Sermon Seeds: Identity

Sunday, September 15, 2024
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost | Year B
(Liturgical Color: Green)

Lectionary Citations
Proverbs 1:20-33 and Psalm 19 or Wisdom of Solomon 7:26 – 8:1 OR Isaiah 50:4-9a and Psalm 116:1-9 • James 3:1-12 • Mark 8:27-38
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?z=p&d=75&y=382

Focus Scripture: Mark 8:27-38
Focus Theme: Identity
Series: Here I Am…Deconstructing (Click here for the series overview.)

Reflection
By Cheryl A. Lindsay

The great poet Lucille Clifton once said, “What they call you is one thing. What you answer to is something else.” Whatever the context that prompted the remark, it is clear she addressed the disconnect that can exist between who you are and who others claim you to be. Further, her pithy statement asserts that the ultimate arbiter of our identity is ourselves. We have authority and agency to name and define our being and to accept or reject the labels imposed on us by others.

When we take this concept further, we can evaluate our relationships by the ability of people in our lives to accurately identify us. Have you ever been asked to introduce someone because of your relationship with them or to provide a reference to their character, your experience with them, and the claims they make about themselves? What do you draw upon to fulfill those tasks? It certainly is possible to introduce someone you do not know well. You might request a copy of their biography and even read it verbatim. Giving a reference, however, is a more relational task and cannot be done with integrity without first-hand experience and knowledge.

In the gospel passage, Jesus is not asking for a reference or to be introduced, yet he does confront his disciples about their understanding of his identity. First, Jesus asks what they have heard others say about his identity. What is the word among the people? After receiving that feedback, Jesus confronts them directly. “But who do you say that I am?” The question begins with the conjunction “but,” which connects it to the first question in a way that signifies the first answer does not matter in relation to this one. Jesus may have been curious about the first response or using it to set up a contrast with his disciples’ word about him. The opinion of those closest to us carry more importance than that of those we do not know and who, by extension, cannot really know us.

Jesus’s questions to the disciples about his identity take place while they are on the way (8:27). This marks an important shift in the plot; up to this point, the phrase has been used only once, with reference to the hungry crowd of the second feeding story (8:3). Here Jesus begins to teach the disciples “on the way” to Jerusalem, especially about the suffering of the son of man (9:33–34; cf. 10:32, 46, 52; 11:8; see also 1:3; 4:4, 15). The reader/audience knows that Peter is correct about Jesus’s identity; he is the messiah. This is the first time the title appears in the Gospel after the superscription in Mark 1:1 (“the good news of Jesus Christ”). After Peter’s famous confession, it occurs five more times, although Jesus never uses it unambiguously with reference to himself (9:41; 12:35; 13:21; 14:61–62; 15:32). In dramatic terms, as mentioned above, 8:27–30 is a recognition scene, “the discovery of an identity previously concealed” that signals a turn or reversal in the plot. Although Peter’s recognition is accurate as far as it goes, the full scope of Jesus’s messianic identity has yet to be revealed. Hence the command to secrecy (8:30).
Mary Ann Beavis

In her analysis, Beavis attaches the identity conversation to the previous story, the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida. The lectionary places it as an introduction to the first time Jesus predicts his passion and the heated exchange between Peter and Jesus. The dominant common thread that Beavis notes is that for the man seeking healing and for Peter, Jesus commands them to secrecy. Both moments reveal who Jesus is, first through demonstration then through proclamation, but Jesus places limits on those who have received the revelation. Not everyone is privy to his identity at this point in the story.

When giving a reference by way of conversation or completing a form, the one seeking to obtain information will often end with a variation of the question, “Is there anything else you can tell me about this person?” That may present an opportunity to share a meaningful anecdote, a remarkable talent, or an unexpected attribute. When giving a reference, I take that as an opportunity to seal my remarks with a ringing endorsement. At the same time, there may be some things that you would not share.

There may be past experiences that no longer reflect who the person is today. There may be memories that have become uncertain as the details fade over time. There may be issues of confidentiality—inside knowledge not meant for further consumption. And, there may be examples that are too complex to share within a limited conversation. The lectionary’s framing of this passage may alert the audience to the reason behind Jesus’ command for secrecy. Peter proclaims Jesus’ identity as the Messiah, but the disciple does not yet know what that identity means for Jesus or for himself. The remainder of this passage describes Jesus revealing exactly that.

On the heels of Peter’s confession, Jesus foretells his suffering, death, and resurrection (8:31). Although Peter has correctly identified Jesus as the Christ, he does not fully grasp the consequences of Jesus’ messianic ministry. He therefore attempts to silence Jesus by rebuking him as Jesus has rebuked the demons. Rather than silencing Jesus, Peter’s actions precipitate Jesus’ first lesson on discipleship. Jesus teaches that following him will necessitate two things that run counter to the cultural values of ancient Mediterranean society. First, a would-be disciple must deny himself or herself (8:34). For Mark’s original audience, self-denial meant leaving behind one’s primary group affiliation (usually the family or kinship group) and solely identifying with Jesus and his gospel. The would-be disciple would need to do “the will of God” so that Jesus and his followers become his or her “brother and sister and mother” (3:35). She or he would then seek approval from Jesus rather than their original group or society at large. Second, she or he must “take up the cross” (8:34). The cross represented the most painful and humiliating death that Rome could exact on its subjects. Therefore, Jesus’ disciples needed to be able to face pain and shame as a result of following Jesus. In short, a follower of Jesus needed to be prepared to die.
Racquel S. Lettsome

Contemporary readers living in cultures where Christianity is normative or even dominant as a religious identity may struggle to identify with the threat of real persecution or death. Culture wars of the last several decades (particularly in the United States) seem to have invented a false narrative of persecution where taking up the cross meant taking offense to being wished “Happy Holidays” versus “Merry Christmas.” While that may be one extreme, albeit real, example, most Christians encountering this reflection are more likely to live in communities where Christians are the ones engaging in acts of persecution, marginalization, and oppression rather than being the targets of such activity. How then does the question of identity speak to us today?

The answer may lie within the two questions of identity Jesus asks: how are we known to outsiders and how are we known within our closest, communal connections.

For Jesus, they aren’t the same and yet there is a consistency between his public identity and his private one. Jesus, as the Messiah, was, in fact, a prophet. They were not wrong in identifying him in the prophetic tradition of Elijah and John the Baptist. Their assessment was incomplete, but not inaccurate. Yet, not having the complete knowledge of Jesus may lead to a distorted view. The man at Bethsaida knew Jesus as a healer because of his intense yet singular encounter. His impression was accurate but incomplete. Perhaps, Jesus demands his silence so he does not get placed in an identification box. Peter, who may know Jesus more than any other disciple provides the right label, and yet rebukes Jesus when the Chosen One tries to explain what that identity means. His silence is also necessary because while he might be able to complete the short answer correctly, he cannot pass a test demonstrating deeper comprehension.

Lucille Clifton encouraged us not to accept the names that others call us if they do not align with our vision and understanding of ourselves. Still, I can only imagine how Peter, who had been renamed that by Jesus to reflect the “rock” nature of his character and role in the kindom, must have felt when Jesus addressed him as “Satan.” That name reflects the antithesis of God. That name represents the one who wanted to be worshipped as god, who tormented Jesus in the wilderness, and who is an enemy to our souls. That is not a good name.

Jesus calls Peter by that name in response to Peter’s attempt to diminish the identity of Jesus. Peter tries to do so privately; Jesus rebukes publicly. Typically, gospel accounts indicate that when Jesus predicts his passion, those are private conversations with his disciples, often with only a few. In this Markan account, Jesus reveals himself to the crowd, telling a far bigger secret than the ones he’s used to constrain the man at Bethsaida and Peter. But, it’s Jesus’s secret, his story, and his identity. He gets to name it.

Here we are deconstructing…identity.

Reflection from Voices of People of African Descent
The 33rd General Synod adopted a Resolution to Recognize the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024). As part of its implementation, Sermon and Weekly Seeds offers Reflection from Voices of People of African Descent related to the season or overall theme for additional consideration in sermon preparation and for individual and congregational study.
“my poem”
By Lucille Clifton

a love person
from love people
out of the afrikan sun
under the sign of cancer.
whoever see my
midnight smile
seeing star apple and
mango from home.
whoever take me for
a negative thing,
his death be on him
like a skin
and his skin
be his heart’s revenge.

lucy one-eye
she got her mama’s ways.
big round roller
can’t cook
can’t clean
if that’s what you want
you got it world.

lucy one-eye
she see the world sideways.
word foolish
she say what she don’t want
to say, she don’t say
what she want to.

lucy one-eye
she won’t walk away
from it.
she’ll keep on trying
with her crooked look
and her wrinkled ways,
the darling girl.

For Further Reflection
“I seem to have run in a great circle, and met myself again on the starting line.” ― Jeanette Winterson
“When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.” ― Ralph Ellison
“It’s like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.” ― Patrick Rothfuss

Works Cited
Beavis, Mary Ann. Mark (Paideia: Commentaries on the New Testament). Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011.
Lettsome, Racquel S. “Mark.” Gale A. Yee, Ed. Fortress Commentary on the Bible: Two Volume Set. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014

Suggested Congregational Response to the Reflection
This sermon series invites us to explore the call to Christian discipleship and to examine our response. Initiate a conversation about your identity as a faith commitment and invite your community to respond to your public witness.

Worship Ways Liturgical Resources
https://www.ucc.org/worship-way/after-pentecost-17b-september-15/

The Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay, Minister for Worship and Theology (lindsayc@ucc.org), also serves a local church pastor, public theologian, and worship scholar-practitioner with a particular interest in the proclamation of the word in gathered communities. You’re invited to share your reflections on this text in the comments on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SermonSeeds.

A Bible study version of this reflection is at Weekly Seeds.