Sara called this past Sunday upset because the preacher had dutifully used this text from Mark 8 from the lectionary. He read it all...Jesus and his disciples hiking to the villages of Ceasarea Philippi and on the way asking them "Who do people say that I am?"...Peter's confession "You are the Christ."...Jesus teaching them that he must suffer, be killed, and after three days rise again...Peter objecting to this kind of talk and Jesus saying to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." The preacher even read verses 34-38...And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Since I did not hear the sermon Sara heard, I don't know all the preacher's points. Her objection focused on the fact that when he preached about the sacrifice of taking up one's cross it had to do with things that might "hurt" a little...things like giving a little more money, etc. Sara knew the preacher had opted out of the hard reality of this text. Sara knew that taking up one's cross and following Jesus is not about superficial sacrifices that might or might not cause us a little discomfort. Sara admitted that all the preacher had said about the text was sound as far as it went, but it could have gone so much farther. It needed to go so much farther.
Two days later, I heard a sermon on this text at a preacher's meeting. Another reading of the entire text. Another sermon with content that was sound...as far as it went. This sermon emphasized the knowledge of who Jesus is. While I agree, even we in the church need to acknowledge the Messiah Jesus, this sermon did not even mention, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it..."
I'm with you, Sara. In the church and especially in a room full of preacher's we should know and acknowledge who Jesus is, but we dare not stop there. To stop there and not deal with the self-denial, the cross-bearing that we are called to, the losing of our lives for the sake of Jesus and the gospel IS a denial of Jesus and his word. Lord, have mercy on us!
I think of all of those who have given their lives for the gospel through the millenia. I think of those who have been and are being persecuted today for the proclamation of Jesus the Messiah and his word. When we can't even bring it up in our sermons on this text, what does that say to and about these who have suffered? When we can't or don't or won't bring up the call to sacrificially follow Jesus (not just give a little more in the offering plate) by giving up our lives, what does it say about us? Lord, have mercy on us!
Jesus, was teaching his disciples and the crowd that followed. He was teaching them that to follow him meant to REALLY follow him. He went to the cross. If we are his followers we must also be willing to suffer and die. To be his followers we must also be willing to lose our lives for his sake. To be his followers we must not be ashamed of him and his words. If we can't commit to that, can we call ourselves followers of Jesus?
It isn't that hard to commit to a little discomfort, a small sacrifice of time or money here and there. We in the church in America are great at small, superficial sacrifices. I'm pretty sure that doesn't impress anyone in heaven. When we have the opportunity to preach this text...we dare not blow it!
