Pentecost 16, 08/31/2008

Sermon on Matthew 16:21-28, by John H. Loving

21 From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ²²And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.' ²³But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.'

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. ²⁶For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

27 ‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. ²⁸Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.'

"Take up your Cross"

In today's Gospel lesson we run into one of those ‘hard sayings' of Jesus that we would just as soon overlook. "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."

Whenever we hear sayings such as this one, our response is to try to soften it or pretend that it could not possibly apply to us. Maybe this remark was intended for the Twelve or the larger group of disciples. After all, we have enough to worry about just getting from day to day: paying bills, getting kids off to school, medical appointments, homework assignments, business and family obligations, and so forth. The burden of the cross seems more than we can possibly bear.

Clearly, some other people take it too literally. They deny themselves the simplest pleasures as if human happiness were an offense to God. For them it is almost as if the Christian life were primarily a pilgrimage of misery! Surely, this is not what Jesus was talking about. But how can we find the path to which Jesus calls us? Is there some way to love him and still find fullness of life?

This is part of what Simon Peter is struggling with in today's lesson. He says there's got to be a better way. Why walk into the trap set by adversaries? What if you get hurt? What if you get killed? God forbid that something like that should happen to you! Once again, Peter is speaking for the Twelve, and we can all identify with his plea.

Jesus' reaction seems excessive, to say the least. Peter has obviously hit a sensitive nerve. Jesus himself must have had some of these same thoughts, and when Peter echoes them he lashes back. "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

All Peter had done was to look for some kind of alternative. But for Jesus it was as if Satan had returned. The ancient tempter, as the preacher Barbara Brown Taylor puts it, from the beginning of time has offered humankind alternatives to the will of God-easier alternatives, safer alternatives, flashier alternatives-all of them temptations for us to do and be something other than what God has called us to do and be. In the case at hand, the temptation for Jesus is to play it safe, to skip the journey to Jerusalem and find another way to save the world. Perhaps he might direct the effort from a secret headquarters, eluding his enemies, staying just out of their reach and leading his holy revolution without placing himself at risk. Like the tempter in the wilderness, Peter is offering him a way out, a detour around Jerusalem with all its risk of pain and death, and for a moment, perhaps, the possibility seems real to Jesus, before his head clears and the dream vanishes.

What must come first? That is the issue here-for Jesus and for us. Doesn't God want the best for me? Doesn't God want me to be happy? Doesn't God care about my comfort and safety?

All of these questions spring from an ego-centered existence, and according to our Gospel lesson this morning the answer is "No"! God is not primarily concerned with my personal comfort and safety. (Sorry!) Ultimately, God does not care whether I am happy or not. Well, maybe there is a better way to put it. What God primarily cares about, is the quality of my life. Not just my physical life, not just the continuation of my breath and the health of my cells-but the depth of my life, the scope of my interests, the energy and zest of my life.

The deep secret of Jesus' hard words in this passage is that our narrow boundaries, our always "playing it safe", our fear of suffering and death rob us of life, because fear of death always turns into fear of life, into a stingy, cautious way of living that is not really living at all. The deep secret of Jesus' words is that the way to have abundant life is not to save it, but to spend it. It is to give it away, because life cannot be shut up and saved any more than fresh spring water can be put in a mason jar and kept in a kitchen cupboard. Oh, it will remain water, and if you open it up soon you can still drink it, but it will have lost its essence, its life, which is to be poured out, to be moving, living water, rushing downstream to share its wealth without ever looking back. (We think of those mountain streams in Colorado that echo in our memories long after we have left them behind.)

Quality of life: that is at the heart of our calling. And when it is there, it will come out whether we are aware of it or not. A good example came out in the newspaper a couple of years ago. It seems that a Russian woman Tatyana Sapunova, 27 years old, was driving with her mother near Moscow when she saw a sign planted by the side of the road. It said, "Death to Yids". She pulled off the road, got out of the car, and attempted to tear the sign down.

That's when the explosive device rigged to the sign exploded. The blast tore through her face, hands, and legs. She is reported to have lost sight in one eye. Tatyana Sapunova, for the record, is not Jewish. In fact she was a baptized Christian.

Quality of life-sensitivity to issues more important than our own personal safety and well-being, a life that is shared with others, that is poured forth in love despite risk and danger. There is pain and risk in being human, but we cannot be ruled by this if we are to follow the path of the Son of Man. Jesus' enemies counted on his fear of death to shut him up, but they were wrong. He may have been afraid, (I'm sure he was) but he did not let his fear stop him. He did not get stuck on the suffering and death part. He saw something beyond suffering and death and offers that vision to us as well.

In closing this morning we pray that God will give us the sensitivity to grasp the opportunities that come our way-opportunities for sacrifice and sharing, opportunities to witness to Christ and his cross, opportunities within our own communities to reach out to victims of poverty and prejudice. Here in Austin, for example, the center known as El Buen Samaritano is looking for teachers of English as a second language, for volunteers to help with nutrition and exercise classes. They operate a medical clinic and help individuals deal with citizenship issues, prepare for the GED equivalency exam, to be trained to work with computers and to find employment. And, of course, as soon as you get involved in these kinds of ministries, you run into people whose stories are heart-breaking, whose problems have no easy solutions. But there is also joy and satisfaction in helping to carry some of those burdens. We pray that God will uphold us on the road that Jesus trod before, beyond the limits of our security and comfort zone. We pray that we may receive our lives as gifts to be shared and as adventures to be explored day by day. Amen.

Rev., Interim Assistant Rector John H. Loving
The Church of the Good Shepherd (Episcopal)
Austin, Texas

E-Mail: jloving3@austin.rr.com

(top)