Who do I say that I am?

by Megan Means

(Based on Matt 16:13-20; Ro 12:1-8)

Did you notice that Jesus turned his theological question into a personal query? “Who do you say that I am?”
So, ‘who do we say that Jesus is?’
Without using any religious or institutional language like what is in the creeds or majestic hymns … take a breath, think, and then share with your neighbour a response to ‘Who do I say that Jesus is?’.

Brilliant. You have all showed that you can express some thoughts about Jesus’s identity, although many of us may be saying that it probably doesn’t do justice to him. Regardless, Jesus commends and blesses Peter … and us for our answers. 

Perhaps it is easier to turn the question around and ask ourselves “Who do I say that I am?”. Summarise briefly with your neighbour ‘who you are’!

Who do I say that I am?

He kākano ahau. (I am a seed)

This is a seed pod. It’s a sign and a promise that something has emerged and flourished.
He kākano conveys growth, development and expansion, not power nor greatness. Even before a seed is planted or nourished, it has inherent promise to take root, to emerge, and to flourish.

A person, like a seed, is intrinsically linked into generations who have been and are yet to come as we are all part of a life cycle. He kākano, a seed, derives from somewhere, belongs to something, and cannot be isolated or detached from its whakapapa.

He kākano ahau accepts that our existence is accountable to all forms of life, and not to ourselves alone. As a seed, we concede that we must not knowingly cast ourselves above another or to lay claim to what is provided for all, because collectively we grow for the good of all.

He kākano ahau, is about being deeply immersed and connected into the biological diversity of our planet, and is based on a mutual cooperation with all elements of life. [Much of this is from Jacynthia Murphy in her chapter in Awhi atu, Awhi mai.]

In today’s passage the disciples are still struggling to name ‘who Jesus is’ to them, in a lay language. Maybe it’s also because they are struggling to know ‘who they are’, as well. Peter gives it a go, just like we have, and Jesus comments that on him, on us, he will build his church, a faith community.

Peter and the disciples were seeds that grew strong roots; they emerged into society with a message and the message has flourished. As church members today, we know that without the seeds of past members of faith, we would not have what we have built here today. A faith community, with the Scriptures, facilities, being part of an institutional organisation, etc.

What got us to where we are today? I would sum it up in one word: Friendship.
[Some of the following is taken from Called to Question, by Joan Chittister.]
Friendship is a holy thing, but it is not an easy thing. Love and friendship take us out of ourselves, but if there is nothing in us that is ourselves alone, there is nothing in us to give away.
Part of the process of becoming ourselves lies in having someone alongside us whose wisdom assists us to know who we really are. It lies in learning to tell our truth.

“When we have friends and really share our truth with them, it changes the way things are from the inside out,” Donna Schaper writes.

The problem is that once we come to the point where we have a truth of our own, we have to decide when it is right, and when it is safe, to share it. This struggle is a real one, especially in our digital age. Friendship, the kind that develops us, enables us to carry our own burdens by helping us to understand them. It gives us confidence to share our thoughts and our concerns with one another.
Friendship enables us to become ourselves, not a duplicate copy of someone else. It provides a measure by which we can assess ourselves: our emotional responses, our physical appearance, our intellectual perception, and our social desirability. Friends are a very necessary part of life. They validate us, they accompany us, they keep us in touch with the world.

Spiritual friendship is meant to be a bridge towards assisting the development of oneself. This type of friendship is when one can bare one’s soul, carefully and reverently. It is about being equal and respectful, open to helpful and wise feedback. This kind of relationship stands by in the midst of any whirlwind and holds out a hand in the hard times. It offers more than presence, more than companionship. It allows one to be supported and free, to be oneself.

“A friend,” Anne E. Carr writes, “is one who remains fundamentally a mystery, inexhaustible, never fully known, always surprising.” I would like to think that Jesus would have been this type of friend in his original context and alongside us now. And my point is that unless we know ourselves we really may not be any good to anybody else. 

Local Shared Ministry, team ministry, local leadership, is a model of building the community of faith, here at St Francis, Tairua. It’s a hands on way of putting into action who you are. The Romans reading unpacks and affirms that we all have gifts according to the grace given to us: some in ministering; in teaching; in exhortation; in prophesy; in generosity; in leadership; and the compassionate.

You all have local friendships and you support and belong to local community clubs and activities. You live ‘who you are’ and you ‘know who Jesus is’; therefore, he kākano ahau. You are, I am, a transformative seed which is taking root, emerging, and flourishing.

In this community, it is also our responsibility to notice and name where God is at work and to share it with our friends using a lay language. A language that engages naturally. A language which has a spiritual dimension is able to lift up, to celebrate, and to give thanks for all those things where we sense the presence of the living God in the everydayness of our lives. Whether big or small, obvious or easy to overlook, our living God is at work in our community and in each of our lives.

I hope that the question “Who do I say that Jesus is?” is a question that we can continue to ponder upon this week, to assist us in building up our community of faith and in transforming and befriending people’s lives.

Who do I say that I am? I am a seed. He kākano ahau.