*Delivered to the congregation of Wake Forest Christian Church. The full bulletin is available here: Bulletin 091618.

Scripture: Mark 8: 27-38

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Have you ever noticed how many stories about the disciples show them not having a clue about who Jesus is, what he’s about, or how he’ll respond in a situation? I find that kinda comforting. Whenever I’m not sure *I* understand the Divine, I remember that even those closest to Jesus were a tad off the mark.

Who do people say that Jesus is? Some say John the Baptist come back to life, some say he’s Elijah, while others say he is one of the prophets. Everyone had a different lens on who Jesus was. In fact, that is the entire point of Mark’s gospel. His was one of the earliest written, and scholars say that early followers of “The Way” – as the movement was known then – the early followers viewed Jesus primarily as a miracle-worker. There’s was a magical and mythical perspective. So the author of Mark peppers the text with anecdotes of people saying, who is this Jesus who teaches with authority? Who is this JESUS who casts out unclean spirits—where does he get his power? When he heals a paralytic and forgives the man’s sins, they aren’t so much troubled by the cure. But they are beside themselves that he has forgiven sins, because only God can do that.  The author of Mark is using the miracle-worker stories to show that Jesus was more than that. And so this question of who Jesus was has been at the center of theological study and reflection ever since. Unfortunately, it’s also been the source of division … and worse.

In the scripture passage we heard, Peter answers: Jesus is the Messiah. His understanding of what a messiah would be is shaped by the growing Jewish expectation of that era. Because, seriously, the oppressive rule of the Romans had been crippling them, the people of God have been treated so unfairly, and these unethical, immoral leaders had reveled in their power for far too long. How do you make it through that, unless you believe God would surely intervene in history and make good triumph over evil, overthrowing their enemies and oppressors? In the Greek, Peter says Jesus is the christos—the anointed one—connected to the anointing of kings in ancient Israel. So this christos will come with great power, to restore the rightful destiny of the Israelites, in earthly and religious context. We can see how Peter’s perception of Jesus is shaped by where he is in his life, his spiritual development, and cultural influences. For him, this Jesus is the powerful one who will bring political liberation to the chosen people. His perspective on who Jesus is—it’s limited. He’s not really understanding the breadth and depth of who Jesus is. Which is why Jesus rebukes him for this misunderstanding.

There’s a teaching in the Talmud—the ancient Jewish book of rabbinical commentaries—that that says, We do not see things as they are—we see things as WE are. We do not see things as they are, we see things as WE are. Our perspective is only as large as our world view—and while we think ours is the right one, we, too, may have a limited understanding.

In his book Integral Christianity, Rev. Paul Smith writes about the various stages or lenses through which we may view Jesus, God, the Bible, and more. You don’t need to remember the names of the stages he refers to, just listen for how the same Jesus, the same christos, can be understood differently:

“The tribal lens sees a magical wonder-worker Jesus. The warrior lens perceives a vengeful Jesus. The traditional lens sees a suffering Jesus who died in our place on the cross to save us from God’s wrath. The modern lens sees a human (only human) Jesus who is a wise teacher. The postmodern lens sees an inclusive Jesus who embraces everyone, along with all of their various spiritual paths. The integral-and-beyond lens sees a mystical, reformer, prophetic Jesus who fully realized and manifested his divine identity. He includes the best of the preceding Jewish paths and transcends the no-longer-adequate elements.”

All of these views are true to an extent—and each of us may be more comfortable with one view rather than another, which is absolutely fine. What we need to keep in mind, like Peter, is that we are susceptible to believing our view is the only right one. Even though we have the benefit of 2000 years of Biblical study and interpretation, even though we are well educated and have a worldly perspective, even WE may not see things as they are—but as WE ARE. Is it possible that we may need to let go of what we think we know, so we can be open to possibility of a greater truth?

I really hope your answer is yes, because I would like to stretch us beyond the question of whether we believe in Jesus. Sorry, let me say that with different emphasis so you might hear me differently. I’d like to stretch beyond the question of whether we believe IN Jesus. Because I’d like us to focus on how we can believe AS Jesus. So please understand: I’m not saying it’s irrelevant whether we believe in Jesus; I’m suggesting a more inclusive approach. When we focus on whether we—or anyone else—believes IN Jesus, we inadvertently set up an us-versus-them polarity that has been the source of wars, division, and oppression of other faith traditions for more than 2000 years.

The stories in the Bible show us a Jesus who loves outsiders. It’s the good Samaritan, not the leading Jews in the same story, who exemplify what it means to be a good neighbor. It’s the children, who were considered little more than property at the time, that Jesus suggests as role models. He cures a Roman soldier’s daughter, dines with tax collectors, prays and speaks with women, even those who have had 5 husbands. And, for me, the story that’s most telling? It’s actually going to be the scripture for two weeks from today. When non-followers of Jesus are healing people in his name, the disciples try to stop them because “they’re not one of us.” They’re healing people in Jesus’s name but they aren’t technically followers of Jesus. So, surely they should be stopped, right? But Jesus says, no, let them continue. I’ll stop there so as not to get in the way of David’s sermon!

Jesus wasn’t teaching the disciples and the crowds to believe IN him. What Jesus was teaching people was how to believe AS he did.

One of the ways we can believe AS Jesus is to welcome Great Mystery into our lives. Thich Nhat Hanh, world renowned Buddhist leader and social activist, likes to say that we should “have tea” with anything in our lives that makes us uncomfortable—like ambiguity, or not knowing. In our Western culture, we prefer immediate gratification. We’d rather check a box, jump to a conclusion, and make a decision than sit with a question. Faster is better. I do not see that exemplified in the stories of Jesus. At all. He may indeed reach a decision quickly or discern quickly—but the difference is, his objective is not speed… while for us, it often is. His goal is to continually open himself to live his way into answers … to let God’s Truth unfold in him. Through him. Even though his closest friends often misunderstood him, he stayed open for the sake of following a Divine Knowing that they could not yet comprehend.

When we welcome Divine Mystery, we allow God to be bigger than we could ever put words to. We cultivate curiosity, not assurance. We listen for a prayer, rather than speak it. Most of all, every day, we practice knowing that all of us, underneath all that we can see, are interconnected. We are bound by a Oneness that is unfathomable on the best of days and outright confounding on the not-so-good days. And yet beautiful nonetheless.

Another hallmark of believing AS Jesus is the ability to see big and small events in our day-to-day lives as opportunities for transformation. Y’all realize that another word for transformation is … change, right? We try not to use that dirty word in church cuz it tends to freak people out. The truth is, all of us are very open to change—as long as it’s the change we want and not what that other person wants … I’ll leave that for Carl to moderate in the next congregational meeting.

Here’s the paradox of transformation in the spiritual context: we very often come to God, to Jesus, to church because something needs to change in our lives. We may be seeking relief, consolation, clarity in troubling times … and those are perfectly wonderful reasons to seek God. The challenge is when we then assign God, Jesus, church the sole job description of comfort provider. “Yes, I would like to order some comfort from the chief comfort provider service, please.” Uh uh. Look again at the scriptures: Jesus heals people from blindness, paralysis, disease, even death. Have you ever known someone who had to learn how to see again? The disorientation, the issues with light, depth perception … Do ya think those folks had it easy learning to see again? Or learning to walk? Learning to … live, rather than merely survive? Even when Jesus is in the boat with the disciples and he calms the storm—seems comforting enough, right? What does he do right after that? Asks Peter to walk on water.

Speaking of Peter and that incident of walking on water, it is possible to have a transformative moment or inspiration and then go back to our old way of doing things. I speak from experience but I’m sure that’s not true for anyone else here. Let’s imagine how one of our beloved Bible stories would turn out if transformation didn’t lead to a different way of living.

The Zoroastrian wise men see a star at its rising and go to Herod to find out where the King of the Jews is to be born. They’re seeking wisdom and insight from a leader outside of their religious tradition, so that they may honor this would-be king. Walking on, they find the baby Jesus and his family, offer him praise and honor and then go to sleep for the night. In the morning one or two have a sense, maybe a little inexplicable nudge, that says they should return by a different path. But one of ‘em says, heck no. We took this path here, so we need to take the same path back home. No need to go reinventing the wheel. Not sure that story would’ve made its way into the canon of Biblical texts. Not much inspiration to be found in that version of events, right? It’s only epiphany if we let our new way of seeing—our way of believing AS Jesus—make a difference in our daily lives.

So, now, let me ask—are you willing to take one small step toward having tea with Great Mystery? Could you be willing to take one small step toward seeing our daily lives as opportunities for transformation? If so, then allow me to try something a little unique in the midst of a sermon. And if you’re not willing, well … humor me because it was really only a rhetorical question …

We’re going to practice believing AS Jesus, in the way we center ourselves for worship. So I invite you to close your eyes for a moment. Or if you prefer, you can leave them open and allow them to maintain a soft focus that allows anything in your field of vision to slightly blur, to be comfortably fuzzy.

Notice your breath. You don’t need to change anything. Just notice. This breathing of yours, it happens all by itself. You don’t need to DO anything. So you can relax and just appreciate that IT IS.

Jesus knew that God is as close to us as our very breath. Breathe that in. As you inhale, imagine you are breathing in the very essence of God. The Holy Spirit that Jesus spoke of … Spiritus … it is rooted in the same word for breath … for inspiration … breathe in the breath of God.

Invite the breath of God to infuse every part of your lungs … to bring life to your whole being. Let yourself be filled with the presence of God.

Listen to the breath of God within. It may not be a voice but instead a subtle knowing. A brief nudge. In the depth of your soul, ask, What does God want you to know for today?

Take a moment to be grateful for this breath of God— in which we live, and move, and have our being.

Now let that gratefulness and awareness grow. Let it extend to the person to your left, to your right. To the people in front of you, behind you. Each one of us is filled with the breath of God. And as each person extends that gratitude in a circle outward, these circles of gratefulness overlap … and grow stronger … your breath is unique and individual for you …. and yet … yet in this space, in this place and time, the breath of God is also united as One. This is the beauty of sacred community.

You can return to this prayer any time you want. You can practice it any time you show up for worship and want to center yourself.

For now, I invite you to return your awareness to your breath. To feel the pew underneath you, to feel your feet on the floor. And when you’re ready, gently open your eyes and return to this sanctuary.

May the God of our understanding always be large enough to draw us further along the path. May the Jesus of our knowing always accompany us in transformation. And may the breath of God, the Holy Spirit, IN-spire our very being all the days of our life.