Sunday 27 August, 2023

Reflection:    "Can you keep a secret?"

Exodus 1:8-2:10

Psalm 124

Matthew 16:13-20

Romans 12:1-8

Ask any group of people to keep a secret, and you’re looking for trouble.
More than likely, somebody will let it out at some time and that’s especially true if the secret is extraordinary.
 
Today’s Gospel reading, tells us that Peter is the first among the disciples to recognize that Jesus is the Messiah.
He’s the first to discover that this man, whom he knows so well, is the one anointed by God - The Messiah, sent to deliver Israel from bondage.
Peter says as much when Jesus asks him, point blank, “Who do you say that I am?”
Peter’s answer marks him as the star student - and he receives his reward.
Jesus promises to build his church upon the rock foundation of his faith, giving Peter executive authority.
Here, Peter stands for the whole church and Jesus now entrusts his mission to all who recognize him as Messiah.
 
What a glorious development!
Now should be the time to call in the media, get out the word, let everybody know that the Messiah has come and is setting up his organization.
But Jesus tells them that it’s not time for press releases, photo opportunities, or sound bites - far from it.
 
In the ending of today’s gospel, Jesus “sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.”
Nobody - not a soul - Mum’s the word - cancel the press conference - keep it a secret.
Why is Jesus intent on keeping the news of him being the Messiah a secret?
Why not let it out?
And now that he’s admitted who he is, and the disciples all know it, does he really think that this secret can be kept? Won’t it travel from mouth to ear with the speed of novelty?
The voices that ask, “Have you heard about Jesus, the Nazarine?” will multiply rapidly across the land.
 
And it’s not just this once that Jesus wants his identity to stay a secret.
Repeatedly, throughout the gospels, he tries to keep from becoming the talk of whatever town he’s in.
Yet, when he performs such deeds as healing the sick, raising the dead and feeding the hungry, when he fulfils the messianic job description, how are people expected to keep his identity to themselves - and why should they?
What he does in one community after another is a publicist’s dream., making him big news, really big news.
 
There’s a name for everything Jesus does in an effort to pass unrecognized as the Messiah and theologians call this the Messianic Secret.
The most convincing explanation of these words is that Jesus doesn’t want to be acknowledged as the Messiah outside the time of his death and resurrection.
Only in the light of those events can people begin to recognize what his being the Messiah really means.
If they hear he’s the Messiah before he even gets to the cross, they’re sure to misunderstand him.
Instead of being a messiah of sacrifice and triumph, they’ll see him as one who’s come to solve their problems.
Rather than recognize him as the one who calls them to their own death and resurrection, the crowds are likely to view him as a messiah sent to pamper their egos and make their lives comfortable.
 
Jesus doesn’t want his ministry to be seen in the wrong light and for this reason, he prefers that only his immediate circle know that he’s the one sent from God.
The opportunity will come later for them to announce that he is the Messiah - after the crucifixion and his return.
 
The Messianic Secret helps us to understand what goes on in the gospel story, why Jesus sometimes behaves in a way that seems incomprehensible, but the Messianic Secret is more than that, for it has a contemporary application.
People in his own time often misunderstood Jesus because they wanted, indeed expected, a messiah of a different kind to be sent to them from God – a warrior King.
 
Even today, people are also ready to misunderstand Jesus.
We want – indeed we expect - a messiah different from the one who has been sent to us.
We expect someone who saves us easily and asks from us nothing much at all.
We want a Jesus who doesn’t die, or at least doesn’t expect us to follow him in doing so.
While we hope for something easy - what the gospel offers us, is a bit like a scandal.
We can know God best through this one human being, a single life where the Word becomes flesh.
But this particularity is only the start.
The gospel goes on to insist that we know him most completely, not through the notable events of his life, but by his gruesome dying and his incomprehensible resurrection.
Then the scandal becomes even greater.
His cross and triumph don’t adequately reveal him, until we participate in them, and accept them as our own.
With Jesus, we must be prepared to give our lives to him, if he is to be our Messiah.
 
So, in our time, the Messianic Secret has changed.
Once it meant not announcing Jesus as the promised one until his death and resurrection revealed him completely. Now it means not announcing Jesus WITHOUT mentioning the cross and the empty tomb - not announcing him unless we’re ready to die and rise together with him.
 
There are plenty of versions of Jesus abroad in the world today.
Once again, he’s become a star; he’s big, really big.
Some of these versions are authentic, but most are not.
What makes a particular version authentic, is not any denominational or cultural label, nor any other marking designed to set us at ease.
What makes a version of Jesus the real thing and not human fantasy, is whether it invariably returns us to what is most important, what reveals divine love completely.
We can’t welcome Jesus without the cross.
We can’t welcome a Jesus who remains dead.
 
If we’re to call ourselves Christians, members of his church, then we’ll have to accept the Messiah crucified and risen - not only 2,000 years ago, but in our own lives as well.
Then, and only then, are we dealing with the real Jesus.
Moreover, we mustn’t keep the Messiah a secret.
The world, the one where we spend our days, still waits for a saviour and is dying to meet Jesus – through us.
In many cases, they just don’t know it, until we introduce him to them.
 
In his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us that to be able to do so, we have to be pure and acceptable to God.
Instead of big-noting ourselves and thinking that we’ve got it all together, we have to realise that we’re only one small part of the body of God in the world.
He’s given each of us functions and we’re only effective if we work with other members of the body towards bringing glory in God’s Kingdom.
He says that some of us have the gift of prophesy, meaning that they understand what God is asking of us and they put these thoughts into words.
Others are set to be ministers, who speak the words of God to the believers and unbelievers alike.
Some are teachers, assisting their students to learn the messages that God has written down for us.
Yet others are exhorters, meaning that they encourage others and push them to carry on the good work.
The gift of giving is evident in some and they use this gift to support others in their work.
We also have leaders, who work diligently to guide us in the right direction.
Also, we have those who have been given the gift of compassion, allowing them to work cheerfully for the Lord.
 
Do any of these gifts resonate with you?
Maybe your gift’s not as obvious as the ones I’ve mentioned here, but everyone has been blessed by God with gifts of some sort and it’s up to us to determine what these gifts are and use them in service for our Lord.
 
The time for secrets is over.
Now we need to be like John the Baptiser and to “Prepare the way of the Lord”.
Let people know about the risen Christ, who was prepared to die for them, to allow them the gift of eternal life.

No more secrets.       

​Ok?                         

Pastor Rick