“You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29)

Long ago, there was a time when it was necessary not just to recognize Christ in silence, but to also confess Him emphatically, as Peter was the first to do: “You are the Christ.”  Of course, because at that time there was almost no one who recognized the Son of God, Christ, in the Son of Man, Jesus.  In our time you cannot just pronounce that.  When you loudly start proclaiming that He is the Christ, no one wants to hear it.  On the contrary, you then just irritate others, or your words are blown away in the wind.

Confessing Christ—how do you do that in our world?

Actually, we constantly confess something without words as we go through the world.  Just look at the faces of the people around you: so much somberness, so much sorrow, so much annoyance, so much anger.  Just look at yourself when you are walking through the streets of a city.  Without sensing it ourselves, we spread and confess our moods, for our face, our posture, our footsteps speak volumes.  We leave our tracks non-stop, visible and invisible.  In the world in which we are living these days you don’t need to pronounce what you know and believe; without speaking a word, you can DO what you know and believe.

When we receive His peace at the altar, this gift can become our confession.  This peace is not only meant for us, but through us for the world.  That is the appeal of Christ after He has bestowed His peace on us: My peace is not of this world.  My peace wants to work in the world through you.  Are you ready to confess my peace?

Give me your hands, your head, your heart, your feet – and walk the way of peace with me.

– Rev. Bastiaan Baan, July 27, 2025