Sermon: The Image of the Christ
Sermon Texts
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38
Last night, my wife and I went to the opening of an art exhibit at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Harrisburg. The exhibit featured forty pieces of art, all of which depict our Savior, Jesus Christ. Forty different images of Christ, through all of the different stages of his life – – Christ the child, Christ the adolescent, Christ the grown man; Christ crucified, Christ died, Christ risen. Art gives us the opportunity to “see” Jesus through the lens of the artist’s understanding of who Jesus is. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about Jesus’ appearance, so we must either rely on the artist, or on our own imagination, if we want to have an image of Jesus.
I have here an icon of Jesus Christ – – an artist’s representation of their image of Jesus. The artist is trying to show that Jesus is both fully divine and fully human, because that is what mattered most to that artist. Each of us also has an image of who Jesus is, and I’d like us all to examine that image now – – we are going to use our Holy Imaginations.
An Exercise in Holy Imagination
I’d like to ask you to close your eyes for just a moment, and call to mind your own image of Jesus. Hold him firmly in your imagination. And take a moment to really look at the Jesus you imagine. Is he a baby, a young man, a grown man? Is he earthly and human, or heavenly and divine? What is he wearing: shining white raiment, the purple robe of a king, the clothes of a first-century Jewish worker? Does he look kind, or stern? Strong, or vulnerable? Healthy, or suffering? Clean-cut, or gritty? White, or black, or brown? Is he smiling, or crying, or laughing? Who is your Jesus?
You can open your eyes now. The image that you saw in your Holy Imagination is, indeed, a Holy Image of God. It is unique, and special; a gift from your Creator. But – – it is not the complete picture of who Jesus Christ is. And this is the lesson that I learned at the cathedral’s art exhibit last night. You see, every one of those forty images of Jesus Christ depicted him as something other than a Caucasian – white – man. And seeing Jesus Christ depicted in ways that I had never really imagined him caused me to challenge my own understanding of who Jesus is. It became very clear to me – – there is much more to Jesus than I ever imagined.
To the Gospel, now.
In today’s Gospel, Peter has his own image of Jesus. After following Jesus from town to town, hearing Jesus teach and preach, seeing his miraculous deeds of healing and casting out demons – – Peter has formed his own image of Jesus. And this must have been a high point of Peter’s discipleship – – when he finally has the courage and the strength to tell Jesus about his image … You Are The Messiah! And that term, Messiah – – it is a word that means “anointed one” – – that single word incorporates a whole understanding of who Jesus is and what he is to do. You see, Peter thinks that Jesus is the person chosen by God – – anointed – – to restore the greatness of Israel. Peter thinks that Jesus is going to be the one to kick the wicked and oppressive Romans out of Jerusalem, and to usher in God’s kingdom. Peter knows that there is no way that the Jewish people could ever defeat the Romans; what he thinks will happen is that Jesus is going to ride into Jerusalem, and when he does, God will send an army of angels – the Host of Heaven – whom Jesus will lead into a glorious battle against the Romans. And Peter thinks he will be right there at Jesus’ side when this glorious thing happens. So you can imagine how excited Peter is to tell Jesus about his own image of Jesus, as the Messiah.
Destroying Peter’s Image
Unfortunately, Peter’s image of Jesus is shattered … by Jesus’ own words. Jesus is, indeed, the Messiah. But Messiah-ship is not what Peter thinks it is. Jesus explains that the Messiah must suffer rejection and ridicule and pain, and ultimately, death on the cross. And Jesus also explains that his followers must be willing to pick up their own crosses, and follow in the path of Jesus.
Jesus’ image of Messiah-ship is so radically different from what Peter expects, that Peter lashes out at Jesus and rebukes him. This is completely understandable. Just at the moment that Peter has scraped up the courage to declare that Jesus is the Messiah, the one who will save and redeem Israel, the one who will usher in God’s Kingdom in Jerusalem with the disciples at his right hand … just at that moment, Jesus shatters Peter’s image.
More than we can ask or imagine
Jesus had to set Peter straight about who the Messiah really was. You see, Peter’s problem was not that he failed to see who Jesus is. Peter said that Jesus is the Messiah, and he was right. Peter’s problem was that his image of Messiah-ship was not big enough.
Jesus the Messiah did not come to defeat the Romans; he came to defeat death itself.
Jesus the Messiah did not come to redeem Israel from the evil oppressor; he came to redeem the whole world from evil and sin.
Jesus the Messiah did not come to restore the Kingdom of Israel; he came to restore the Kingdom of God on earth.
When Saint Paul said that God can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine, this is the kind of thing he was talking about. Peter’s image of divine power, and divine mercy, and divine love, was not big enough. God, through Jesus, was ready to do infinitely more than Peter could have asked or even imagined.
Eventually, Peter was able to let go of his old image of Jesus, and adapt to a new understanding of who Jesus is. And with that new understanding of Jesus, Peter gained a new understanding of discipleship. Peter learned that being a follower of Jesus was not about earthly glory, and it was not about being on the winning side of an earthly battle. Instead, Peter came to know that discipleship was about service and sacrifice. When Peter saw who Jesus really was, he took up his own cross, and followed Jesus.
Destroying Our Own Images
And we, as followers of Jesus Christ, are called to take up our own crosses. Just like Peter, we need to be able to re-imagine who Jesus is, and re-imagine what it means to be a follower of Jesus. The images of Jesus and of discipleship that we got from our parents, or from Sunday school, or from catechism – – those images are not enough. We need to feed our Holy Imaginations with new understandings. We need to look at Jesus through the eyes of our neighbors – – those neighbors who may not look like us, or pray like us, or vote like us. We need to look at discipleship and service in light of the needs of the world as it exists today, and as it will exist tomorrow.
This work of re-imagining Jesus and re-imagining discipleship is difficult and sometimes painful. The images that we cling to give us comfort and hope, and it can be so hard to challenge those images. We tend to raise our defenses and shut down our senses whenever those deeply-held images are challenged. But have faith in God. Let your Holy Imagination be inspired and renewed by new and challenging ideas about God. As long as we continually seek God’s guidance, God will not let us go astray, and God will not leave us without comfort and hope.
May we take our example from Peter: he dared to see Jesus in a whole new way, and he found that God’s power could do so much more than he ever dreamed possible. May it be so for us, also.
