Dear friends in Christ,
This Sunday’s Gospel brings us to Caesarea Philippi, an important trading city in the ancient world. Jesus asks his disciples who they say he is. At first, they redirect, telling Jesus who other people say he is. But he presses them again: Who do YOU say that I am? And Peter gets the right answer: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
It’s really important that we understand what’s happening here, because it’s as easy today to misunderstand Jesus as it was 2,000 years ago. Quite often, when I hear people talking about Jesus, they describe him in terms that could well describe any good teacher or moral example. And Jesus certainly is a good teacher and a perfect moral example! But that’s not who he is.
Jesus is the Messiah. He is the Son of the living God.
Jesus is our Savior. He is our Lord. He claims us, and when we follow him, we must turn away from all others who demand our primary loyalty. We can be good citizens, or loving spouses, or kind people, or whatever else. But we are first and foremost followers of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
If we just talk about Jesus as a human teacher, we miss his identity. He is the Son of his Father—who is our Father, too. And he has promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to abide with us. To know Jesus, we have to know God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
I hope we as a church will commit to getting to know Jesus in the sacraments, in the church, in the scriptures, and in his abiding presence with us. And I pray that when we are asked, we will be as quick as Peter to name his ultimate identity: Jesus is our Savior. And he is the Son of the living and true God, our Father.
Yours faithfully,
Scott Gunn
Executive Director
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