Pentecost 15

Sermon for Hope Episcopal Church
The Reverend Martha Frances
Year B, Pentecost 15, Proper 19
17 September 2006

Text: Mark 8: 27-38
Other Readings: Isaiah 50: 4-9; Psalm 116: 1-8; James 2: 1-5, 8-10, 14-18

Jesus moves with his disciples through the villages of Caesarea Philippi. They're walking along the road, talking as they go. Jesus' ministry up until now has been quite successful. He has attracted great crowds as he has preached & taught, healed & performed miracles. The common people have been greatly enchanted by this young rabbi who has dared to challenge the religious authorities & to include even the Gentiles in his itinerant mission work. He's curious & asks the disciples what the current buzz is on the gossip circuit. "Who do people say that I am?" A safe enough question-he only wants the disciples to report what they've heard. Their answers fit the expectations of the Jewish community of their day: John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets. This conversation is sort of a recap of their travels with Jesus. Still on safe grounds.

Then Jesus hits the disciples with a question certainly neither expected nor as safe. He says, "But who do you say that I am?" Can't you just imagine the disciples shuffling their feet & trying not to look at Jesus in case he looks at them & expects a straight answer. It's as if he's saying, "Ok, guys & gals, you've been my traveling companions for awhile. You've seen what I've done & heard what I've said. So what? What does all this mean to you? Why do you keep traveling with me? What's all this to you anyway?" Mark has just spent the whole first 8 chapters of his Gospel identifying who Jesus is.

Now Jesus has asked the question which is the turning point of his whole ministry. "Who do you say that I am?" Just leave it to Peter to rescue the rest of the disciples. Can't you just hear them breathing a sigh of relief when Peter jumps in with his answer? He says, "You are the Messiah." Such a simple 4 words. The rest of the disciples must think, "Well, there you have it. Peter's spoken the truth & we don't have to be vulnerable now. Anyway, what's this I hear? Jesus is telling us to keep quiet, not to tell anyone about what we've seen & heard. Suits us fine, we say. Don't want to get mixed up in this identification game anyway. Glad that's all settled. Everyone knows how this long-awaited messiah is supposed to act, & it's about time he got here & started straightening things out with the Romans, isn't it?"

But Jesus doesn't follow any preconceived ideas about messiahship either. Just look what he says next. He doesn't tell them about the success before them as he takes over in strong military victory & puts those Romans back in their places. Jesus could appoint his closest followers to positions of responsibility, & they could run this country the way it was meant to be. The disciples are off on their own fantasy trips about what's in it for each of them when Jesus shocks them all.

"What's this we hear that Jesus must undergo suffering & rejection, be killed, and rise after three days? What kind of a Messiah is that? Doesn't he know that he's supposed to hold the upper hand? We've given up 3 years of our lives with this man because we believed in him, & now what do we hear? He's giving up the opportunity he has to be of influence for his people? Who does he think he is?"

Well, it's just too much for Peter to bear. He'll just get to Jesus & explain how much all the disciples are counting on him to make their lives & the lives of the common folks better. Peter takes quite a superior attitude as he rebukes Jesus. He pulls Jesus aside & tells him that he's got to sound like the leader that they expect. No more of this suffering & death stuff. Who wants to follow a leader who is gonna die?

And Jesus says to his disciple Peter who just a moment ago passed the pop quiz, "You don't have a clue. You need to wash your mouth out with soap. Don't tempt me to take the softer, easier way. Get behind me, Mr. Temptation. This is hard enough without your acting like you know it all. You're not in charge. I am. Get in the ranks behind me & join with me in this task of doing things God's way & not your own. Let me tell you about what kind of Messiah I am." Here we have Jesus' first of three passion predictions in Mark, none of which the disciples "get."

So begins the 2nd half of the book of Mark, & from this time on, Jesus sets his face like flint, as Isaiah said, & heads toward Jerusalem. Jesus begins right here to warn the disciples what it will be like to continue to follow him. Jesus has to unteach his disciples because they have their own pre-conceptions about Jesus' messiahship.

How many of us really think that those who truly believe in Jesus & are saved should have nothing else bad happen in our lives? We've had more than our share of bad luck & sorrow, haven't we? How many of us are attracted to the conviction that when we join Jesus' army, we should always triumph & our lives will move from one victory to the next, all in Jesus' name, of course? How many of us believe that if we just pray the prayer of Jabez, God will provide more & more blessings, will increase our possessions for us? How much we want to believe these things are true! The cover article in this week's Time magazine poses the question of how much of the population is entranced by the Prosperity Gospel. We're inundated with the notion that God is on our side and will reward us for good behavior or correct belief.

In contrast, let's look at what Jesus tells us lies before us if we put our mind on divine things & seriously follow Jesus. Let's wrap our minds around what we have in store if we commit to growing as Jesus' disciples. First, he says that to follow Jesus, we have to give up the idea that we're in charge of our own lives, that we know what's best for ourselves & those around us. We have to give up the control to God. We must be willing to turn our will & our lives over to the care of God who loves us more than we can love ourselves & who knows what is best for us. That may be that we are willing to give up the other gods we've had in our lives: alcohol, success, the lure of money, or security for your family. What god do you bow to which you need to deny or at least put in proper perspective? For me, it has sometimes been that my own best thinking would get me where I needed to be. Giving up & asking God to guide me has been excruciatingly difficult until I've done it & realized that God knew better all along.

Jesus says we must take up our crosses to follow him. One cross that I've had to accept is that I can't go it alone. I can't just strike out, always looking out for number one, & to heck with everybody else. When I had young children, I sometimes had to give up what I wanted for myself in order to care adequately for them. Recently, I've needed to adjust my speed & my travel to what my husband Bill could tolerate. As a congregation, you've been very understanding of that fact. And the toughest cross for me to bear at times is that I'm no longer as young as I used to be, & I can't go as long or as hard as I could when I was in my 20s or 30s. I have to make allowances so I won't get too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. Those are set-ups for me to try to take back the life that I've turned over to God. I have to pace myself. I have to depend on others as I delegate tasks. Not a bad thing at all, actually. What a rude awakening to this middle-aged woman! What are the crosses which you must bear in order to be Jesus' disciple?

Next, Jesus says if we want to save our life, we must lose it, & then he says only if we let go of our life to God's care & guidance will we save it. How many times have we seen someone work really hard, really long hours, to give his or her spouse & children all the good things in life, but then the children get in all sorts of trouble with drugs or the law to get the parent's attention? One of the downsides of women's gaining equal status in the job market is that we are now equaling men in stress-related diseases like heart trouble & stroke. There's got to be a better way for both women & men to practice self-care so we can live healthily.

Jesus' next statement strikes me as particularly tricky for some of us. He says that those who are ashamed of him & of his words, he will be ashamed of us in the next life. Ouch! How many times have we said pious, God-fearing things in church & then told someone a lie in order to get something we want or need? Have you ever spoken kindly to someone's face & then talked ugly when that person's back is turned? When we decide that our way of doing things is more important than God's way, we behave as though we are ashamed of God. Do you play such games in your own life?

Here in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus begins to challenge his disciples to evaluate their own lives & see whether they can live up to the term disciple. From now until the time of his arrest & passion, he focuses upon the disciples, knowing that he must leave his Gospel to them to absorb & then go & tell others when he is no longer with them in the flesh. Furthermore, Jesus shows them that discipleship may mean they have to give their lives in his service. We don't often have to put our physical lives on the line for Jesus' sake, but today's world is as much a sinful & adulterous generation as was Jesus'. One of the books our Bonhoeffer group is studying on Wednesdays is The Cost of Discipleship.

What area of your life is Jesus calling you to put on the line for the Gospel? What would God have you place on the altar today. In a few moments, we'll say the general confession, & that's a perfect opportunity for you to give to God whatever behaviors you want to put behind you in order to take up Jesus' cross & follow him. I will offer God's absolution to you in assurance that God has forgiven you & expects you to move past that behavior to something healthier & more wholesome.

As you place your money offering into the collection plate today, I encourage you to place all your old behavior & stinkin' thinkin' that has kept you stuck in unhealthy ways of doing things right in the collection plate with your tithes & offerings. Trust God that God can redeem all that old stuff & grow in you seeds of health & wholeness you've never even dreamt of. Finally, after we've prayed the Eucharistic prayer together & offered God thanks for Christ's body & blood offered here in the Great Communion, I urge you to come forward to eat the bread & drink the wine. Christ's body & blood will strengthen you to fulfill the vows you have made with the offering today.

Does it all happen that quickly? Yes, & no. In our communion service, we enact the symbols & the ritual which represents our hearts' desires for our lives out there in the world. Through our receiving of the bread & wine here today, we gain the nourishment needed to become a more committed disciple of Jesus Christ day by day. It doesn't happen over night; it takes a lifetime. Do you have anything better to do with the rest of your life? Contemplate for a few moments what you are willing to forfeit in order to gain the whole world.