We greatly enjoy the Homilies of Father Michael Busch from St. Michael’s Cathedral in downtown Toronto. Here is one delivered on Sunday, Sept 13, 2009:
PART 1 –
In the gospel Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?” You may think that is the most important question in this gospel, but the second question Jesus asked of his disciples was far more important, “Who do you say I am?” That question has been asked of every generation down through twenty centuries of human history….
Many people today consider Jesus Christ a myth. To them, Jesus is no more real than Hercules or a Superman. He never really existed. His life is but a cleverly written myth told to inspire, and to entertain. Yet actual evidence that Christ was a real man is found in 27 different New Testament documents. Non-biblical proof of his existence is found in the writings of Polycarp, Justin, Origin, Tacitus, Lucian, Josephus, Pliny, and the Jewish Talmud. All of this evidence, and more, shows us that Christianity is founded on a real person whose existence can be proven by positive, historical, and acceptable facts.
But even if we say, Jesus Christ is not a myth, there are others who say, so what! He was just a man, nothing more, nothing less. He was born, he lived, he died. That’s all. Yet upon a closer investigation, the evidence surrounding the life of Christ says differently. Other great men of world history first come to power and then rule over others, after their death their name may be revered and carry some influence for a time, but then slowly fades away until they are just a memory. But Jesus Christ died on the cross of before his name became powerful, and that name continues to have great influence in the world today. Even though he lived 2000 years ago people still give testimony Christ’s presence in the work they do. He is not just a memory. His name and fame grows instead of diminishing with the years.
More than a myth. More than a man. Who is this Jesus Christ? The next most popular conclusion, and perhaps the most widely held, is that Jesus Christ is a great teacher. This opinion places Jesus in the company of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, and Mohammed. He was a real man whose teachings have won him a prominent place in civilization. Yet, there is a problem with this position. Of all the great teachers of history, it is Christ alone who actually claimed that to see him was to see God. He claimed to be the only way to God. He claimed he would rise from the dead. And he claimed he would come again to judge all people and reign eternally. Now, obviously, a person who said these things about himself is either a liar, a lunatic, or he is who he says he is.
Was Jesus a liar? Did he know the things he was teaching to be absolute falsehood and yet go on intentionally misleading his followers in order to serve his own ends? Some people hold that opinion. Yet his gentle acts of healing, his role as a suffering servant, his refusal to be made a king, his poverty, and his willingness to die for his claims, seriously erode such a view.
Was Jesus a lunatic? Was he suffering from delusions? Did he actually believed the lies he was telling about himself. Some people say yes. Yet, a renowned psychiatrist from Duke University, Dr. Bill Wilson, said he applied all the different mental illnesses to Jesus and found that none fit. In fact, he concluded, “Jesus Christ is the most whole person who ever lived.”
If Jesus was not a liar or a lunatic, the only other option here is to say that Jesus Christ is who he says he is — God! So like the first disciples we are left to make our own choice in the matter. Either he is the son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can call him a fool, you can laugh at his teachings, you can pretend he doesn’t exist, or you can kneel at his feet and call him Lord and God.
PART 2…
But just affirming that Jesus is the Son of God, without entering into a personal relationship with him, empties our faith of all meaning! Yet that is what many of us do. We say Jesus is God, but then we ignore him. We agree his teachings are true. But we refuse to live by them. Jesus is the Son of God! It’s history! But, it’s not salvation until you invite him into your own life through praise and worship. There is question asked by Pentecostal Protestants and Charismatic Catholics that often makes us cringe. We don’t like to hear it because it makes faith too emotional; lacking in intellectual depth. Some people even think it is insulting. But in many ways it is the same question that Jesus asks in this gospel, and so I ask you, “Have you accepted Christ as your personal saviour?”
You do not have to commit intellectual suicide to do so! The credentials of those who have followed Christ are impeccable. Novelists Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Defoe became Christians. So did poets T. S. Eliot and Emily Dickinson. Musical composers like George Friedrich Handel and J. S. Bach along with artists like Rembrandt all knelt at Christ’s feet, calling him Saviour. But don’t receive Jesus as your Saviour just because Charlemagne, Shakespeare, and Isaac Newton did. Accept him because Jesus is who he says he is, and you believe in him personally.
When you accept Jesus as your Saviour, you must also accept him as Lord of all the universe, and King forever. Many Christians treat this last credential of Jesus as entirely optional. According to their line of reasoning, Jesus saves us from sin, from death and from eternal punishment, we don’t have to give anything back. We accept Christ for the “fire insurance” he offers, but rejecting him as Lord and Master of our earthly lives.
But, if Jesus is who he says he is, then none of his claims are optional. If Jesus Christ is all he says he is, do you think he’ll be satisfied with less than all of your life? Do you think you can really get away with giving him second best, or second place in your life? Until we make Jesus Lord and Ruler of all, we have not gone as far as we can. I like the way a Christian quarterback once explained Jesus as Lord of his life. He said, “Christ calls the plays. I run them.” Are you willing to trust God to call the plays in your life . Are you willing to let Jesus rule your life? Is he your King? Are you his servant?
Living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ means all your belongings belong to him. It means you allow him a place in your home, your job, and even your church. It means he can use you to serve in a successful career, or in a position of humble, plodding mediocrity. It means you place all your attitudes, hopes, and expectations upon him.
Maybe you can answer Jesus’ question “Who do you say I am,” by saying that Jesus is your Saviour and Lord. But if all you can say is that he was a real man, and a great teacher, then you need to take the next step and build a personal relationship with Jesus through study, prayer and reflection. This is what Doubting Thomas did. “I won’t believe,” he said, “unless I see for myself!” And, beginning there, he made his investigation which led to the highest affirmation of Christ ever uttered by human lips in scripture, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus lived only 33 years.Yet we measure time from the year of his birth. He never owned a home. He rode on a borrowed donkey. His followers were common people like you and me. The only thing he ever wrote was in the sand, yet libraries the world over have volumes written about him. Who is he? Who is this man who made strange claims such as,”I am the light of the world.”…”I am the bread of life.” the worlds knows him as Jesus of Nazareth. Have you ever wondered who he really is? Isn’t it about time you found out for yourself?
