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In this morning's Gospel text found in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew,
we get a glimpse of a very human Jesus -- so human, in fact, that within the text, the gospel writer has Jesus refer to himself as the Son of Man,
or the Human One, or the Child of Humanity.
Some people might be surprised to learn that this title doesn't always refer to Jesus within the Bible.
For instance within the Book of Ezekiel, it's used approximately 94 times to refer to the human author of that book.
Jesus was human. He partied at weddings, he wept in grief over the loss of loved ones,
he got angry at people and turned over furniture, and he bled real human blood just like you and me.
And in this morning's text, we hear him asking a very human question of his best friends: "What’s the word on the streets?
What are people saying about me? What does everyone think of me?"
I like it when the gospel writers give us glimpses into the humanity of Jesus because it gives me hope.
It means that I am not the follower of some distant deity, but rather, of a Jesus who was faced with all the same challenges and feelings that I face.
And one of the things I face, one thing I concern myself with on an ongoing basis is what others think of me.
I know that I shouldn’t worry so much about the opinions of other people. I know that what other people think of me is none of my business.
But sometimes I just can’t help it. If people talk about me, I want them to think I'm a nice guy.
I want them to say I’ve done good things. I want to be popular. And while we're at it, I want to be a success and I wouldn't mind having a lot more money than I do.
I want people to think highly of me and I want to be remembered well.
According to this morning's reading, people thought well of Jesus. "Some say you're another John the Baptist, Jesus!
You preach a mean sermon and you can really get the crowds revved up."
"And we've heard people compare you to Elijah, Jesus – Elijah, whose miracles included the restoring of life to a widow's son
and who multiplied the meal and oil so that it would feed them throughout the famine.
We've seen you do these miracles and even more, Jesus."
"And we've heard you compared to Jeremiah, Jesus --
Jeremiah, who was one of the major prophets of times before.
Jeremiah, who, it has been said, spiritualized and individualized religion by insisting that people's relationship with God was of primary importance."
Not a bad report card. But I don’t think it's a very accurate one.
Because if everyone would have had that high opinion of Jesus, he never would have died the sort of death he did.
Either the disciples were in the business of flattering Jesus,
or the gospel writer wanted to make sure the reader saw Jesus in a favorable light,
or some of the other opinions of Jesus simply got lost in the translation --
because there were plenty of people who didn't share the glowing image of Jesus that we have been given in our text.
There were religious folk who looked at him as an adversary --
someone who flagrantly broke the commandments of the Torah, someone who was becoming way too popular with the crowds,
drawing them away from the true and right way to worship God.
There were politicians who saw him as a threat, a political subversive,
someone talking about a new kingdom, someone who divided the loyalty of the public.
If some people were comparing Jesus to fiery preachers, and miracle-workers, and prophets of the past,
there were plenty more who cast him as a threat, a trouble-maker, and an outright liar.
That's the problem with opinions: everyone has one.
And if we attach our self-worth to other people's opinions
we will drive ourselves crazy trying to surround ourselves with friends and convert our opponents into allies.
We will wear ourselves out trying to hold onto the circle of friends we have managed to gather around us.
And we find ourselves jumping through hoops, courting the favor of people who we have placed on pedestals.
I know. I've done it. I have bought into the lie that if other people like me, then I must be likeable.
And if they don't like me, then I am unlikeable. I have allowed the opinions of others to make or break me.
But I know I'm not alone. I'll bet you have done the same thing. It goes on a lot, especially within our community.
The very people who we thought would love us unconditionally threaten us with abandonment.
Too many people have been rejected by families, friends, and faith communities.
Instead of receiving love and affirmation, they have been labeled sick and sinful.
And so in a desperate attempt for acceptance, we may find ourselves pretending to be someone who we are not, so convinced are we that the opinions of others matter.
So enmeshed with those opinions is our own self-worth.
But the opinions of other people are all illusions. None of them are real.
Not one accurately describes who I am. Not the flattery and not the criticism.
If you say I've preached a good sermon, someone else will say it was the worst sermon they have ever heard.
If you say I've accomplished good things, another person will say I haven’t measured up to their expectations.
Trust me: for every person who thinks I may speak the truth, there are two or more people who think I am leading everyone straight to hell.
And do you want to know something? They are all wrong. I am neither a good preacher nor a bad one.
I am neither a success nor a failure.
I don't proclaim the absolute truth any more than I tell lies.
These are all just labels -- incomplete, inaccurate labels that mean nothing because they say nothing about who I really am.
They only describe what other people think of me.
In this morning's text, it seems as if the flatteries of the disciples did nothing for Jesus. He knew better.
He knew they were nothing more than the shallow praises of the very people who would later be calling for his crucifixion.
And so he pressed the question. He asked the disciples who they thought he was.
And Peter said, "You are the Messiah, Jesus. You are the Son of God."
And I have to imagine that Jesus breathed a sigh of relief because Peter seemed to get it.
You see, the word, "Messiah," means "the Anointed One," or "the Chosen."
And I believe that not only Jesus is anointed, but you and I are, also.
I believe that we are chosen by God and that we are also God’s children.
We spend our lives comparing ourselves to other people -- trying to be the next John the Baptist, Elijah, or Jeremiah;
measuring our self-worth by how many people like us, buying into the illusion that other people's opinions really mean anything at all.
But what would it be like if we realized that we don't have to work for other people's approval because we are already people of value?
We are anointed, we are chosen by God, we are God's own beloved children. Each of us.
No matter what people think of us, we are anointed, chosen, and loved by God.
Life would be different if we believed that.
If we were able to accept the truth of who we really are instead of what we have been told, things would be different.
We would know freedom instead of the imprisonment of other people's opinions.
We would experience the dominion of heaven instead of addiction to other people's approval.
If we really believed that we are God's own anointed, chosen, and beloved children and we honestly embraced the idea that we don't have to do anything to earn that love,
we could eliminate a large portion of the suffering, pain, and grief we experience in life.
Imagine that! Imagine what it would be like. Amen.