In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

     "Why do you care what anyone else thinks?!" If I heard my mom and dad say that once when I was growing up, I heard it a thousand times! When the bell-bottom craze hit Columbus, Indiana, my brother wanted desperately to go to the Tempo store and buy a pair of bell-bottom pants-so that he would fit in, and his friends would think he was cool. I remember well, my dad said, "Bell bottoms are only a fad-why do you care what anyone else thinks?" When my brother and I let our hair grow down to our shoulders in the late sixties and seventies-to be "in style" like everyone else, my mom tried constantly to get us to get our hair cut shorter, and with a little shapeliness. No, we couldn't do that, then people would think we were "square". And surely my mom said something like, "what do you care what anyone else thinks?" That's a great line parents have used, to try to get our kids to be independent, to think for themselves, to not just go along with the crowd. Of course, I used it myself as a dad! The reason it doesn't always work so well, is because the reasoning behind it is flawed. We do, indeed, care what other people think!

     If we didn't care what others think, why would we parents care if our kids want to go out of the house with their hair dyed rainbow colors? What would it matter if our daughters go out with too much belly showing beneath their shirt? At the same time, in the midst of an argument between spouses or teens, why would we stop and try to calm everyone down, saying, "Lower your voice, the neighbors will hear", except for the fact that we do care what the neighbors will think. Generally, we don't want people to think we are uncouth, unmannered, unstylish, undisciplined. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule-remember, I grew up a Hoosier-where not everyone cares about manners, style or couth. But generally, people do care what others think. And we have to wonder, if that was what Jesus was concerned about in our gospel lesson.

     In some ways, it seems kind of surprising that Jesus would ask his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" Why would Jesus care what people think and say? He's the Son of God-Son of the Eternal Father-the Eternal Word, present at the creation of all that exists, yet become flesh and blood, in Bethlehem at Christmas. And yet, as Jesus' ministry progressed, it was important, how they viewed him. It was important, because it reflected whether or not his message was getting through. Today in such a situation, the disciples would surely have suggested they conduct a poll. You want to know what people think of you-you want to know if your message is getting through accurately and effectively-you take a poll, as do politicians, and political action groups, and the retail industry, and anyone who wants to sell a product. But it seems the disciples already had some handle on how people were viewing Jesus, as they responded, "well, some say you are John the Baptist; others say you are the prophet Elijah returned from the dead, while still others believe you are one of the prophets." The disciples, being common, ordinary folk, evidently didn't need a poll to tell them, that opinions about Jesus differed, and were in some ways conflicting. But the truth of the matter was, none of what people thought of Jesus was accurate! For most of the people who flocked to see Jesus; for those who wanted to experience this curiosity for themselves, they just didn't understand who he was. So, Jesus turned to his twelve disciples-those whom he had hand-picked, those who had traveled with him, and lived closely beside him-surely they would think rightly about him. So Jesus asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered, rightly, or so it seemed, "You are the Messiah." Finally, Jesus must have felt he was getting through to someone. If only one of the disciples were getting it-that'd be a start. So, upon Peter's confession, Jesus begins to unfold for the disciples, just what it means that He is Messiah. Jesus continued by teaching them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, be rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes, be killed, and after three days rise again. Mark tells us Jesus said this quite openly. And then, lo and behold, Peter, who had made the good confession-Peter, who alone seemed to be understanding--now takes Jesus aside, and rebukes Him! And why does Peter rebuke Jesus? Because this is not the Messiah Peter wants! In fact, Peter had to know this kind of Messiah would never fly with the people! Peter needed no opinion poll to know that for generations, his fellow Jews had been watching and waiting for a Messiah, who would conquer-who would run the Romans out, and take His rightful place on the throne of David in Jerusalem. The Jews had been watching and waiting for a Messiah who would be King, unite the kingdom of Israel again as a powerful monarchy-so that Israel and Judah would no longer be a footstool for her neighbors. Any poll would have told Jesus that-and Peter is himself, speaking quite openly, and plainly, so that Jesus might stop this foolish talk about being a Messiah who would suffer, be rejected, be killed. And how does Jesus take Peter's rebuke? Jesus responds with about as strong a condemnation possible-as Jesus says, to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things, but on human things!"

     Wow-guess Jesus does care what people think about him! At least, Jesus cares that they understand rightly, why He came, and what is His rightful mission and purpose in ministry. That's why, after Peter confesses Jesus Messiah, He sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. Peter obviously thinks Jesus is the Messiah, but Peter hasn't a clue what it means that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus did not want his disciples going about, spreading the word that He would rise up, conquer the Romans, and re-establish the Davidic kingdom. Jesus did not want the disciples misleading the people. Jesus wanted the disciples to keep their mouths shut, until they understood fully, who Jesus was, and what He was about. Because, if it wasn't troubling enough, that Jesus told them He would be a suffering, dying Messiah-Jesus goes on to tell his disciples, and the crowd with them-what might be perceived as more "bad news"-not only was Jesus to suffer and die, he says, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it."

     It would be interesting to find out what people-people today-really think of that?! We know what people in Jesus' time thought about it-they crucified Him, thinking they'd be done with Him once and for all. But what about today? We know there are many in our world who have no use for such ideas-cross-bearing, denying yourself, following somebody else in life. That's why some choose not to become Christians. But what about those of us who claim to be His disciples? What about us? If we could take a poll of all Christians in our country today-what would it reflect? Are we on board with this whole, Messiah, suffering, dying, cross-bearing, denial of self thing--or would we prefer a Messiah who is more like a wise sage-a faithful teacher, who encourages us to seek our own path in life, grasshopper?

     The good news is, in spite of what others expected of Jesus, and wanted of Jesus, and thought of Jesus, He did indeed, go to the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, and for our sins. He did indeed, lose His life, for the sake of the Gospel. By giving up His life, He received back His life. He was killed, but after three days, He rose again. The good news is, we are saved, by God's grace, through faith in Christ's atoning death on the cross. What Jesus is asking is, are we prepared to take up our cross and follow Him on the way of service and sacrifice in our lives? Are we prepared to lose our lives for His sake and the sake of the Gospel, and so save our lives, eternally? If we were those two journalists taken captive in the middle-east forced to convert to Islam, or be murdered, would we accept martyrdom, rather than forsake our Lord and His cross? In our world today, this is no longer an academic question-a philosophical proposition. What Jesus asks of His followers, is real life, a real challenge-if any want to be my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, will save it. Do you care more for what others might think of you-or are you more concerned what Jesus might think of you?

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.