Transcript
He asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” Please be seated.
There is a song. It came out in 2008, which, mind you, is a long time ago. It’s by a band called The Ting Tings, although I’m not sure that’s relevant, since the song is probably the only one anyone has ever heard from this band. The song is called That’s Not My Name. It’s very poppy and bouncy, and it’s become part of the one of those most adorable memes on social media.
You see, the chorus of the song is something like, they call me Stacy. They call me her. They call me Jane. That’s not my name. And if you know the song, I’m sorry. It will now be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.
The video meme is set to the song and usually features a super cute, adorable little puppy dog or kitty cat, and the list of all the various nicknames the poor pet has to face. In the case of my dog, his name is Bedi, meaning ‘Luck’ in Georgian, and we call him Bedico and little man and old man and Fluff Bum. And perhaps even a few that I can’t say from the pulpit, especially after he has an accident in the house.
And the beginning of today’s gospel reading from Mark always makes me think of that song and those social media video memes. Who do people say that I am? Jesus asked this question of his disciples, and they give him all kinds of answers. John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets. But if Jesus was placed in a pop-y musical sitcom, I could almost imagine him jumping up, wagging his finger and singing that’s not my name, because then Jesus asks, but who do you say that I am? And Peter gets it right. He says, you are the Messiah.
And yet, even with the correct answer, Jesus sternly orders them not to tell anyone about him, which seems odd. And I’ll come back to that in a moment. But first I want to ask you, who do people say that we are? As Saint John’s Episcopal Church, located at 100 West Queen Way in Hampton, Virginia. Who do people say that we are?
It’s interesting coming here, being here for a little bit more than a month, I’ve had the pleasure of really getting to hear what people think. The answer to that question is, when I meet someone and they ask me where I work and I say I work at Saint John’s, the usual response then something like, oh, is that the fill in the blank church? And that blank has been filled with all kinds of things.
The really old church, the church with the big graveyard, the church right in downtown, the church with that statue, the purple church. That’s a political statement, and the most politics you’ll ever get from me. The church with the silver. I’ve got in the church that isn’t the Presbyterian Church or the Baptist church or the Methodist church. I’ve gotten Samantha’s church or Mark’s Church, and I will just say, I am so beyond grateful for both Samantha and Mark. I would not be here, we would not be here in this moment if it wasn’t for all the work they did here at Saint John’s.
I’m sure there are things people say about us that haven’t been repeated to me as well. And while some might be good, I imagine not all the things people have to say about us is good. And yet, generally speaking, I’m pretty happy with the list of identifiers. A solid start to the question who do people say that I am?
On the flip side, I’ve also had the chance to talk to many of you, and if I hadn’t had a one on one conversation with you, please reach out, I’d love to have that opportunity. The opportunity to ask exactly what Jesus asked of his disciples after he asked, who do people say that I am? He then asked, but who do you say I am?
Real quick, I just want to point out the conjunction that Jesus uses there. He chose the word ‘but’, not the word ‘and’. In seminary and in theatrical improv, we are taught not to use the word, ‘but’; instead we are taught to use the word ‘and’. Because ‘but’ implies a contradiction, it implies the first statement is not completely true, and the second statement is more accurate, whereas ‘and’ implies the two statements are at least somewhat parallel, if not completely in agreement. So Jesus already gives a hint to his disciples when he says, but who do you say that I am?
And I will ask all of you the same question, but who do you say we are? When asking oneself or the person sitting next to you in the pew, who do you say that Saint John’s Episcopal Church is? Again, I’ve had the opportunity to ask this question of a number of church members. Thank you. And I’ve heard some really amazing answers. And well, yes, not everyone is 100% happy. Welcome to the tension of community. There seems to be agreement, at least in some of the things. Who do we say Saint John is?
We are home, family, community, heritage, a place to come and just be. A place to learn more about ourselves as we learn about Jesus and God, where we can come together with all of our brokenness and all of our authenticity, and not pretend like we are someone else, and instead know that we are loved by every other person sitting in these pews right now.
At the earlier service, we had a baptism. Paisley, about seven months old, came forward in her mom’s arms, and while Paisley wasn’t quite old enough to answer the questions herself, I asked her several questions. It’s part of the examination of the candidate for a baptism, and in this case, Paisley’s parents and godparents answered on her behalf. And then I turned to the congregation and I asked everyone a question because absolutely nothing about the church, about the Episcopal Church, and especially about Saint John’s is ever done alone. Paisley and her parents and godparents were not alone in this process, because we all promise to support her and her family. And at the end, after Paisley was baptized and then sealed and then presented to the congregation, everyone said, we receive you into the household of God. In other words, welcome to the family.
Jesus asked his disciples, who do people say that I am? And then who do you say that I am? And I ask all of you, who do people say that we are? And then, but who do you say that we are?
And here’s where the differences arise. See, I promised I’d come back to it. Jesus sternly orders them not to tell anyone about him, but I disagree. Did you get that conjunction I used? I disagree because I don’t want us to keep it a secret.
Jesus is perpetuating what’s referred to as the messianic secret that don’t tell anyone I’m the Messiah message, which we all know how well that worked out. I mean, look at us here to worship Jesus, who is the Messiah. Not quite a secret anymore. And I don’t want us to keep Saint John’s a secret either. Instead, I want us to announce, to share, to brag, to invite, to tell every one.
I wrote that in big capital letters in the epistle from James we are told that the tongue is a fire that cannot be stopped. It can even set great forests ablaze. So use that tongue, speak the truth, spread the fire. That is the Holy Spirit. Spread the fire. That is the passion. Spread the fire that is the joy and hope and promise of all that we are and all that we can be here at Saint John’s.
Who is Saint John’s Episcopal Church? We are home, family, community, love. And on this homecoming Sunday, welcome home everyone. We’ve missed you.
Amen.