September 16, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Monday, September 16.
Misidentification can be embarrassing. Have you ever called someone by the wrong name or asked them how their Aunt Bertha is doing after her recent surgery, and then realized that this is a completely different person who does not have an Aunt Bertha. Embarrassing. I once had an experience like this, without even speaking a word.
My wife and I had gone to a movie, and it must have been opening night because the theater was packed. When the film ended, everyone made that mad dash to the exit doors. The aisles were really crowded and, afraid that my wife and I would get separated, I reached out and put my arm tightly around her. Except, as it turned out, it wasn't my wife. My wife was a couple of steps behind me, with a look on her face that is hard to describe to you. What isn't difficult to describe is the look on the stranger's face - a mixture of surprise and abject fear. Misidentification can be an embarrassing thing.
In Matthew 16 we see an example of misidentification in the gospel story. Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." During his three-year ministry on earth, Jesus was often misunderstood and, apparently, often misidentified. But then he asked, "But what about you? Who do you say that I am?" And Peter, in one of his finest moments, rose to his feet and said, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!" Peter was often guilty of speaking before he thought. He sometimes, as they say, would "put his foot in his mouth." But in that famous moment, he nailed it.
And so, in this moment... Who do you say that Jesus is?
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
