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Who Do You Say Jesus is For You?

As an effective leader, it is important that you know and understand who you are and what you believe. What are your values? In whom do you place your faith? If you are clear about who you are and who you trust, then you can, without fear and with hope, lead with courage. 

Christ-centered leaders possess hope for a better future. They believe that God has created them and gifted them, not for themselves but for others. They can recognize and develop the potential of the people entrusted to them. And even when they have seasons of doubt, when they question themselves, their identity, and the people around them, they focus on the One who has called them to leadership.  

Courageous leaders know when to step out and to trust who God created them to be. They are vulnerable and trustworthy, as well as compassionate and dependable. And even when they have their doubts, they keep their focus as a leader.

Let’s look at a story that gives us a clue to the fundamental focus of Christ-centered leaders. 

For what it means to be a Christ-centered leader, read the blog Leadership and Faith. 

Read Luke 9:18-20

Once when Jesus was praying by himself, the disciples joined him, and he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They answered, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others that one of the ancient prophets has come back to life.” He asked them, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ sent from God.” Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell this to anyone. 

Reflect on Luke 9

In the Gospel according to Luke, we see Jesus praying at particular points in his life and ministry. It was his pattern to engage in ministry and then retreat to a lonely place. It was his way of staying focused on the work God had for him to do. 

In this story, he has been off by himself praying. Then he approaches his followers and asks, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 

This story is found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In Matthew, the confession is “You are the Christ, Son of the living God.” In Mark, it is “You are the Messiah” or “the Christ.” In both Mark and Matthew, Jesus begins to talk of his death and has a conversation with Simon Peter which leads to Jesus rebuking him. 

The focus is different in Luke. In Luke, Jesus talks of his death, but there is no conversation and no rebuke. Luke is interested in alerting us to the importance of the confession. “Once while Jesus was praying by himself” is a clue to its importance. Neither Mark nor Matthew mentions prayer. 

Who Do You Say that I Am?

Jesus has been ministering in Galilee. The crowds have been following him as he has been helping people, teaching lessons, preaching sermons, healing people, and exorcising demons. He reaches the point where he asks, “What is the public opinion?” “What do people say?” Is he asking to discover how effective his ministry has been? What impression has he put across? How is he viewed in public? 

The disciples answer, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others…one of the ancient prophets…” The public opinion is, like John the Baptist, Elijah, an ancient prophet, Jesus is the forerunner of the Messiah, the Christ. The crowds who have followed Jesus, who have been benefactors of his ministry, do not think of him as the Messiah but as one getting everyone ready for the Messiah. 

So, Jesus then asks, “What about you? Who do you say that I am?” And Simon Peter responds, “The Christ sent from God.” 

Respond: What does it mean to say, “Jesus is the Christ?”

We don’t know what Simon Peter meant when he made his confession, but we do know that when Jesus began to talk about his death, Simon Peter and the others did not relate to a suffering and dying Jesus to their concept of the Messiah. They took it as being a contradiction of who and what they understood the Messiah to be and do. If he is crucified, hanging on the cross with criminals, can he be the Messiah? 

How is he going to be like Moses and lead us out of the wilderness? How is he going to be like David and be our king? The images of the Messiah were many: a great teacher, a great prophet, a great king, great leader. We don’t know what Simon Peter meant, but Jesus knows that Simon Peter did not understand. So, Jesus tells Simon Peter and the others to be quiet about it. “He gave them strict orders not to tell this to anyone.” Why? 

The popular understanding of the day was that wherever the Messiah was there would be no misery. We see some of that thought today.  Have you ever heard or felt “When the Messiah comes, there will be no hungry people, there will be no homeless people, there will be no more violence, or war, or terrorism?”

Wherever there is misery, there is the Messiah

The thought of “When the Messiah comes…” is prevalent in our culture today. Think about it. What do you mean when you say, “Jesus is the Christ?”

Now, the truth is, wherever there is misery, there is the Messiah. See the difference? The disciples were having difficulty because they were looking for a political leader, someone who was going to restore power to them and the Jewish people. They were looking for someone who would overcome, if not destroy, their enemies.

Jesus is not the one who gets you out of difficulty. He is the one who sends you into difficulty. Wherever there is misery, there is the Messiah. To say that Jesus is the Christ is to follow him into the community and into the problems of the community.

Jesus is the Christ

For those at Christ Church, to say that Jesus is the Christ is to follow him into our neighborhoods in Charleston, the Kanawha Valley, West Virginia, and the world. Consider your context. To say Jesus is the Christ is to follow him into your neighborhoods, community, state and world.

The question is “Is Jesus the one you expect to get you out of trouble? Or is Jesus the one who sends you into places of trouble? 

What are you saying when you say, “Jesus is the Christ?”

Conflicting Values Today

We are facing a conflict of values in our culture today. So, let me be a little blunter with my understanding of what it means to say that Jesus is the Christ.

I can imagine that there were those in Jesus’ day who said, “Jesus can’t be the Messiah because he is not who the Messiah is supposed to be. I would rather have a Messiah who is going to defeat Rome and restore power to Israel.”

With the conflicting values of today, as a Jesus follower, you are being sent into a culture that says, “I want a god who gives me what I want and if I can’t get what I want here, I’ll go someplace else to get it.”

To get what we want, we have conflated following Jesus with nationalism. We have made our “rights” and our preferences our gods. And at the expense of our children, of those living in poverty, of those seeking clean water, of making sure we get all that is coming to us and making sure others aren’t getting what should be ours, we want a god who meets our values.

So, who do you say Jesus is?

It matters where you start. If you start with your political position, left or right, liberal or conservative, progressive or traditional, in my opinion, you are starting in the wrong place. Your political preferences are your preferences. But to start with those preferences is to discount and. distort Jesus as the Christ.

If you start with Jesus, then love of neighbor becomes a priority. Taking up your cross, Christian discipleship, following Jesus shapes your preferences and political position. Loving your neighbor is not a political position. But when you conflate loving your neighbor with loving only those who are close to you, it becomes a political position.

Now that I have started, let me go one more step. My intention is not to make anyone angry. My intention is to show what it means to say, “Jesus is the Christ.”

Just as in Jesus’ day, there are those who have misunderstood what it meant to say Jesus is the Christ. So, to drape the cross with the any flag and call it faith, preach and teach Jesus but bow to the political power of the day, turn the gospel into a weapon and call it patriotism, Jesus has not been understood as the Christ

The Cost of Following Jesus

The question is, who do you say Jesus is?

The cost of following Jesus is experienced in simple acts of service, care, and compassion as each situation presents itself. As a Jesus follower, you are not called to positions of power but to postures of service. Whether that be in your home, at work, in your community, or the political arena, loving others as you have been loved is the guiding value of your relationships. Loving your neighbor becomes who you are. Loving your enemy becomes a goal of faith and hope.

If you say Jesus is the Christ, you will follow him into and through the conflicting values of our culture and address the pain and misery of our day.

The people of our culture need us. They need people to love them as God in Christ has loved us. They need others to help them anchor themselves in faith and to trust those whom they follow. You were created to live and love at this time in history.

So, who do you say Jesus is?

Please read the blog Leadership and Faith.

Return

Give God thanks for the people you met today. Faith in God through Jesus is important to your leadership. How did you live out your faith? How did you encourage others to live their faith? Who is helping you grow in faith?  Ask God to give you the power to love others as God has loved you. What will you do differently tomorrow as a leader? Ask God to give you the faith to be the leader God has created you to be.  

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Putting Prayer Into Loving Action

Through your experiences as a leader, whether it be in your work, as a parent, or through your involvement in the community, you have a sense of what makes a good leader. Because of your experiences, you know there are different ways to define, think about, and approach leadership. 

Some say a leader is one who influences and advances change for a more equitable world. Others say that a leader is anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes and has the courage to develop that potential (Brené Brown). Regardless of your definition, what you think about leadership informs your practice of leadership.

Mother Teresa said, “At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by ‘I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked, and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.’” 

Regardless of your understanding of leadership, at the end of life you will be judged by the love you have expressed, the relationships you have developed, and the community you have nourished. 

In his story of feeding the 5000, Luke gives us a glimpse of what leadership looks like in the community. In fact, he gives us direction on what it means to be a follower of Jesus.     

Read: Luke 9:12-17 

12 When the day was almost over, the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so that they can go to the nearby villages and countryside and find lodging and food, because we are in a deserted place.” 13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.” But they said, “We have no more than five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all these people.” 14 (They said this because about five thousand men were present.) Jesus said to his disciples, “Seat them in groups of about fifty.” 15 They did so, and everyone was seated. 16 He took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them, and broke them and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 Everyone ate until they were full, and the disciples filled twelve baskets with the leftovers. 

Reflect on Luke 9:12-17

In Luke’s story, the crowd has been with Jesus all day.  It is now late, and the people are hungry. The disciples have a humanitarian concern for the hungry and the homeless. They want to do what is humanly possible to assist the people. So, they suggest it is better to dismiss the crowd. “Send the crowd away so that they can go to the nearby villages and countryside and find lodging and food…” 

The disciples are well-intentioned in their concern, but Jesus sees the situation differently. He responds, “You give them something to eat.”  

Scarcity or Abundance?

The disciples reply out of scarcity, “We have no more than five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all these people.” They said this because about five thousand men were present and they are thinking of what they don’t have. 

Jesus responds out of what they have. He instructs them to seat the people in groups of fifty. When the people are seated, Jesus takes the five loaves of bread and the two fish, looks up to heaven, blesses them, breaks them, and gives them to the disciples to serve to the crowd. 

As Jesus takes, blesses, breaks, and gives, he includes the disciples in the giving. As he prays, he includes his followers in the action. Throughout The Acts of the Apostles, God’s love and care for people is implemented by the acts of the followers of Jesus. 

Feeding the Multitude

The number “five thousand” shows how great the miracle is. The term “men” represents a picture in which only adult males would leave home without provisions for an extended time in order to hear Jesus.  In Matthew, the words “besides women and children,” states it in an exclusive sense to enhance the miracle. 

“In groups of fifty” reflects the organization of Israel during the exodus and wilderness period, the “wandering people of God” on their way to the promised land. Luke portrays the life of both Jesus and the church as a journey and refers to the saving work of Jesus as “exodus.” 

The words “took”, “blessed”, “broke”, and “gave” reflect the liturgical formula used in holy communion. They reflect the language of the liturgy of the Lord’s Table.  The feeding of the 5000 is told as a Lord’s Supper story.                                     

Jesus took and blessed the loaves and fish.  Early in the Christian movement, fish became the symbol of the Christian faith. The ichthus says who we are and what we believe.  Bread became the symbol of the body of Jesus. So, Jesus takes, blesses, breaks, and gives, he includes the disciples in the giving. Jesus put prayer and action together. 

The Sacred Act of Feeding People

Luke takes the sacred act of Holy Communion and places it in the story of feeding hungry people. Could it be that feeding the hungry, in the sight of God, is as sacred as Holy Communion?  

The prophet Isaiah wrote, “True expression of one’s love for God is the sharing of one’s bread with the poor.”

Is there a connection between the Lord’s Supper and our engagement in the community? Is there a sacredness in loving, feeding, clothing, and housing people? 

So, we get a sense of the church’s mission of feeding the hungry as a continuation of Jesus’ ministry and an anticipation of the kingdom of God for which we pray, “…Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” 

Putting prayer into loving action is what it means to be a leader in the community, whether it be the church or the city or neighborhood in which you live. When you pray and respond in acts of love, you are being who you were created to be. Who you are is how you lead. 

Respond to Luke 9

Luke tells the story of feeding the 5000 is told as a Lord’s Supper story. He makes a connection between Holy Communion and engagement in the community. Just as taking the bread and cup is done in remembrance of Jesus, your ministry in the community is done in remembrance of Jesus. Your ministry in the community is just as sacred as taking the bread and cup. 

Holy Communion represents the greatest expression of God’s love for God’s people. Your leadership in the community is an expression of that same love. 

Many Jesus followers do not understand community engagement as sacred work. Why? Because our understanding of leadership is informed mostly by what we have seen or experienced. Most of us have not experienced engagement in the community as an expression of God’s love. 

God’s Love in Human Form

We are involved in the community. We are invested in what happens in the community. We are directly involved in direct service, community organizing, and social responsibility, but too often, we do not make the connection of our involvement and as an expression of God’s love…God’s love in human form.

As followers of Jesus, we have the opportunity to lead out of the core of who we are, children of God, loved by God, and sent out to love others as God has loved us. Within the church community, God’s love is expressed in and through the sacrament of Holy Communion. 

In the larger community, God’s love is expressed in and through acts of love, care, and compassion…in remembrance of Jesus.  Just as the bread and fish were woven into the feeding the 5000, God’s expression of love is woven into the fabric of service, organizing, and responsibility through each of us as individuals and as a church.

Community of Belonging

People and communities are important to God. It is in community that people experience love and belonging. It is in participating in a community that attitudes, values, and goals are established to enjoy and fulfill life. 

A true community does not treat people differently because of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or background. People are cared for and belong because the expression of God’s love is as sacred in the community as Holy Communion in the church. 

What could happen if you held loving your neighbor and caring for your community as sacred as receiving the body and blood of Jesus? 

Return 

Give God thanks for the people you met today. Where did you experience God’s love? With whom did you share God’s love? How did you experience the sacredness of Holy Communion? How did you interact with others? Did you hold them in the sacredness of God’s love? Who is helping you grow as a leader? What will you do differently tomorrow? Ask God to give you the faith to be the leader God has created you to be.

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Prayer as a Tool for Leaders

As a Christ-centered leader, who has the responsibility of choosing people for leadership positions in your church, you have the opportunity to assist people in becoming who God has created and gifted them to be. As a leader, you help identify the gifts, strengths, talents, and faith of persons and then assist them in using those gifts, strengths, talents, and faith in ways that reveal the love of God in every situation and circumstance of their lives.   

Too often, either because it is not a priority or it seems unnecessary, leaders don’t always invest the time or energy in identifying and developing the leadership strengths and talents of the people entrusted to their care. Yet, choosing leaders and assisting them in their development is one of the most significant aspects of your work as a leader. 

Your Effectiveness & Prayer

Your effectiveness is experienced in the ways you build trust, show compassion, provide stability, and offer hope in developing relationships. Your courage as a leader is seen in the ways you choose and develop leaders. 

As a Jesus follower a fundamental element of your effectiveness is prayer. Luke, the gospel writer, tells us that Jesus spent the night in prayer before choosing people to join him in ministry.   

Jesus Prayes to Keep Focus

When the time came to choose people to join him, Jesus retreated to the mountain to pray. He prayed to keep focus on the context of his ministry and to keep the continuity between what he is doing and what would be needed in the future. Luke tells us he “prayed to God all night long.” 

His prayer was not about how he was feeling or what he wanted. Jesus was not making a political decision or choosing people who would see things his way. He was seeking a connection between God’s people of the past and God’s people of the future, by choosing leaders for the present. His all-night prayer vigil was not just for the moment but for each of us who are in the church today. He prayed to keep focus, not only on the history of Israel but on the future of God’s people. 

Read Luke 6:12-16 

During that time, Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night long. At daybreak, he called together his disciples. He chose twelve of them whom he called apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter; his brother Andrew; James; John; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus; Simon, who was called a zealot; Judas the son of James; and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. 

Reflect on Luke 6:12-16

Jesus prayed all night long to choose twelve followers to be apostles. My perception is that this was not a casual thing for Jesus. I do not believe that God said, “Take this one and this one and this one.” If that were the case, why would Jesus pray all night? 

What I have learned is that the Holy Spirit and faith do not make life easier or simpler, only deeper, more meaningful, and more powerful. Jesus prayed all night to choose those who were vulnerable, humble, hope filled, and faithful in their love and care of others. He prayed to choose those who could keep their focus upon God’s love.

Jesus prayed to keep his focus on the continuity between what he was doing and with Israel. As you know, the twelve disciples were related to the twelve tribes of Israel. Luke understands that in Jesus, God is continuing what God started with the people of Israel. So, his all-night prayer vigil was not just for the moment but for us. He is praying to keep focus, not only on the history of Israel but on the future of God’s people. 

The Church’s Prayer

One of the most difficult prayers to pray is the church’s prayer. The prayer is not about what you want. The prayer is focused upon who God needs to be faithful.  You do not pray from your best thinking or best practices. Your prayer is focused upon God and who God needs you to be at this place and time in history and for the future of God’s people. 

So, Jesus prayed all night. He was conscious of others besides himself. It was a critical moment in the history of Israel, in his own life, and for the future of the church. So, he prayed. You and I can say we began as an all-night prayer vigil in the heart and mind of Jesus. 

It is through prayer that you keep your focus on God’s plan and purpose.  If you don’t keep your focus on God, you will make your decisions based on your preferences. You will choose others who will perpetuate your preferences. You pray to keep your focus on God. It is essential that you keep your community, neighborhood, and city in mind and heart as you choose leaders who can hold the past and future together. Prayer will connect you to God’s great plan. It will help you see the world more as God sees the world. 

Prayer is Essential

We are at a critical moment in the life and future of our culture. We are being challenged to remember who and whose we are in difficult times. Let me remind you that you were created to lead at this time in history. If Jesus prayed all night to keep the future of the church in focus, it seems to me that prayer is essential as you shape spiritual leaders to address the issues of our day. Your prayers are essential as you choose leaders who can and will, in the midst of re-formation, connect the past with the future. 

I know that it seems overly dramatic, but there are many important things upon which you and I place our lives that are not priorities. Whether it be working at and achieving an education, earning money to make life better for ourselves and our families, or giving our lives away to make life better for others, the priority of your life is to love the people around you and to assist them in becoming who God has created them to be.

The result of your leadership will be seen in the love you put into others. Jesus prayed all night before choosing the twelve who were close to him.  So, it is essential that you, as a Christ-centered leader, develop a pattern of prayer. Your prayer is necessary in choosing leaders. 

Respond to Luke 6:12-16

In choosing leaders for your congregation, keep the context of the congregation in mind. Consider, not only the history of the congregation but, the history of the Christian church and how that history is connected to and informs the present and shapes the future. Your church can make the difference in your city or community.   

In choosing leaders for your congregation, consider the gifts, talents, strengths, and depth of faith needed to connect the life of the church to the present and future. Look for trustworthy, active, and persuasive persons who live out their faith in everyday and ordinary relationships. 

In choosing leaders for your congregation, pray.  Take as much time to pray as it takes to consider God’s call upon the life of the congregation and the lives of the people in the congregation. Pray that the beloved children of God will live as God’s beloved children in the way they love one another. Ultimately, it is better to be a loving body of Jesus followers who love others as they have been loved than to be a religious club built upon personal and theological preferences. 

Who you are is how you lead! 

Return

Give God thanks for the people you met today. For whom did you pray? In what ways did you pray to the leadership of others? How were you exercising leadership when you prayed? In what ways did you assist others to pray and to become who God has gifted them to lead? What will you do differently tomorrow? Give God thanks for the opportunities you had to love others as you have been loved.

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Keeping Focus as a Leader

Mother Teresa was asked about prayer and her prayer life. She responded by saying, “The beginning of prayer is silence. If we really want to pray, we must first learn to listen, for in the silence of the heart God speaks. And to be able to see that silence, to be able to hear God we need a clean heart; for a clean heart can see God, can hear God, can listen to God, and then only from the fullness of our heart can we speak to God. But we cannot speak unless we have listened, unless we have made that connection with God in the silence of our heart.”

Connecting with God in Prayer

How do you make that connection with God? How do you keep your focus as a follower of Jesus and Christ-centered leader? Do you have a designated time to pray and reflect? Do you read or search the scripture? Do you meet with a trusted friend or with friends to reflect and discuss your faith? How do you experience the silence that leads to listening and receiving God’s direction? As a follower of Jesus, how do you focus upon God?

Although there are multiple ways of keeping focus, Luke tells us that Jesus had a pattern of behavior in keeping his focus. In Luke’s story we find that Jesus would be engaged in ministry and then retreat to a desert place to pray. Then we would engage in ministry again. He would engage in ministries of feeding, teaching, and healing, then go off to a lonely place to pray.   

Jesus Retreats to Pray

Although we don’t know the content of his prayers, we do have a snapshot of one occasion when he retreated to pray. Luke says he returned from his baptism full of the Holy Spirit and that the Spirit led him into the wilderness.

Jesus had been anointed by the Spirit. He had heard the voice of God say, “You are my son, the beloved. With you I am pleased.” Could it be that Jesus is led by the Spirit into a time of silence, reflection, and prayer so he could receive a clear focus of his ministry?

Let’s see if Luke’s story of the “Temptation of Jesus” gives a clue to keeping focus as a follower of Jesus and as a Christ-centered leader. We will use a pattern of Read, Reflect, Respond, and Return to reflect upon the story.

Read Luke 4:1-13, 5:25-16

Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. There he was tempted for forty days by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and afterward Jesus was starving. The devil said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

Jesus replied, “It’s written, People won’t live only by bread.”

Next the devil led him to a high place and showed him in a single instant all the kingdoms of the world. The devil said, “I will give you this whole domain and the glory of all these kingdoms. It’s been entrusted to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. Therefore, if you will worship me, it will all be yours.”

Jesus answered, “It’s written, you will worship the Lord your God and serve only him.”

The devil brought him into Jerusalem and stood him at the highest point of the temple. He said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, throw yourself down from here; for it’s written: He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you and they will take you up in their hands so that you won’t hit your foot on a stone.”

Jesus answered, “It’s been said, don’t test the Lord your God.” After finishing every temptation, the devil departed from him until the next opportunity.

News of him spread even more and huge crowds gathered to listen and to be healed from their illnesses. But Jesus would withdraw to deserted places for prayer.

Reflect on Luke 4

In the story of Luke’s good news, we see Jesus praying at particular points in his life and ministry. It was his pattern to engage in ministry and then retreat in prayer. He would feed the hungry, heal the sick, and teach the love and acceptance of God. After such events, he would withdraw to a lonely place to pray and reflect. He had experienced the needs and desires of the people, and he wanted to meet their needs and care for them. His greatest desire was to be who God created and gifted him to be. So, he retreated to keep his focus upon who he was and upon who God had gifted him to love and serve.

This story gives us a snapshot of one particular time of his prayer and reflection. It is immediately following his baptism that he withdraws to pray.

Jesus Withdraws to Pray

Jesus has encountered people who are hungry, and he is deciding whether his ministry is to provide food for them. So, he goes to the wilderness, a desert place, a lonely place to pray. He is tempted to turn stones into bread, not only to care for himself but to care for the social problems of the day.

He is tempted to provide food for people who are hungry. Providing food for the hungry is a good thing, a very good thing. But is feeding people and addressing the social problems of the day the focus of his ministry? It is through prayer that he keeps focus upon the purpose of God’s call upon his life. He responds, “It’s written, People won’t live only by bread.”

Jesus encounters the Roman government which is oppressive to the poor. Jesus is deciding whether his ministry is to gain political power to care for the oppressed. God is the ultimate ruler, but evil powers dominate the present age. So, he goes to the wilderness, a desert place, a lonely place to pray.

Temptated by Power

He is tempted to switch his allegiance from God to the realities of the power of the government. He is tempted with the thought of what good he could do for the people if he had the political authority to do so.

Having such political power to work for the common good is a good thing, but is having such authority and power the focus of his ministry? It is through prayer that Jesus keeps focus upon the purpose of God’s call upon his life. He responds, “It’s written, “You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him.”

He encounters the people who challenge his identity. “Since you are God’s Son…” or “assuming you are God’s Son…”, Jesus is tempted to show how he understands himself in relationship to God. So, he goes to the wilderness, a desert place, a lonely place to pray.

He is tempted to provide a public demonstration that he is God’s Son instead of trusting God’s affirmation and confirmation, received at his baptism, of who he is and what he is called to do. He is tempted to make it about himself. It is through prayer that Jesus keeps focus upon the purpose of God’s call upon his life. He responds, “It’s been said, ‘Don’t test the Lord your God.’”

Pattern of Prayer

So, this is his pattern of prayer. He comes to the desert to pray. He prays to keep his focus on what God has called him to do. In chapter 5 we read, “News of him spread even more and huge crowds gathered to listen and to be healed from their illnesses.  But Jesus would withdraw to deserted places for prayer.” Why?

He retreats to the desert during a time of popularity. Is it to renew his own energy and power? Is he seeking and searching for purpose? He has started his ministry. He goes back to the desert repeatedly. Jesus is still wrestling with something. He is doing what any minister or person should do when he or she experiences immense popularity.

Popularity is often a way to avoid reality. So, Jesus might be struggling with “ego.” When everyone wants to see him, where is he? He is in the desert praying. He seeking to keep his focus upon what has called him to do. His temptation? To stay with the crowds. So, he goes out to the desert again and again. He goes when everyone wants him and is looking for him. Why? His temptation, “do I go with the crowds, or do I go to the cross?” It is through prayer that he keeps focus upon the purpose of God’s call upon his life.

Respond to Luke 4

How have you used prayer to keep your focus upon God’s plan and purpose for your life and ministry? It can be easy to give into doing good things, even if it is for all the right reasons. It is not difficult to lose focus on why you are a Christ-centered leader.

Maybe you’ve experienced how easy it is to convince yourself that you are serving God’s purposes as you seek to compromise and to please.

It is easy to lose your identity even in the midst of spiritual activities and social action. It is easy to give into the “this must be right” feeling when the crowd agrees, and difficult to speak up and act when it is against the crowd. The power to focus upon and live out God’s plan and purpose comes through prayer.

There is a difference between a prayer life and a life of prayer. It will be the life of prayer that will keep you focused on God’s desire for you and all of creation.

So, what will you do to keep your focus upon being who God created and gifted you to be? Ask trusted friends and/or colleagues to pray with you and for you? Spend time alone reflecting upon your life and ministry? Who will you ask to walk with you in prayer and reflection? How will you use silence as an experience of God’s presence and leadership? If you are alone, how will you listen to God and will you develop a system of accountability for your health and focus?

Return

Give God thanks for the people you met today. How did you keep your focus upon God’s love? How did you express God’s love? In what ways did you help someone know he or she was a “beloved child of God”? How did prayer shape your thoughts and actions? What will you do differently tomorrow? Give God thanks for the opportunities you had to love others as you have been loved.

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Answering God’s Call in the Church Today

How do you describe your call to ministry? Usually, a call to ministry involves a deep sense of the presence of God. It is related to an event or experience of deep spiritual conviction. Sometimes a call to ministry is related to a particular vocation. It is articulated as a “calling.” We have made professional ministry a “calling,” as well as teaching, being a nurse, doctor, or lawyer to name a few vocations. 

Your Call

But when focused upon God’s mission, “missio Dei,” how do you describe your call? If the mission is God’s mission, isn’t your call rooted in God’s purpose? Isn’t your call to be about God’s business? 

Please understand, I am not speaking against a particular calling, but I am trying to articulate a primary call. There are no biblical examples of someone being called to employment. Work is not your primary calling. Your primary calling is not to something but to Someone. 

Your primary call is to follow Jesus. God values you for who you are and who are created to be, not for what you can produce or achieve with your work. 

Vocational Calling

Your work, or vocational calling, is a secondary calling. Your primary call is to be who God created you to be. You are a “beloved child of God” gifted for loving and serving the people you encounter every day in everyday situations. Your secondary calling is shaped by your primary call, whether it be within paid employment, your home, or volunteer activities. Secondary callings matter, but only because your primary call matters most. 

As a follower of Jesus, it is important to assist individuals and the church to respond to God’s call to follow. The bible has stories of people who have responded to God’s call. They respond to the invitation to follow God every day and many times in ordinary ways. Let’s look at Matthew 4:18-22 as one example of a story of answering God’s call.   

Read Matthew 4:18-22 

18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishers. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Reflect

The call of the first disciples is the beginning of the church. Matthew uses Hebrew history as the background for his story of the formation of a new community. When he tells the story of Jesus’ baptism and temptation, he is summarizing the history of Israel in the Red Sea and testing in the wilderness. Matthew wants us to know that the new community, the church, is being formed in response to God’s action in and through Jesus. 

Context of Matthew

To better understand the call of the disciples, let’s put the story into context. Immediately preceding this story, Matthew sets the context of the call in the Old Testament when he quotes Isaiah, “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned” (Isaiah 11:2). For Matthew, Jesus is the great light. A new day is dawning. So, Matthew writes, “From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” 

From Matthew’s perspective, there is a great reversal of power and authority. The spiritual darkness of people will be overcome by the dawn of the new age when the ideal king, the Messiah appears. The Messiah, the new authority, is Jesus.   

The word “repent” literally means a “change of mind” or “change of perspective.” For Matthew, this is a reorientation of your life based on God’s acts of grace and redemption, already seen and experienced in the ministry of Jesus. Repentance is not about sorrow or remorse, but a change in the direction of your life. In other words, the call is to a new orientation for living, loving, and acting.   

The Call from Matthew’s Perspective 

Matthew has placed the call of the disciples in a context in which his hearers can understand and respond. So, look at the story from Matthew’s perspective.  

Simon, who is called Peter, is the first disciple. From Matthew’s perspective, that is important. Peter is the foundation rock on which Jesus builds the new community. Matthew uses a play on words, “You are ‘Rock,’ and on this rock I will build my church.” (Matthew 16:18).  

The fishermen represent people who work with their hands to make a living. They are not wealthy, but they own boats, have houses, and employees. They are comparable to middle-class businesspeople of today.   

Reorienting Our Lives

They are already at work. They have something useful and important to do and are not looking for a new life. They do not seek Jesus; he seeks and finds them. The words “As he walked by” are taken from Moses’ encounter with God in Exodus 33:18-25. It refers to the call of the prophets in the Old Testament. 

In other words, Jesus does not fill an obvious vacuum or meet an obvious need in the lives of those being called. But, like the call of prophets in the Old Testament, the call is intrusive and disruptive, calling those who hear to reorient their perspectives of life and work. 

The Called Out Ones

This is what God does to make followers. Here is where “repent” comes in. It is a change of perspective because this is different from what people would have understood a disciple to be. In Judaism, you become a disciple by seeking out a teacher to follow. But for the new community, you are called and invited to become a follower of Jesus. 

The words, “those who are called” refers to the act of God in calling them, not to their own freedom and responsibility of choosing. The word for church in the New Testament literally means “the called-out ones.”  As difficult as it is to accept, you are not choosing Jesus, Jesus is choosing you. You are called out to live and love differently. 

Called to Follow

The words “follow me” are significant. Matthew is telling the story to relate to his hearers. Fishing for some was a metaphor for teaching. For others, it meant the work of restoring the people of Israel. The bottom line is, that the image does not mean, in the modern sense, that you are being called to learn how to use the proper bait to win souls for Jesus. You are called to follow, to become who God had created you to be. 

With the words, “they left their nets…” and “they left their father… and followed” show that the call of Jesus has higher priority than the sacred obligations of family and work. Matthew is not just reporting what happened once in history but is presenting a scene of becoming a disciple and the forming of the new community.   

The followers of Jesus are not a volunteer society for promoting good but are those who have been drafted into service. Being called and chosen by Jesus is to reorient your living and loving. Your priorities of living and loving are directed by Jesus, not by work or family.    

Follow Me

Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” Immediately the mission of God became their priority purpose in their everyday living. It reoriented their relationships and permeated their lives.   

As a follower of Jesus, you work with people who are gifted in administration, finance, maintenance, education, etc. Each person has a passion for some form of work, but the primary call is to follow Jesus. 

In relation to God’s mission, you have the responsibility to assist people to first hear God’s call to follow Jesus and second, to live out that call in relationship with the people they encounter each day. Whether family, friends, colleagues, strangers, or enemies, God’s call is to love one another, as you have been loved. 

When you become a follower of Jesus, God’s mission becomes your priority. It not only impacts your personal passions, relationships, and decisions but reorients how you live with and love others. Living and loving are no longer based upon what you think and feel but upon God’s love in every situation and circumstance you find yourself. To answer God’s call is to be about God’s business. In other words, answering God’s call is who you are, and who you are is how you lead. 

Respond

Throughout the day, be mindful of your call to follow Jesus. Be aware of how your call impacts your interactions with people, your relationships, and your decisions. Keep in mind that God is placing people in your life to be loved and cared for. Who are those people? How will you respond as a follower of Jesus?

Prayer

O God, make me aware of the people around me today. By your grace, help me yield a little more of myself so that I may love others as you have loved me in Jesus. Help me be faithful to your call upon my life so that I may be a blessing to someone, somewhere, today. Amen.

Return at the end of the day

Give thanks for God’s call to follow Jesus. 

  • In what ways were you aware of following Jesus? 
  • Who were the people you encountered? 
  • How did you experience God’s love? 
  • In what ways did you model and share God’s love? 
  • With whom do you need to celebrate the love you experienced in and through them? 
  • What will you do differently tomorrow?