jewish War
from 66-70 AD, the Roman general Vespasian favors Caesarea
Philippi as a recreation spot. When he
is named Emperor he leaves his son Titus to oversee the siege of Jerusalem and
returns to the Caesarea where he reclines in comfort in the palace. After the fall of Jerusalem, the ancient
historian Josephus reports Titus and his troops return to Caesarea with Jewish
captives and Vespasian has some of them thrown to wild animals.
When Matthew’s original readers learn
Jesus is in Caesarea Philippi, they associate all of this background with what
they are reading in the text. Jesus is in
a place of steeped in Jewish mythology, pagan worship, and Roman
imperialism. And it is exactly in the
center of this city with its ancient temples and lavish palace Jesus asks his
followers who other people think he is.
And then he asks them directly, “Who do you say that I am?”
The context matters. It illuminates the question and shapes the
answer. Had Jesus been walking through a
large field of grain when he asked it, Peter’s response might have been “You
are the bread of life.” Had they been
sitting around a fire on a star-filled night, Peter might have answered, “You
are the light of the world.” But here,
in Caesarea Philippi, a center of political power and cultic worship, Peter
answers Jesus is superior to both. You
are the Messiah – the one sent from God to lead our people. You are the son of the living God – the one
to whom all worship belongs.
Location, location, location. I believe Jesus comes to us in every context
where we find ourselves and asks, “Who do you say I am?” The context will always shape our
response. Let’s say you give your spouse
one final kiss before he deploys. Jesus
asks, “Who do you say I am?” You are my
strong tower who will keep me safe and those I love safe. Or let’s say you are singing your favorite
church hymn with all you have to offer.
Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?”
You are the one who fills my heart with rejoicing. Or let’s say you are sitting by a hospital
bed keeping vigil as a loved one nears death.
Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?”
You are my shepherd and I shall not want.
Location, location, location. Let’s say we are walking with Jesus in
downtown Charlottesville this morning.
Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?”
You are the Lord who commands us to love God and one another. You are the one who gave his life to expose
the forces of hatred, violence, and bigotry.
You are the one who calls us to establish justice and righteousness and
equality within our borders.
Let’s say this morning we are living in
the coastal region of Texas, trying to make sense of the devastation and
struggling with the challenge of putting our life and our community back
together. Jesus asks, “Who do you say I
am?” You are the one who lifts me up on
eagles’ wings and promises I will run and not be weary. I will walk and not be faint.
But we are here at St. Paul’s Church in
downtown Suffolk and Jesus asks us, “Who do you say I am?” Our answer is shaped by our context. If we were answering on the morning of our
Pilgrimage Sunday, worshipping at each of the five locations over the course of
our 375 years as a parish, we might have confessed “You are the Alpha and the
Omega, the beginning and the end. You
have been our help in ages past and our hope for years to come.”
Over the months since then our parish
context has continued to evolve, as it always does, and requires our thoughtful
discernment to understand who Jesus is for us right now and how we are called
to respond. Over the summer we have
welcomed several new families into our faith community. We are now in a position to add a new Sunday
morning class for upper elementary school children to compliment our nursery,
pre-school and early elementary class, and youth class. We are in a position to form a youth group
for 5th graders on up. We will
begin to have a monthly meeting starting in September and building from
there. We are also looking to provide a
youth confirmation class beginning this fall.
Who do we at St. Paul’s say Jesus
is? Given who we are and where we are, we
can answer in many different ways. Given
how we have changed this summer, a new response is being added and
emphasized. Jesus is our Rabbi who
teaches us about life and the faith and helps to form us into good and godly
people.
And what about you and your personal
location? Given where you are in your
own life right now, who do you say Jesus is?
