Note 1: <\/strong>All quotes in the sermon are from the English Standard Version.<\/p>\n Note 2: <\/strong>This initial two paragraphs in parentheses of this sermon might be used as the basis for a Children\u2019s message. If not used that way, one might adapt it as the beginning of the \u201cusual\u201d sermon, or inserted at a later time in the sermon.<\/p>\n (Have you ever played follow the leader? Fun isn\u2019t it? At least it can be fun until the leader goes to a place where others do not want to go, or to a place that might be dangerous. Like, walking on top of a wooden fence? To walk beside or around is ok. But on top? Nope. That may not be safe. OR to crawl through a tunnel or culvert? This may be \u201csafe\u201d but many people don\u2019t like being in a space that seems too small, and many people don\u2019t want to be in an enclosed space. So, let\u2019s not do \u201cfollow the leader\u201d on top of a fence or through a tunnel. In today\u2019s Gospel Jesus will say, \u201cIf anyone would come after me, let him\u00a0deny himself and\u00a0take up his cross and follow me.\u201d Following the path of Jesus isn\u2019t always safe or easy.<\/p>\n I will talk a bit more about taking up your cross in the regular sermon. However, for now, I would remind you that you began your journey with Jesus at your baptism. A pastor marked your forehead with the sign of the cross, said your name and added, \u201cChild of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.\u201d For each of us to \u201ctake up our cross\u201d is connected to God\u2019s love in action at our baptism. Let\u2019s pray: God, thank you for claiming us as your own. Strengthen us to follow you all the days of our lives. Amen)<\/p>\n Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen<\/em><\/p>\n What do you think? Is Peter a rock or a block? Last week<\/u> \u2013 Jesus said, \u201cBlessed are you,\u00a0Simon Bar-Jonah! For\u00a0flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,\u00a0but my Father who is in heaven.\u00a018\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And I tell you,\u00a0you are Peter, and\u00a0on this rock\u00a0I will build my church.\u201d [Mt. 16:17-18a] This week<\/u> \u2013 Jesus says, \u201cGet behind me, Satan! You are\u00a0a hindrance\u00a0to me.\u201d [v. 23a] The word \u201chindrance\u201d is translated literally as \u201cstumbling block.\u201d So, which is he? A rock or a block? A building stone or a stumbling stone? For a stone for building up or a block for tripping up? The answer is\u2026well\u2026both.<\/p>\n In today\u2019s text we have a dramatic encounter with Jesus and Peter, and Jesus\u2019 teaching about discipleship. And in today\u2019s text we have a disagreement on whether Jesus as the Christ (the Anointed One) must<\/u> suffer; and we have Jesus\u2019 words for those who would follow.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s walk through the drama first. Jesus began to show the disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things\u2026and be killed. Peter probable didn\u2019t even hear Jesus\u2019 words about being \u201craised\u201d on the third day. Must<\/u> implies necessity. Jesus thinks God intends it.\u00a0 Peter had just confessed Jesus to be God\u2019s Anointed. Jesus had just affirmed that confession. But now \u2013 Must? Suffer? Killed? Peter cannot hold these words together with the word, \u201cChrist.\u201d Peter cannot hold these words together with his expectation or understanding of God\u2019s \u201cAnointed.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless, Peter cannot hold together Jesus and the Christ and this suffering. So, he takes Jesus aside and rebukes him. Rebuke \u2013 Matthew uses that word to describe how Jesus speaks to evil spirits. In one story in the eighth chapter of Matthew, Jesus was asleep in a boat with the disciples when a windstorm arose. When awakened by frightened disciples, \u201che rose and\u00a0rebuked the winds and the sea, and\u00a0there was a great calm.\u201d [8:26b] Here Peter rebukes Jesus, \u201cFar be it from you! This shall never happen to you.\u201d [16:22b]<\/p>\n That is when Jesus turns to Peter. That is when Jesus corrects Peter. That is when Jesus says \u201cGet behind me, Satan!\u201d as if to say, \u201cyour place is not in front but behind.\u201d It is as if Jesus says, \u201cIf you were God\u2019s spokesman before, you are Satan\u2019s spokesman now!\u201d<\/p>\n Jesus adds, \u201cYou are a hindrance. You are a stumbling block. Just as only Matthew has Jesus\u2019 words to Peter earlier, \u201cYou are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.\u201d Likewise, only Matthew includes, \u201cYou are a stumbling block.\u201d So, while we might have put our weight on a building rock, now we might trip or stumble over this block.<\/p>\n Jesus adds, \u201cFor you\u00a0are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.\u201d [v. 23b] Fredrick Dale Bruner is an author and Bible teacher from California. He has been a teacher for pastors, in the Philippines, Spokane (WA), and now in retirement resides in southern California. He is not Lutheran, but an excellent Reformed student of the scriptures. In his commentary on Matthew\u2019s gospel, he notes that the Greek word for \u201csetting your mind\u201d is more than a mental word, that it is more visceral like \u201cgripped by.\u201d It means that Peter is \u201cgripped by the things of man,\u201d being directed by his ambitions and desires.1 <\/sup><\/p>\n That\u2019s the drama. It is rich, but not only because it is about Peter and Jesus, but because it is also about us. We often see the scripture only as a sketch, a picture from the past. We often see a story like this as a snapshot of Peter from long ago. We may begin with the story as an event in the past, but if that is all it is, it becomes \u201cdead history.\u201d You know that we must also view the scripture as a mirror so that we might see ourselves in the scripture in the present. Am I a rock or a block?<\/p>\n As a snapshot, Peter is a rock and a block. As a mirror, Peter is us.<\/p>\n You see, it is not one or the other. Rather both-and. We are both rock and block. As Martin Luther spoke theologically, he called us simul justus et peccator <\/em>\u2013 at once saint and sinner. Today\u2019s Gospel reading pictures Peter as rock and block. This Gospel mirrors us as rocks and blocks.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s text fits with the earlier picture of Peter \u2013 walking on water at Jesus\u2019 word (or I say skipping like a rock on water?); and then sinking like a rock when he looks at the strong wind and doubts, wavers. [Chapter 14]<\/p>\n Today\u2019s text fits with the later picture of the disciples after the resurrection. On the mountain in Galilee the 11 are with Jesus. They worship and doubt, waver. Simon is a rock and a block that wavers. We are rocks and blocks that waver. For 60 years there were \u201cToys R Us\u201d stores in the US (the last one closed 5 years ago). Well, for today, we could make signs over the main entry doors that read, \u201cRocks R Us\u201d and \u201cBlocks R Us.\u201d<\/p>\n If we ask \u201cHow shall we live?\u201d We begin with a recognition that I see my face in Peter and say, \u201cI am a rock and I am a block.\u201d Then, we are ready to hear, \u201cIf anyone would come after me, let him\u00a0deny himself and\u00a0take up his cross and follow me.\u201d [Matthew 16:24] Jesus follows this with 4 or 5 more sayings about discipleship. But for today, we will only note this one.<\/p>\n \u201cIf anyone would come after me, let him\u00a0deny himself\u2026\u201d To deny ourselves it to acknowledge that I am NOT the lord of my life, I am NOT the maker of my own life.\u00a0 Rather, we allow Jesus to correct us. We allow Jesus to make our course, to make course corrections along the way. We allow Jesus to lead\u2026wherever the road takes us.<\/p>\n \u201cTake up his [your] Cross.\u201d When Jesus says this he is not speaking of jewelry. Jews in Jesus\u2019 day knew what a cross was. Yes, the cross was a method of execution. And at the same time, the cross was a tool of Roman domination. Public executions reminded everyone who was in power, and it wasn\u2019t the Jews.<\/p>\n Some of you may know that in the Old South of the US it was common for plantation owners to punish, to whip a child in the presence of its parents \u2013 just to show them who is boss. The punishment was real and the message clear. The Romans used crucifixion in the same way.2<\/sup> So, when Jesus says, \u201ctake up your cross\u201d he probably means something like: Do not resist evil with evil; Suffer with those who suffer; Walk with those whose way is hard; and, This may mean the end of your life as you know it.<\/p>\n Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow. To follow Jesus is no picnic. To follow Jesus is not fun and games, even if there is great reward. A picnic and games are great for a Sunday School kick off or Vacation Bible School, or a congregational celebration with a picnic at a lake in the summer. But, this is not the heart of discipleship. At the heart of discipleship is to deny self (\u201cget behind me\u201d), take up your cross and follow. That is one reason why Martin Luther has a cross at the center of his coat of arms. That is one reason why Martin Luther has a cross at the center, inside the heart. Martin Luther knew that life with Christ, discipleship was and is cross shaped. Yet it is also an adventure.<\/p>\n I conclude with this. Some of you might be acquainted with the Mesa Verde National Park in south western Colorado. It contains remains of cliff dwelling villages and cities of ancient Pueblo people. I\u2019ve visited this park twice, and hope to return. Anyway, in an issue of Sundays and Seasons<\/u> some years ago there was an essay that includes this anecdote (adapted by LHT).3<\/sup><\/p>\n Park rangers lead walking tours to parts of the park that are not immediately accessible to the public. Just before one such trek, a ranger said to her group, \u201cFolks, in the net two hours you will hike into a canyon, climb rope ladders with at least 300 rungs, and crawl through narrow passages on your hands and knees. If any of you have any history of heart disease, I do not recommend you coming. Any questions?\u201d\u00a0 Silence. Many wondered if they would make it. Finally, the hand of a 12 year old girl popped up. Excitedly, she said, \u201cDo we really get to hike into a canyon and climb 300 steps on a rope ladder and crawl on our hands and knees through rocks? Is it true? Do we really get to?\u201d The ranger smiled and replied, \u201cYup. That\u2019s the spirit. Let\u2019s go!\u201d And off the group went.<\/p>\n That was not \u201cfollow the leader,\u201d but similar. To follow Jesus may not be easy, it may not be safe. Yet, this is the life to which we were called in holy Baptism. After the Water and Word claim us as God\u2019s means to work God\u2019s work, a pastor may mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross and say, \u201c(name)<\/u> you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.\u201d<\/p>\n This is about following the leader. \u201cGet behind me,\u201d Jesus said to Peter\u2026and he says the same to us. \u201cIf anyone would come after me, let him\u00a0deny himself and\u00a0take up his cross and follow me.\u201d These are words for all of us. Amen+<\/p>\n\n
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