August 23, 2026

Christ the King Epiphany Church, Wilbraham

The Rev. Martha S. Sipe

August 23, 2026 / Pentecost 13 (Lect. 21A)

Matthew 16:13-20

Jesus asks the disciples, “Who are people saying that I am?” And they answer without hesitation. Because it’s easy to report what other people are saying. But then Jesus makes the question more personal – and therefore more difficult: “Who do you say that I am?” This is how I imagine the scene. At first, there’s complete silence, except for the sound of sandals scuffing around in the dust. Every head has dropped and no one is making eye contact with Jesus because they can tell that this is a really important question, and nobody wants to get it wrong. How long did the silence last? In truth, we have no idea. But my guess is that it wasn’t too long because – and this won’t be a big surprise to those of you who have heard the Gospel stories before – Peter breaks the silence. Good old, predictably impetuous Peter blurts out, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Peter, according to Jesus, gets the answer just right.

But really, is there one right way to answer that question? Yes, Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed and appointed one who would set God’s people free. Yes, he is the Son of the living God – that’s practically straight out of the Creed. But isn’t he also the Prince of Peace? Isn’t he also the Good Shepherd? And how about the Bread of Life and the Light of the World? Those are also good descriptors of Jesus, and there are many, many more ways we might say who Jesus is. But the fact is that every name that we’ve been taught for Jesus describes him only imperfectly; because Jesus – being God – is just so much . . . more . . . than we can even comprehend. This is sort of the corollary to last week’s sermon: just as we are each more than a single story, so too Jesus is more than any single title or name or description that we can give him.

So Jesus’ question – Who do you say that I am? – is really impossible to answer completely. But it’s a question worth wrestling with nonetheless. Who is Jesus in your life? How you answer the question says as much about you as it does about Jesus. Because who Jesus is to you has everything to do with who you are willing to be. Are we willing to walk in the footsteps of the one who chose to come down from heaven to walk in ours? Are we willing to forgive like the one who forgives us time and time again? Are we willing to stand with those who have no one in their corner even as he stands by us before our heavenly Father? Are we willing to be little Christs in the world?

Who we are willing to be is not a question that can be answered merely with words. We all know that actions speak louder than words. Saying you’ll be there for someone is just so many words, unless the words are accompanied by a willingness to take a phone call in the middle of the night, for example. Saying “I love you” is one thing. Sacrificing comfort and convenience for the one you love is something else. It defines what love is. Caring about the hungry is good, but doesn’t really help those in need. Contributing food to the Survival Center, however, or preparing or serving a meal at Loaves and Fishes puts our caring into action. Talking about Christian values is easier than voting for mercy and compassion on the ballot. And in the same way, believing in Jesus Christ is one thing. Putting that faith into action shows who Jesus is to you – not just a divine being to whom you feel abstractly grateful, but someone who changes your life, and demands that you change the lives of others. In 1 John, we read, “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.” (1 John 3:16-18)

Who is Jesus to you? To me? I pray that today and throughout the week you will try to answer that question for yourself. Because just pondering the question means we’re spending more time thinking about Jesus. And then without our fully realizing it, the more we think about Jesus, the more we’re going to pattern our lives after his. When I spend time thinking about how Jesus provides me with everything I need, I just naturally want to make my life more about providing other people with what they need. When I think about Jesus as the one who is always there to listen to me, I just naturally find myself more open and willing to listen to others. And when I spend time contemplating how much Jesus loves me, there’s just no way that I’m not going to be more loving toward others. Thinking about who Jesus is helps us to know him. And knowing him helps us to be like him.

I think it’s interesting that, at the end of this reading, after Jesus asks the question, “Who do you say that I am?” and after he praises Peter for getting it right by answering “the Messiah, the Son of the Living God,” Jesus then tells them not to tell anyone else. Scholars have suggested that it’s because Jesus believed that people would get the wrong idea about what kind of a Messiah Jesus would be. In the popular thinking of that time, the Messiah would come and conquer Israel’s enemies by force and free the people from Roman occupation. We know, however, that Jesus’ agenda was different: not coming with force but in peace, not freeing from the world’s oppressors but freeing from spiritual bondage. So maybe not promoting false expectations is why Jesus told them not to tell anyone who he was. But maybe, just maybe, it was also because he wanted people to answer the question for themselves. Who is Jesus . . . to you? Because when we can answer who Jesus is to us, when we understand all that he is and all that he has done and continues to do and how much he loves us each, then we will be empowered to love as he does. He is the foundation on which our love is built. He is the head and cornerstone – holding all of us very different people with different beliefs and commitments together as one. He is our help and confidence, through which we can show the world who Jesus is by demonstrating who we are willing to be.

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https://www.workingpreacher.org/dear-working-preacher/a-come-to-jesus-moment