Mark 8:27-38
In working on this sermon this week, I ran across a note in somebody’s blog. He was in church one Sunday, and heard a text much like this one, Matthews record of this same event. So, he writes:
The sermon in church today was from where Jesus says to his disciples: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.” When I got home I thought I’d do something nice. I gave my wife a big hug and a kiss, and carried her indoors. Startled she snapped "What’s wrong with you, have you gone crazy?" "No my dear,” I replied. "Didn’t you hear the sermon? Jesus said pick up your cross and follow Me." I got a slap in the face and severe backache. No Sunday lunch either!
That’s the problem with this story, though. We don’t quite understand what Jesus is saying, what Jesus means when he says disciples must ‘take up their cross and follow.’ There are lots of misinterpretations and misunderstandings about this. I know that some pastors have used this text to encourage women in abusive relationships to see their abuse as the ‘cross’ Jesus would have them carry. When people get sick or have bad things happen in life, the church often responds by saying ‘that’s your cross to bear.’ We want to believe that God controls the bad things in life – that God causes illness or abuse or tragedy to make us stronger, more Christian, maybe even to test us. But none of this is true. And none of this is what Jesus meant by ‘take up your cross.’ It is no wonder that we don’t easily understand. After all, the disciples didn’t understand either. Even when Jesus was there, right with them, explaining to them – even then, they didn’t understand. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continue trying, working with the text, with Jesus’ intent, trying to understand better what Jesus is calling us to do.
So let’s look at the larger story. Jesus is continuing to travel with his disciples, and talking with them. Throughout the book of Mark, Jesus has rebuked everyone and everything that has attested that he’s the Messiah. So it’s interesting that as they’re traveling, Jesus asks the disciples who people say he is. The disciples answered him honestly, and correctly. People don’t know who Jesus is, but they’re guessing. They believe Jesus is from God – but they don’t know who he is or why he’s there. But note that in all their guesses, no one calls Jesus the messiah.
So Jesus continues the conversation, “But who do you say I am?” Without missing a beat, Peter jumps up – “You are the Messiah!” Messiah is a Hebrew word meaning ‘anointed one.’ Peter is saying “You, Jesus, are the Anointed One!” But this anointing, this messiah-ship means something to Peter, to the disciples, to the Jews. Their whole religion is built around being God’s chosen people – a people to whom a messiah will come. And they believe this messiah will take back this people for God. He will be anointed king and ride in on chariots of fire, attacking the Romans with vengeance. He will turn the world upside-down through military might, turning the Jewish state into a military power that will rule the world. And all people will come to Jerusalem to pay taxes and to see the world’s most powerful city, and to praise the God who made it so.
So Peter makes this great statement of faith – “You, Jesus, are the Messiah.” And he is WRONG. Because Jesus is the anointed one. Jesus is sent from God. Jesus is going to turn the world upside-down. But not through might and not through power. Jesus is going to change the world by becoming a servant, a cross-bearing criminal, an innocent martyr.
And so, we hear that Jesus ‘sternly ordered’ them to tell no one. They could tell no one, because they didn’t yet understand. Even in Peter’s excitement, in his bold profession of faith, something is missing. And Jesus doesn’t want the disciples preaching the wrong message. So Jesus orders them to tell no one.
And then he begins teaching them who he really is, what it really means to be the Messiah. He rephrases what Peter says – calling himself not ‘the Messiah,’ but ‘the Human One.’ What defines Jesus is not that he was anointed by God, but that he was granted humanness by God. He got to come to earth as a human and participate in human activities. He gets to teach humans and know humans through being human himself. So, he says, the human one, the Son of Man must undergo suffering. His teaching, his self-understanding, will be rejected by all the Jewish leaders and scholars. And he will be killed for this. He will be killed for his love and his care of his human brothers and sisters. But then, after three days, he will rise again. This is how God is going to change things. This is how God is going to turn the world upside-down.
But here, not only do the disciples not anticipate this, they still don’t understand it. They don’t understand how the prophecies will be fulfilled through Jesus’ death. They don’t understand that God’s reign, God’s kindom, is about love and care and right relationship between all people and all creation. And so Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes him – sternly orders him not to say such things.
Imagine Jesus now. He’s just told the disciples as plainly as he could who he is. And they don’t understand. They don’t understand so much that Peter is arguing with him. That’s not who you are! You don’t know who you are. Imagine the disappointment, the frustration that Jesus would experience. And so he rebukes Peter right back. He sternly orders him, “Get behind me Satan!” Peter is so concerned with earthly things – the beliefs and myths that his religion has taught him – that he is unable to see divine things. Peter is so concerned about Jesus ‘winning’ and conquering the Romans that he can’t see God’s plan is bigger than that. That God’s kindom isn’t about vengeance or power, it’s about inclusion and mutuality. So Jesus has to explain further, to try to get the disciples to understand what God’s plan is all about.
And this is the context into which Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow. It is in this context, where Jesus knows what is coming for him, that Jesus asks disciples to step into. God does not send a cross for us to bear. God does not cause tragedies to happen. God does not make people abusive. God does not intend for us to get sick or to be killed. Rather, Jesus asks us to follow him – knowing that the world, this “sinful and adulterous generation,” can’t handle God’s plan. The world can’t handle God’s love for all people. We don’t want to give up any of what we have so that those with nothing could have something. We don’t want to give any of our power to those whose voices are never heard. We don’t want to risk being in right relationship with others – with all of creation – because that means we can’t be in control anymore, we can’t have all the power anymore. And we don’t like that. The world doesn’t like that.
So if we choose to do what God is calling us to do, what Jesus asks us to do. If we choose to pick up our cross and follow, then we know we are walking in Jesus’ footsteps. We are choosing to walk into the world and care about it. To care for those the world doesn’t care about – the poor, the sick, the widows and widowers, the orphans, the single mothers, the drug addicts, the abused, the alcoholics, the homeless, the hungry, the mentally ill, those without clean water, the latch-key kids, the lonely, the prisoners, even the environment. And in this caring, there may be challenges. There may be hardship. There may be death. But we choose to care because God calls us to care. We choose to care because that’s what it means to be a disciple – a follower – of Jesus.
And so the question is, who is God calling us to care for today. You, people of St. James, have been caring for God’s world for your entire existence. St. James has cared for each of you and your families. St. James has cared for the sick, visiting them in hospitals. St. James has cared for refugees, sending blankets overseas and stocking a family’s bathroom. St. James has cared for people with mental illness, donating money and praying for the work of the Lutheran Social Services of Illinois. St. James has cared for prisoners and their families, donating Christmas presents on the angel tree. St. James has made its mission to grow in faith and share God’s love. This is our mission. This is what we at St. James are here to do. We worship, we meet for Bible study and adult forums, we share our time and our faith with each other. And, we share God’s love. We give to the World Hunger Appeal. We donate to LSSI. We put on the Oktoberfest and invite the community to know our love and God’s love.
In working on this sermon this week, I ran across a note in somebody’s blog. He was in church one Sunday, and heard a text much like this one, Matthews record of this same event. So, he writes:
The sermon in church today was from where Jesus says to his disciples: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.” When I got home I thought I’d do something nice. I gave my wife a big hug and a kiss, and carried her indoors. Startled she snapped "What’s wrong with you, have you gone crazy?" "No my dear,” I replied. "Didn’t you hear the sermon? Jesus said pick up your cross and follow Me." I got a slap in the face and severe backache. No Sunday lunch either!
That’s the problem with this story, though. We don’t quite understand what Jesus is saying, what Jesus means when he says disciples must ‘take up their cross and follow.’ There are lots of misinterpretations and misunderstandings about this. I know that some pastors have used this text to encourage women in abusive relationships to see their abuse as the ‘cross’ Jesus would have them carry. When people get sick or have bad things happen in life, the church often responds by saying ‘that’s your cross to bear.’ We want to believe that God controls the bad things in life – that God causes illness or abuse or tragedy to make us stronger, more Christian, maybe even to test us. But none of this is true. And none of this is what Jesus meant by ‘take up your cross.’ It is no wonder that we don’t easily understand. After all, the disciples didn’t understand either. Even when Jesus was there, right with them, explaining to them – even then, they didn’t understand. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continue trying, working with the text, with Jesus’ intent, trying to understand better what Jesus is calling us to do.
So let’s look at the larger story. Jesus is continuing to travel with his disciples, and talking with them. Throughout the book of Mark, Jesus has rebuked everyone and everything that has attested that he’s the Messiah. So it’s interesting that as they’re traveling, Jesus asks the disciples who people say he is. The disciples answered him honestly, and correctly. People don’t know who Jesus is, but they’re guessing. They believe Jesus is from God – but they don’t know who he is or why he’s there. But note that in all their guesses, no one calls Jesus the messiah.
So Jesus continues the conversation, “But who do you say I am?” Without missing a beat, Peter jumps up – “You are the Messiah!” Messiah is a Hebrew word meaning ‘anointed one.’ Peter is saying “You, Jesus, are the Anointed One!” But this anointing, this messiah-ship means something to Peter, to the disciples, to the Jews. Their whole religion is built around being God’s chosen people – a people to whom a messiah will come. And they believe this messiah will take back this people for God. He will be anointed king and ride in on chariots of fire, attacking the Romans with vengeance. He will turn the world upside-down through military might, turning the Jewish state into a military power that will rule the world. And all people will come to Jerusalem to pay taxes and to see the world’s most powerful city, and to praise the God who made it so.
So Peter makes this great statement of faith – “You, Jesus, are the Messiah.” And he is WRONG. Because Jesus is the anointed one. Jesus is sent from God. Jesus is going to turn the world upside-down. But not through might and not through power. Jesus is going to change the world by becoming a servant, a cross-bearing criminal, an innocent martyr.
And so, we hear that Jesus ‘sternly ordered’ them to tell no one. They could tell no one, because they didn’t yet understand. Even in Peter’s excitement, in his bold profession of faith, something is missing. And Jesus doesn’t want the disciples preaching the wrong message. So Jesus orders them to tell no one.
And then he begins teaching them who he really is, what it really means to be the Messiah. He rephrases what Peter says – calling himself not ‘the Messiah,’ but ‘the Human One.’ What defines Jesus is not that he was anointed by God, but that he was granted humanness by God. He got to come to earth as a human and participate in human activities. He gets to teach humans and know humans through being human himself. So, he says, the human one, the Son of Man must undergo suffering. His teaching, his self-understanding, will be rejected by all the Jewish leaders and scholars. And he will be killed for this. He will be killed for his love and his care of his human brothers and sisters. But then, after three days, he will rise again. This is how God is going to change things. This is how God is going to turn the world upside-down.
But here, not only do the disciples not anticipate this, they still don’t understand it. They don’t understand how the prophecies will be fulfilled through Jesus’ death. They don’t understand that God’s reign, God’s kindom, is about love and care and right relationship between all people and all creation. And so Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes him – sternly orders him not to say such things.
Imagine Jesus now. He’s just told the disciples as plainly as he could who he is. And they don’t understand. They don’t understand so much that Peter is arguing with him. That’s not who you are! You don’t know who you are. Imagine the disappointment, the frustration that Jesus would experience. And so he rebukes Peter right back. He sternly orders him, “Get behind me Satan!” Peter is so concerned with earthly things – the beliefs and myths that his religion has taught him – that he is unable to see divine things. Peter is so concerned about Jesus ‘winning’ and conquering the Romans that he can’t see God’s plan is bigger than that. That God’s kindom isn’t about vengeance or power, it’s about inclusion and mutuality. So Jesus has to explain further, to try to get the disciples to understand what God’s plan is all about.
And this is the context into which Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow. It is in this context, where Jesus knows what is coming for him, that Jesus asks disciples to step into. God does not send a cross for us to bear. God does not cause tragedies to happen. God does not make people abusive. God does not intend for us to get sick or to be killed. Rather, Jesus asks us to follow him – knowing that the world, this “sinful and adulterous generation,” can’t handle God’s plan. The world can’t handle God’s love for all people. We don’t want to give up any of what we have so that those with nothing could have something. We don’t want to give any of our power to those whose voices are never heard. We don’t want to risk being in right relationship with others – with all of creation – because that means we can’t be in control anymore, we can’t have all the power anymore. And we don’t like that. The world doesn’t like that.
So if we choose to do what God is calling us to do, what Jesus asks us to do. If we choose to pick up our cross and follow, then we know we are walking in Jesus’ footsteps. We are choosing to walk into the world and care about it. To care for those the world doesn’t care about – the poor, the sick, the widows and widowers, the orphans, the single mothers, the drug addicts, the abused, the alcoholics, the homeless, the hungry, the mentally ill, those without clean water, the latch-key kids, the lonely, the prisoners, even the environment. And in this caring, there may be challenges. There may be hardship. There may be death. But we choose to care because God calls us to care. We choose to care because that’s what it means to be a disciple – a follower – of Jesus.
And so the question is, who is God calling us to care for today. You, people of St. James, have been caring for God’s world for your entire existence. St. James has cared for each of you and your families. St. James has cared for the sick, visiting them in hospitals. St. James has cared for refugees, sending blankets overseas and stocking a family’s bathroom. St. James has cared for people with mental illness, donating money and praying for the work of the Lutheran Social Services of Illinois. St. James has cared for prisoners and their families, donating Christmas presents on the angel tree. St. James has made its mission to grow in faith and share God’s love. This is our mission. This is what we at St. James are here to do. We worship, we meet for Bible study and adult forums, we share our time and our faith with each other. And, we share God’s love. We give to the World Hunger Appeal. We donate to LSSI. We put on the Oktoberfest and invite the community to know our love and God’s love.
And so now, what is God calling us to do? Where is God calling us to be? I sense that God is calling us to care for our community, to offer careful love to the people who sit in our pews every week or just one week. I sense that God is calling us to care for our neighborhood – to invite people to church – inviting our friends, the waitress at the restaurant, the nurse who stops by to check on us, the person who delivers our mail. And I sense that God is calling us to care beyond that – perhaps for women and children affected by domestic violence. Perhaps for teenagers who feel alone and need a mentor. Perhaps for people living in group homes or halfway houses who don’t have a ride to church. Or perhaps you feel God is calling us to care for someone else, different people.
Whoever God calls us to care for, we know that God is calling us to care. Jesus is asking us to pick up this cross – knowing that it may be difficult, it may be painful, but it is absolutely imperative. Jesus asks us to pick up this cross and follow him. May we be bold to do so. May we be bold to announce Jesus as the one who will turn the world upside-down. May we be bold to announce that we will follow Jesus, even into suffering or death. And may we be in conversation about who God is calling us to care about now, and how God is calling us to care. Because this is call. This is our mission. And may we be ever faithful to it. Amen.
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