Sermons for the Month
Jesus is Your Boss, so Walk the Way of the Cross
DATE: September 17th, 2006
SERVICE: Stewardship theme: WALK- 15th Sunday after Pentecost
TEXT: Mark 8:27-38“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
This was the first week of preschool classes here at Faith Lutheran. There are always some tears as parents and children deal with being separated from one another, but once past that, the big challenge in the 3-year-old class is walking, specifically walking in line. Oh, you laugh, but I assure you that this lesson is a difficult one. You see, 3-year-olds do not grasp the concept of "line", let alone "straight" or "follow". The teachers tell me that the only way to teach walking in line is to show them how to do it, again and again and again. The good news is that by December they'll be expert line walkers, which facilitates getting their little bodies from here to there in the church safely. As I chuckled about this process it occurred to me that although we learn to follow early in life, sometimes we loose our way, especially when it comes to following Jesus. Peter had that problem in today's Gospel lesson. You may recall that when Peter first met Jesus, our Lord said to him, "Follow me." That's what Peter had been doing, not perfectly, of course, but he's been following Jesus along with the other 11 disciples, some supportive women, and the crowds who are astounded at what Jesus has said and done. He has been following up until the events that are described in today's Gospel lesson. When Peter rebukes Jesus he steps out in front and ceases to follow. In a way, though, you cannot blame him. Just before the events that are described in today's text Jesus healed a blind man. Before that he released a little girl from the debilitating effects of what was described as an "unclean spirit". And before that he fed thousands of people with five loaves and two fish. The disciples might be thinking that the sacrifices they made to follow Jesus are beginning to pay off. After all, the crowds are increasing and are responding to him. Jesus is in position to do what they expect a Messiah to do, which is to drive out the Roman occupiers and establish Israel's glory by ushering in a golden age. So, when asked who people say that Jesus is, Peter boldly proclaims that he is the Messiah. It was a stellar moment until Jesus himself began talking about the suffering, rejection and death that are on his horizon. Such negativity has no place in this moment of nationalistic hope, so Peter steps out of his position as follower (he steps out of line) and rebukes Jesus. It was not a good moment. Jesus orders him to resume his place as a follower in a shocking way, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." In other words, Get in line, Peter, follow. Jesus is your boss, so walk the way of the cross. Today's theme word for our stewardship emphasis is WALK. I created that catchy phrase - "Jesus is your boss, so walk the way of the cross" - to help us remember it. But, I have to admit that although it's a catchy phrase, it's not such a catchy message because the way of the cross is definitely a hard sell. How do I describe it? As is true of the words "straight line" and "follow" for three-year-olds, the concept of "the way of the cross" may bounce off us without sinking in. So, as is true for the children, we need to be shown "the way". That's exactly what Jesus did. He gave up divine power, esteem and oneness with God to endure humiliation, pain and abandonment on the cross. Why? He suffered for us, so that as we follow him now our lives will be fuller and when we die we will walk with him into eternity. That means, and here's the part that is a bit of a hard sell, that as his followers we are willing to give up what we cling to (and perhaps trust too much) for Jesus, so that his love can be conveyed to a hurting world through us. That process of laying down our "stuff", in order to carry the cross, is what is involved in walking the way of the cross. I may have shared this with you before now, but I like the story that another pastor tells about preaching a story on taking up the cross. After the service someone pulled the pastor aside and said, "I'll tell you what people want to hear, they want to hear how God is going to help them." It was a mild rebuke that the pastor interpreted in this way, "Quit talking about the cross. Tell us God loves us. Tell us that God answers prayer. Tell us that God will help us. Tell us that God will solve our problems. But don't tell us to take up the cross." (1) In other words, let us be carried rather than being compelled to WALK. Obviously, there are times in our lives - often times of difficulty - when God carries us. But, to be a disciple of Jesus we have to walk, to follow Jesus, to deny ourselves and take up the cross daily. What does that mean in concrete terms? Obviously, it has to do with giving up our time, our abilities and our money (which I have to point out was given to us in the first place) for Jesus' sake. But, that's just the tip of the ice berg, so to speak, because walking the way of the cross is about an inner attitude of following, of always seeing Jesus as the one who leads. When I went to Egypt earlier this year I saw this so clearly in the lives of the Christians we encountered there. Perhaps because they are the vast minority, and following Jesus is not just difficult but sometimes dangerous, it's easier to see how people are walking the way of the cross. I think of the church we visited in Alexandria (I've mentioned them before), a small congregation by American standards. There were no more than 100 people in worship, and yet those followers of Jesus founded and support a school and residence for disabled people, a day care, a facility for the elderly, a medical clinic and have started two out-lying Christian congregations. The funding for all this comes from some outside sources, but is primarily from the church members whose lives are visibly impacted by the sacrifice. They do it because the one way that Christians can legally be visible in a Muslim country is by providing services that are available to all people. I saw this willingness to take up the cross in the home where I stayed. The father was constantly reading the Bible; he must have had it memorized. And yet, on the night before I left, the family was gathered and he asked me to teach them from scripture. This is a man who did not even think women should be pastors, yet he valued God's word so much that he wanted to hear what I had to say. It was a difficult interaction since I do not speak Arabic and the daughters of the family were the only English speakers, and they struggled. I quoted scripture from memory - since I did not have an English Bible in front of me - the translating was done into Arabic and the responses back into English. We really worked to communicate, yet, we shared God's word. And when, to show respect, I asked the father to teach us, he spoke of the passage from John in which Jesus says that no one can snatch his sheep out of his hand. (John 10:27-28) I had the sense that the passage was important to him because there was real danger that as he followed Jesus, as he took up the cross, that someone would attempt to snatch him or his loved ones away from the faith or even threaten their lives. For them, following was a very real sacrifice in which every Christian has an important role that is not to be taken for granted. We are fortunate not to face such challenges, but the fact that we don't means that we are more inclined to do what Peter did. We step out of place behind Jesus and put ourselves and our agendas in the lead. We focus our attention on human things, not divine, and may glance at the cross now and then, but fail to really carry it. And when that happens, we miss out on the fuller life that Jesus promises to those who follow. So, we too need to be reminded to get back in line. "Jesus is your boss, so walk the way of the cross." Just say it a few times today, tomorrow, the next day. "Jesus is my boss, so I'll walk the way of the cross." It may become a prayer that stirs us more and more to deny ourselves, take up the cross and follow.
AMEN