But who do you say that I am?

Mark 8 : 27 - 33

....the Son of man must suffer many things....

"Lord, you are the Savior who died to give me life. I have experienced your healing from a life without God, full of guilt and self centeredness, to a life free from that bondage. You are Lord, and Master of my life. I begin to understand how obedience brings true peace and joy. You are the image of the unseen God and when I see you, I see the Father. You are the Companion who says "I will never leave you nor forsake you". You are the One who suffered for me, and now suffers with me and in me. You are the one who brings life out of death, who redeems and transforms pain, into loving compassion. You are the God of glory and power, yet also the God who humbled himself for our sakes."

I have been praying the Passion over the past couple of months. It's like an early Lent for me (Lent begins on Wed 25th Feb) and even through the CNY festivities, I was actually journeying with Jesus to the Cross. The most significant insight and experience for me this time round is that God made himself vulnerable for our sakes. His powerlessness is not a sign of defeat - on the contrary, his choice to limit himself, taking on human flesh is the greatest demonstration of power the world has known - it is the power of love, the sacrificial love of the Creator for his creatures.

Of course, Peter and the other disciples could not understand this very well. With the Romans in power, they could see no way out except for a Messiah who would lead them to political victory.

Peter's declaration was inspired by God but his well meaning 'rebuke' was completely off target about the way Jesus was going to live out his role as the Messiah or Anointed One. It was only through weakness that the greatness of God broke the powers of sin and death. The world can never understand a 'weak' God (foolishness and a stumbling block, as Paul stated) . Yet perhaps when we allow ourselves to meet this God on the cross, we will dare let down our guard, we will dare face our vulnerabilities in his presence and allow him to transform and redeem them.