St. Mark’s Pennsburg
GOSPEL: Matthew 16: 13-20
August 27, 2023
In his book, Slapstick, Kurt Vonnegut tells of a religious cult called “The Church of Jesus Christ the Kidnapped”.
This cult believes that the long awaited Second Coming has already happened, but that upon coming back into the world, Jesus was kidnapped by those trying to stop the prophecy from coming true.
In the book, this cult becomes the most popular religion in the world.
One tenant of this religion is that its practitioners are called to continually search for the kidnapped Christ.
They look in closets, under beds, in drawers, and even under their dinner plates, and are in the habit of moving their heads from side to side while in public, in case they catch a glimpse of the missing Jesus.
So they could rescue him.
In real life: The priest, Ernesto Cardinale told of going to lead worship in the slums of Managua Nicaragua on an Easter morning, and as he looked out over the congregation, he said that he could see the face of Christ in the crowd of poor people who were gathered for worship.
Indeed, Father Cardinale often talked of seeing Christ in the poor and the sick, as well as in nature…
And once, when I was in the Laundromat in Pennsburg, watching my clothes tumble dry and working on another sermon…a sermon that I was sure would be memorable…a person came in through the side door.
He looked homeless, carrying bags of his belongings, he was dirty, smelly, and mumbling to himself. It was winter, so I figured that he was coming in to get out of the cold, which was fine with me, as long as he sat somewhere else…but then he turned and started walking straight toward me!
Now the laundromat was almost empty, there were plenty of other seats, however, he seemed determined to make friends!
Without a thought, I prayed “God, please don’t let him sit next to me!”
It was not my best moment…
And of course, he sat down right next to me!
I thought about moving, but that would be too obvious, and too rude.
I tried to ignore him, but then he started saying “hi” over and over and finally I stopped what I was doing and said “hi” back to him, expecting to hear some strange ramblings coming out of his mouth, but all he said in response was “Jesus loves you; you know!” I said, “thank you” and he just nodded and a few minutes later he got up and went back out into the cold.
Leaving me speechless!
In today’s Gospel, when Jesus asks Peter “Who do you say I am?” Peter sees the truth right away and answers “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus then blessed him and named him the rock upon which the church would be built…but then warned Peter not to tell anyone.
Why?
Maybe it was because Jesus felt it wasn’t time yet, the Gospel was still being written…
Perhaps Jesus wanted others to come to this realization on their own, kind of like a real “Come to Jesus Moment”?
I don’t know…
What I do know is that this was a pivotal moment, when Christ became known, and Peter was given the task of opening the Kingdom of God to all people, of building the church, who is called to ensure that Christ’s teachings and ministry continues on, far beyond Good Friday and the Resurrection.
The call to make Christ known to a changing and challenging world!
Something we too are called to do, as followers of Christ…as the church.
Hence the question for us today is: Where do we see Christ in the world?
Do we see Christ in faces of our loved ones: spouses, partners, our children, families, and friends?
Perhaps we see Christ in nature, in the sun reflecting on the still surface of the lake, in the fish jumping into the warm air to catch a tasty morsel?
Do we hear the voice of Christ in the rustle of the leaves, and the sound of the birds calling to each other?
Maybe we see Christ in the city, his voice speaking to us in the roar of traffic, or in the kindness of a stranger holding a door, or giving us a simple nod and a smile?
Maybe, like Father Cardinale, we see Christ in the face of the poor, and the homeless who are struggling for survival each day…
Or we could see Christ in the faces of those who are suffering from Addiction or Mental Illness, whether they are on the streets of Kensington, Allentown or even here in Upper Perk?
Can we see Christ in the people who love them, hope for them, and pray for them, against all odds…
Maybe Christ can be seen in the faces of people gathered for Recovery, defying all those odds as the seek to meet life on life’s terms one day at a time.
And here is a challenge: can we see Christ in the faces of those we do not like?
Those who treat us with disregard and disrespect?
Can we see Christ in the people who cut us off in traffic, those who are rude to us in the grocery store?
What about those we disagree with…in terms of politics, life choices or religions?
In a world where there is so much seeking to divide us, can we look at those who are different from us and see that they too are also well-loved children of God?
And can we see Christ when we are looking in the mirror, even knowing that we have fallen short of our best selves at times…and have failed to act Christ-like?
Like I did in that laundromat so long ago, and have done many times since.
The answer is “Yes, all of the above” even if sometimes we have to really look hard to see Christ in the places we’d least expect to find him.
For like Peter and the other disciples, we all are called to be the church, to act as the Body of Christ in the world…but unlike Peter, we are encouraged to tell others the good news…
As followers of Christ we do not seek a “Second Coming” but are to proclaim the imminent presence of Christ right here, where we are, in the midst of our own lives!
To offer comfort to all who struggle, by sharing the good news that we are all immersed in God’s grace, which surrounds us like the air…though sometimes we need to be reminded that it’s okay to breathe it in.
We do this by living our faith out loud every day.
We are acting as Christ in the world when we care for each other…offering comfort and support through the most difficult of days…
We are acting as Christ when we support families who struggle, with finances, illness, addiction, and with grief…
We have seen our congregation sharing God’s gracious healing with each other, organizing to help those who are facing things that are hard for us to comprehend, not to mention accept…by letting them know that they are loved, surrounded by God’s grace and will never be alone.
And as the church we have taken the message of the Gospel, the proclamation that Christ is alive and active in our lives, beyond these walls!
We have shared the good news of God’s love as we have supported groups like the Owls, Lions, the Open Link, Project Live and all those seeking to make our community a better place!
When we support the Heavenly Helpers, the Cancer Society, Heart Association, the work of the ELCA, and the many other charities seeking to make life better…we are sharing the Gospel in the wider world.
And when treat our friends and neighbors with compassion and respect, even those we may not necessarily appreciate…remembering that we are all struggling with something…we are being Christ in the world!
Finally, we are acting as acting as Christ when we show love and respect to the people we are closest to: our families, spouses/partners, children…treating them with love and respect.
And of course, we are called to be Christ to ourselves…to give ourselves a break every now and then, and celebrate the good that is within all of us.
For we are called to be the church, and therefore, like the people in Vonnegut’s story, we are called to look for Christ everywhere, and to see Christ in the face of each other, for together we are the Body of Christ alive and active in the world, and that is something to celebrate, and not to hide!
Amen
Ordinary Adventures 