Sermon for March 8th

Jesus sets two difficult demands upon those who believe in him in today’s gospel. First, the Son of Man must (MUST!) undergo great suffering, be rejected, be killed and after three days rise again. Second, if any want to be his followers, they are called to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow him. Follow him to suffering and death.

The disciples can’t imagine losing their friend, their teacher, their leader, their Messiah—Peter expresses that pretty clearly when he rebukes Jesus. But while this demand is hard, the next demand is even harder. Jesus says, “If any want to be my followers, let them deny themselves and follow me.” Today, I intend on equipping you to deal with the cross and suffering you will be called on to bear when the time comes. Some will suffer shortly and some will suffer long. We will all die one day, we don’t have to seek it out. Death will find us. In the same way, we shall all suffer, the question is, how will you deal with that suffering? Where will you turn when there is no escaping from it.

We like the idea that we could “escape” death rather than go through it. In the movie Star Wars Episode Three, the evil chancellor tells Anakin Skywalker that the Jedi would have him believe that death is natural. Yoda had said previously that death should be simply accepted and that any feelings of grief at the loss were signs of jealousy and greed. The chancellor says that there is another way to deal with death . . . to escape it.

Jesus said that he would actually have to die, not a beautifully natural thing and not something he could escape. It had to happen and the disciples didn’t like that idea too much. That didn’t seem like much of a goal. There’s nothing I could do or would want to do to convince you that dying for the sake of Jesus and your faith is a positive thing. We should all do our best NOT to aim for THAT as our goal. Why? Because death is not the new goal for a Christian.

But you, yourself, are not the new goal either. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I am always affected when I read the Voice of the Martyrs magazine about people who are being killed for their faith in Jesus Christ. However, even these people don’t normally just die for their belief in Jesus. They die for what they have done for others. Sharing the love of Jesus, teaching, being a pastor, standing up to civil injustices and that sort of thing. When Jesus says to take up your cross, the new goal is not you, nor is it your death, the goal is to serve. And when the time comes for your cross to be laid upon your shoulders, when you are called into service,I want you to be equipped to handle it. Whether you are called to take care of your spouse as they are dying, called to protect a young child from an abusive parent, called to drive someone to church or called to teach English in a country where Christianity is outlawed.

Once again, a Christian’s goal is not death, the goal is Jesus. The goal is the gospel. The goal is to inform and serve your neighbors—to share forgiveness with those who have not heard. But Jesus knew very well what the reaction would be to this proclamation. Jesus understood that while death was not the goal, it was the inevitable consequence of the message. Even today, in America. People tolerate Jesus, but they do not tolerate Christians. Christian beliefs are pummeled with words in the name of free speech. People are looked down on if they are too much of a Jesus freak. Have you ever been criticized, harassed or beaten for speaking about Jesus and the stories about him? Probably not. But are there times you haven’t talked about Jesus before you were afraid something bad might happen?

For me, personally, the biggest obstacle to sharing my faith is that I am afraid that I will look less socially attractive to the person I am talking to. I am a social person, and I like people to think that I am not only smart, but funny, tolerant, loving, thoughtful and, of course, humble. If I bring up even so simple a fact that I am the pastor of the Lutheran church in Cornwall, often conversations change. People probably figure that I might invite them to church or something. And nobody would want that! And what if I did? Invite them to church I mean. Well, that would just make things more uncomfortable wouldn’t it. Nobody wants to hang out with some Jesus freak. So do I always talk to people about Jesus when I’d like to? No. Why? Because there are many times when I treasure my possible friendship or ego or good name more than my relationship with Jesus. I often hesitate just long enough to miss my opportunity because I am worried that I’ll be seen in a poor light by those I am in contact with.

That’s what setting your mind on human things rather than divine things looks like in my life. So let’s talk about how you might journey through this same experience as well without compromising your faith. You will always need a loving community, friendship and a good name, but you are also called to follow Jesus, tell his story and proclaim the message about the forgiveness of sins. And following Jesus is bound to lead to some suffering.

First, this church, Saint Peters must be a place where people can find a home, find support and hear the message of Jesus. We come here to bed fed with God’s Word so that we know the stories and hear God’s forgiveness so that we can go back out to places where God’s Word is unknown and his stories untold. This community is called to be a place where people can share their joys, sorrows and sins openly and find support even if they can find no support anywhere else. A strong faith community like Saint Peters is essential in the midst of suffering.

Second, we must pray for one another. We can’t just see each other at church and hope that we’ll see each other again. When we get home, we’ve gotta connect with one another. If you notice that someone is gone, find out their name and be proactive about seeking them out; find out where they were. Someone close to me stopped going to one church because she didn’t show up for five weeks in a row and nobody called to see how she was. She didn’t feel cared for by those who were supposed to be her brothers and sisters in Christ. A strong faith community is a community that prayers for one another even in the midst of suffering.

Third, immerse yourself in God’s Word. Bible studies, attending worship, listening to Christian radio, reading your Bible, praying, conversations with other believers. When I go to the doctor, I expect her to know a good deal about my health problem. I want her to know different procedures to help me and to be read up on the latest medical information. If someone finds out that you are a Christian, it’s important that you have a basic knowledge of the Bible so you can answer some basic questions. It’s important that you can say something about your faith. You won’t know everything and people don’t want you to, but if you don’t know much of anything, it betrays a lack of interest.

And being immersed in God’s Word, both hearing it and reading it yourself, does something even more important, it gives you the words to speak. Prayer gives you a way to handle the difficult times in your life and provides a way to calm yourself before speaking to someone about faith topics. If you think that it is important to share the message of Jesus with others, but you don’t know how or when you would do it, focus first on your personal relationship with God and soon you’ll find yourself sharing the message without even really trying. It will come naturally. Scripture tells us that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. When your heart is full of love for the Lord, it will come up naturally in conversations without feeling forced.

A strong community of faith. Prayer. And a closer relationship to God’s Word. These are three things that might help you feel equipped when you are called on to confess your faith, to serve others, to suffer—to bear a cross. However, it is important to remember where all this will lead you. Jesus says that to follow him, means following him to suffering and finally death. So don’t be surprised when you get a funny look. People who need love and support will often not be interested and find it offensive that you even brought it up! You might risk a friendship even though you love someone very dearly because they don’t want Jesus. Three’s a crowd you know. I know that this is frustrating and not what you’d like to hear, but it is the truth.

You are loved and cared for by the people in this place, I pray that you might realize that even if everyone disowned you, you would be supported here. While you are crying and hurting or nervous, know that you are being prayed for by the people in this place. Trust that you are in God’s loving hands throughout all of it. And finally, when you would rather not say anything at all, read the stories in the Bible, about God’s faithful servants, and come to church again to hear the words of forgiveness spoken for you. Once you realize how much you need to hear that you are forgiven, you might think of others who’d like to hear it too. Your friends, your family and your neighbors need to hear this message as much as you or me. I can’t motivate you to tell someone about how much God loves them, but God, through his Holy Spirit, can and will.

Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priest and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said , “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Some of you will suffer shortly and some will suffer long. But Jesus has suffered for you so that no matter when or how you suffer in your life for his sake and for the sake of sharing the gospel message, you can be assured that embarrassment, criticism, rejection and even death is not the last word for you. “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” Amen.