Covenant
United Methodist Church
Easter 4 When You Have Jesus John 1-41-43
It wasn’t the first time I had seen that look on a person’s face before in my church. It was an angry grimace that said I was going to hear from her. After the service was over she walked right up to me and said we have to talk! I asked her to step into my office and I would be with her as soon as I go through with my greetings of those in our church. Finally all had left except for me and the lady. She looked me in the eyes fire burning in her own and said, “How can you preach all this pie in the sky stuff? Your nothing but a fraud!! Then she beat me black and blue with her words for about 15 minutes, not even stopping to breathe. The truth is that I am not even sure what she said in those 15 minutes I was just praying that she would get through…Finally, she stopped, got so close we were almost nose to nose and still breathing hate or anger or something like that, she said, “Tell me, preacher. What do you have when you have Jesus?"
Simon had heard the rumors about a liberator, but somehow in this initial meeting, he noted, the man really didn't look like a revolutionary. There was a warmth… a dignity about him, a sense of openness, but revolutionary? Not hardly. Still the commanding presence underscored in Simon's mind the reason why his brother Andrew had been so insistent. As the Book of John, chapter one and verses forty-one and forty-two describes, "He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, we have found the messiah, which is being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, ‘You are Simon the son of John: you shall be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, a Stone.'" Or as the New English Bible puts it, "You are Simon. You shall be called Peter or the rock" You are. You are.
When Jesus looks at Simon and says, "You are..." Jesus gets personal. It's almost as if he's saying, "I know you, I know you." What do you have when you have Jesus? You have a friend who confronts you with the reality of yourself today.
When Jesus says, "You are," he emphasizes the crucial need for self-knowledge. Do you know yourself? Do you really know yourself? Now, I don't mean the you your pastor or your friends think you are. Do you know what kind of person you are? Are you stubborn? Cooperative? Humble? Conceited? Weak? Strong? Are you relaxed? Nervous? Forgiving? Vindictive? You need to know the kind of person you are. And, along with the need for self-knowledge, Jesus underscores the need for self-acceptance. How you feel about yourself.
Being in college a great deal of my growing up years and doing counseling for more years than I can number I am keenly aware young people who struggle with feelings of inferiority. However, I've found that's not just a young person's problem. There are men and women who have spent most of their lives trying to escape from a crippling web of self-doubt, feelings of inadequacy and inferiority. Someone has perceptively written that society is like a paymaster. If you are good looking, society gives your ego a gold coin. If you're smart, society gives your ego a silver coin. Now if you're not good looking, and you're not smart, society puts your ego on welfare. We laugh, but we spend a lifetime feeling like we're nothing. Believing we're nothing. Pretending that we're something. That's not Jesus' plan. When Jesus says, "You are," he wants yours to be a healthy self-esteem. Feeling good about yourself. Good about yourself, not because of what you have, the clothes you wear, or the image you present. Good about yourself because you are. You are God's creation. Therefore, you're special. When you have Jesus, you have someone who confronts you with the reality of yourself today.
But, more than that, the verse continues, "Jesus looked intently at him for a moment and then said, ‘You are Simon, John's son. But, you shall be called Peter, the rock. You shall be Peter, the rock.'"
And with that final phrase, embarrassed amusement rippled through the hearers. Obviously, the master knew Simon's name, but he didn't really know Simon. They knew Simon. Quick tempered, emotional, impulsive, loud, unpredictable, undependable, unstable. He would be called Peter, the Rock? Jesus didn't really know Simon. And yet, Jesus had said, "You are...and you shall be." Understand, with this Jesus was not just giving Simon the macho nickname of "Rocky" for casual identification. Oh no, there was something else going on here. There was more than just a name change.
For when you have Jesus ... you not only have someone who confronts you with the reality of yourself today, you also have someone who challenges you with the possibility of yourself tomorrow. "You shall be." And that phrase, "You shall be...You shall be..." You shall be, challenges. Frankly, Jesus was telling Peter, "Peter, I know you. I know what men say about you. I know that you are a profane pretender. I know that you're a blustering braggart. I know that you're vacillating. I know that you're weak. Unstable. But you shall be! You shall be!
Because, I see another Peter. I see a Peter who will preach so powerfully that three thousand will be converted in a day. "You shall be!" I see a Peter who will stand eyeball to eyeball with the authorities and take the stand. He takes that stand right to his own grave!
And that new identification and self-image burned itself indelibly into Peter's mind. Whenever he was tempted to settle for less than the best, he was reminded "You shall be!" You shall be! And that's what Jesus says to you and, thank God, to me, "Yes you are...but you shall be. You shall be." When he says that, he is saying, "I believe in you. I believe in you." What a blessing to have someone believe in you.
I remember back when I was on my internship. My mentor was a man named Wayne Odom. Wayne was simply a great pastor. He had so many gifts you can’t believe it. I on the other hand was a pretty rough model of what you see today. I remember going before the board of Ordained ministry for what is would be probationary membership into the Methodist church as an ordained minister. I barely by the skin on my neck made it into probationary membership… I came back after that interview and they had beaten me up pretty badly. They had given me so many things to work on that I really didn’t know where to begin. I went in and talked with Wayne. I told him I didn’t think I was made out to be a minister, that maybe my call wasn’t real, that perhaps I was just imagining that I was supposed to be a United Methodist minister… Wayne looked at me and it was the only time I saw him mad that I can remember. He said to me, “Don’t ever question your call! I know when I see someone who has and who doesn’t have the gifts and graces to be a minister in this church… You’ve got them Mike.” Then do you know what he did right in front of me. He called up half a dozen of the guys on the board of ordained ministry and told them off. Told them they wouldn’t know talent if they saw it…
That was pretty brave stuff for someone who saw me and knew I was still raw!!! But Wayne saw what I could be…he believed in me… He made me go to meeting after meeting with these guys on the board of ordained ministry. he made me get to know them, and them know me… Wayne saw me and loved me for who I was and saw within me even before I saw it myself, who I could be…
"What do you have when you have Jesus?" You have someone who confronts you with the reality of yourself today. "You are!" You have someone who challenges you with the possibility of yourself tomorrow. "You shall be!" And, in addition, when you have Jesus, you have someone who will accompany you every step of the way from "you are" to "you shall be."
You see, if these were the words of Mike Redd they would be pretentious and arrogant, but these are the words of Jesus. His words to you today, right now!! His words containing his hopes, his purposes and, more importantly, his power for your life. "You are," but by God's grace "You shall be." And when you have Jesus you have some one who will accompany you every step of the way, from "You are" to "You shall be."
Eternal loving God, we thank you that is so.