Stepping up to the Plate
My second daughter Anna is dating a pitcher. He pitched for Hampden-Sydney and now, this year, he has been recruited to get his Master’s and pitch for VCU. Those who played during Covid were granted extra years of eligibility, and so he has been granted some extra time where he can do what he loves. He was a star at Hampden-Sydney, which was D3, and now he finds himself in a D1 situation. While he loves it, he is a little anxiously excited to see what the year will bring. He shared that some boys may be cut and he is just hoping he does fully make the team. He shared that the “boys” are a lot stronger and his first workout was one that he had never experienced before - it was that intense. At some point, he is going to have to step up to the plate for the first time at a D1 school and I imagine he will be pretty nervous. Moving from D3 to D1 is a big deal. His anxiety will be understood. And he may or may not make the team officially, but even being part of the team thus far has been and is a huge honor and growth experience.
We all have pivotal moments in our lives where we need to step up to the plate. Times of transition and where we may need to find some courage to do that which we are called to do.
The lessons for today all speak to us about stepping up to the plate.
In Exodus, we learn that there was a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph, and we learn that the Hebrew population was flourishing even though they were struggling under oppression. The Pharaoh wanted the Hebrew population to decrease so he tried to institute a law that would have midwives kill the Hebrews at birth, and when that wasn’t working, he then tried to have the young Hebrew males drowned in the Nile River.
Moses was set in a basket and spared, and eventually raised by the daughter of Pharaoh. The midwives feared God we are told, and this bolstered their courage. Moses’ mother also had courage and defied the law and hid her own son for 3 months, for as long as she could.
It was through this courage, out of this small basket, out of the courage of the midwives, of the mother of Moses, of Pharaoh’s daughter, and of Moses’ sister - comes our Old Testament history and the foundation of our Scriptures. It was a pivotal moment in the life of the Hebrew people - God sparing Moses’ life and raising up Moses to lead.
In Matthew, Peter steps up to the plate when we hear Peter’s confession when asked, “Who do you say I am?” and his response, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
We all know that location matters, and location matters today. Caesarea Philippi was a Roman town in Northern Israel on the Syrian border. There were many religions in the area. There were many pagan temples there built to worship many various gods. Herod the Great had built a large temple there for the Romans to worship Caesar. The road from Galilee to Jerusalem was a crossroads of sorts of various world religions, commerce and culture, and it is here that Jesus chose to pose his question to Peter.
Just outside Caesarea Philippi, there is a large rock cliff, hundreds of feet high. Beneath this rock cliff is a cavern filled with water. Greeks considered the cavern the birthplace of Pan, the god of nature, fields, forests, mountains, flocks, and shepherds. For the Greeks, this was a sacred place. Known today as “Banias”, Caesara-Philippi is today under the jurisdiction of the Nature park authority of Israel. There is a large rock wall there, that contains a cave.
To the pagan mind, the cave at Caesarea Philippi created a gate to the underworld (Hades), where fertility gods took up residence during the winter. The rock was the home of the pagan gods residing in the niches and the gates of Hades was the entrance to the dreaded realm of the dead. Rabbis in that time we are told refused to even walk their students by this cave. Location matters, and so as you read the Gospel text today, know that it is here that Jesus asks his disciples, after feeding people, after healing the Canaanite woman, after arguing with religious leaders, it is here that he asks Peter “Who do you say that I am?”, here at the crossroads of so many various gods and religious cultures.
“Who do you say that I am?” Or, okay, knowing what others say about me, now that you have spent some time with me, “How have you experienced me?” This question is one that we would ask of those closest to us. The disciples had been with Jesus for awhile now. They had been following him, eating with him, breaking bread with him. They had seen his miracles, they had witnessed healings. They had seen his kindness to the Canaanite woman and the healing Jesus performed for her daughter.
Many had thoughts of who Jesus was - that he was a great prophet, that he was a teacher, he was called “Rabbi”. But here is the crux, here is what I am asking. “After being with me all this time, after experiencing life with me, witnessing what you have witnessed, “Who am I to you?”
Who is Jesus to you?
Most good teachers ask good questions. They don’t just disperse answers to you but they cause you to think. They make you decide and form your own conclusions. Answering questions causes you to take some ownership. Often answering the question can point the learner to a deeper truth, a deeper need, something that needs to be explored.
Of course, Peter would be the one to have the courage and/or the impulsivity to speak. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”
Jesus praises Peter for his response and tells him that it is upon this rock that I will build my church. Some people interpret this confession as the rock upon which the church is built. Others, view it literally. In fact, St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest Roman Catholic Church in the world located in what is now Vatican City, Italy, is built on top of Peter’s supposed burial tomb. Peter’s confession was only the beginning of his understanding of who Jesus was and what Jesus being the Messiah meant.
I think we should learn from this, as I believe it is true for all of us. Do you truly know what it means that Jesus was the Messiah? Who do you say that Jesus is? What stories of Jesus have you inherited? I am aware that each week in this sanctuary there are multiple views of who Jesus is. What stories of Jesus have you inherited? What may you need to unlearn and what assumptions do you hold that you may need to let go of? What things may you need to grasp ahold of?
Discipleship is a lifelong process. We never fully “arrive”. We are in process - all of us. God is working with us and through us, and in us. God is working in community. Growth changes our answers to many questions.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul appeals to those present – and to us – saying, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God.”
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed…
If Jesus is your Messiah, your life should be characterized by transformation. You should think and act differently than the world.
I was in a discussion this week over driveway rights with someone. It is probably a common story where two households share the same driveway and conflict has arisen over the years periodically over who pays for what. I said something along the lines of, “I don’t understand what the big deal is, I think I would just pay it and let it go.” The other person said, “Well, you are just giving the Christian response.” I understood the point that you don’t want people taking advantage of you and fair is fair, but yes, I was taking the Christian response. And being Christians - having Jesus as our Messiah, should cause us to have different responses to things.
Context and location are important factors that might influence our responses, yet each of us must answer Jesus’ question “Who do you say I am?” for ourselves, and depending on how we answer it, it should affect how we are in this world.
We can stand up each day and declare, like Peter, that Jesus is the “Messiah, the Son of the living God,” but what difference will that make if we don’t allow this knowledge to change who we are and how we are in the world?
When we claim Jesus as our Messiah, when we allow his presence in our lives to change us, we no longer have the luxury not acting out of this. We have to live into our answers.
We all have to step up to plate at different times in our lives, just as Owen, Anna’s friend will have find the courage and step up to the plate one day.
How is God asking you to step up to the plate this week? Where is God asking you to go to the mound? Lord, give us eyes to see and courage to step.
Amen.
We all have pivotal moments in our lives where we need to step up to the plate. Times of transition and where we may need to find some courage to do that which we are called to do.
The lessons for today all speak to us about stepping up to the plate.
In Exodus, we learn that there was a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph, and we learn that the Hebrew population was flourishing even though they were struggling under oppression. The Pharaoh wanted the Hebrew population to decrease so he tried to institute a law that would have midwives kill the Hebrews at birth, and when that wasn’t working, he then tried to have the young Hebrew males drowned in the Nile River.
Moses was set in a basket and spared, and eventually raised by the daughter of Pharaoh. The midwives feared God we are told, and this bolstered their courage. Moses’ mother also had courage and defied the law and hid her own son for 3 months, for as long as she could.
It was through this courage, out of this small basket, out of the courage of the midwives, of the mother of Moses, of Pharaoh’s daughter, and of Moses’ sister - comes our Old Testament history and the foundation of our Scriptures. It was a pivotal moment in the life of the Hebrew people - God sparing Moses’ life and raising up Moses to lead.
In Matthew, Peter steps up to the plate when we hear Peter’s confession when asked, “Who do you say I am?” and his response, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
We all know that location matters, and location matters today. Caesarea Philippi was a Roman town in Northern Israel on the Syrian border. There were many religions in the area. There were many pagan temples there built to worship many various gods. Herod the Great had built a large temple there for the Romans to worship Caesar. The road from Galilee to Jerusalem was a crossroads of sorts of various world religions, commerce and culture, and it is here that Jesus chose to pose his question to Peter.
Just outside Caesarea Philippi, there is a large rock cliff, hundreds of feet high. Beneath this rock cliff is a cavern filled with water. Greeks considered the cavern the birthplace of Pan, the god of nature, fields, forests, mountains, flocks, and shepherds. For the Greeks, this was a sacred place. Known today as “Banias”, Caesara-Philippi is today under the jurisdiction of the Nature park authority of Israel. There is a large rock wall there, that contains a cave.
To the pagan mind, the cave at Caesarea Philippi created a gate to the underworld (Hades), where fertility gods took up residence during the winter. The rock was the home of the pagan gods residing in the niches and the gates of Hades was the entrance to the dreaded realm of the dead. Rabbis in that time we are told refused to even walk their students by this cave. Location matters, and so as you read the Gospel text today, know that it is here that Jesus asks his disciples, after feeding people, after healing the Canaanite woman, after arguing with religious leaders, it is here that he asks Peter “Who do you say that I am?”, here at the crossroads of so many various gods and religious cultures.
“Who do you say that I am?” Or, okay, knowing what others say about me, now that you have spent some time with me, “How have you experienced me?” This question is one that we would ask of those closest to us. The disciples had been with Jesus for awhile now. They had been following him, eating with him, breaking bread with him. They had seen his miracles, they had witnessed healings. They had seen his kindness to the Canaanite woman and the healing Jesus performed for her daughter.
Many had thoughts of who Jesus was - that he was a great prophet, that he was a teacher, he was called “Rabbi”. But here is the crux, here is what I am asking. “After being with me all this time, after experiencing life with me, witnessing what you have witnessed, “Who am I to you?”
Who is Jesus to you?
Most good teachers ask good questions. They don’t just disperse answers to you but they cause you to think. They make you decide and form your own conclusions. Answering questions causes you to take some ownership. Often answering the question can point the learner to a deeper truth, a deeper need, something that needs to be explored.
Of course, Peter would be the one to have the courage and/or the impulsivity to speak. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”
Jesus praises Peter for his response and tells him that it is upon this rock that I will build my church. Some people interpret this confession as the rock upon which the church is built. Others, view it literally. In fact, St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest Roman Catholic Church in the world located in what is now Vatican City, Italy, is built on top of Peter’s supposed burial tomb. Peter’s confession was only the beginning of his understanding of who Jesus was and what Jesus being the Messiah meant.
I think we should learn from this, as I believe it is true for all of us. Do you truly know what it means that Jesus was the Messiah? Who do you say that Jesus is? What stories of Jesus have you inherited? I am aware that each week in this sanctuary there are multiple views of who Jesus is. What stories of Jesus have you inherited? What may you need to unlearn and what assumptions do you hold that you may need to let go of? What things may you need to grasp ahold of?
Discipleship is a lifelong process. We never fully “arrive”. We are in process - all of us. God is working with us and through us, and in us. God is working in community. Growth changes our answers to many questions.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul appeals to those present – and to us – saying, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God.”
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed…
If Jesus is your Messiah, your life should be characterized by transformation. You should think and act differently than the world.
I was in a discussion this week over driveway rights with someone. It is probably a common story where two households share the same driveway and conflict has arisen over the years periodically over who pays for what. I said something along the lines of, “I don’t understand what the big deal is, I think I would just pay it and let it go.” The other person said, “Well, you are just giving the Christian response.” I understood the point that you don’t want people taking advantage of you and fair is fair, but yes, I was taking the Christian response. And being Christians - having Jesus as our Messiah, should cause us to have different responses to things.
Context and location are important factors that might influence our responses, yet each of us must answer Jesus’ question “Who do you say I am?” for ourselves, and depending on how we answer it, it should affect how we are in this world.
We can stand up each day and declare, like Peter, that Jesus is the “Messiah, the Son of the living God,” but what difference will that make if we don’t allow this knowledge to change who we are and how we are in the world?
When we claim Jesus as our Messiah, when we allow his presence in our lives to change us, we no longer have the luxury not acting out of this. We have to live into our answers.
We all have to step up to plate at different times in our lives, just as Owen, Anna’s friend will have find the courage and step up to the plate one day.
How is God asking you to step up to the plate this week? Where is God asking you to go to the mound? Lord, give us eyes to see and courage to step.
Amen.