Sermon for 2nd Sunday in Lent: 1 March 2015

Sermon for Sunday, 1 March 2015

2^nd Sunday in Lent

Lutheran Church of the Redeemer,Jerusalem

The Rev. Carrie B. Smith

Mark 8:31-38

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Priceless and ancient artifacts destroyed by extremist Muslims in Mosul. A mosque near Bethlehem and a church in Jerusalem burned by Jewish settlers. A BBC report that Europe is seeing an alarming rise in anti-Jewish sentiment. Christian protestors yell insults as a Muslim schoolgirl sings the national anthem in the Oklahoma state capitol. A secular Bangladeshi blogger is killed on the street for writing about the “virus of faith.” As a person of faith today—of any faith—there is much in the news of the world for which I may feel ashamed.

Notre Dame Jerusalem Global Gateway
students at the shrine of Sarah
Ibrahimi Mosque, Hebron.
Photo by Carrie Smith.

Shame is certainly one of the feelings I experienced this week on a visit to Hebron in the WestBank. As I stood before the shrines for Abraham and Sarah in the Ibrahimi Mosque, the weight of atrocities committed in the name of the God I worship—the same God worshipped by this forefather and foremother of three faiths—was heavy on my heart.  Horrific massacres and the ongoing tragedy of occupation are truly shameful tributes to the God of Abraham and Sarah. Of course, we would not identify ourselves with extremist perpetrators of violence and terror, but the fact that such terrible deeds are done in the name of God makes our faith in a God of peace, justice, mercy, and love increasingly difficult for others to understand or even to believe.

This fact also makes our bold, shameless confession of faith—and an equally bold commitment to living out that faith—more important than ever.

In this morning’s Gospel lesson, we hear these strong words from Jesus about the nature of discipleship:

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 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. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

These challenging words were spoken to a crowd which included all the disciples, but they were surely directed at Peter. Peter, after all, had just rebuked Jesus for announcing he would soon suffer, be rejected, and killed, and after three days rise again. Peter, it seems, was ashamed of the path ahead for his teacher and friend.

“Ashamed” may seem a strong word to impose upon the one called the “rock of the church”, one of the first to confess Jesus as “Messiah”, but Scripture makes it pretty clear Peter was shocked and scandalized by what he was hearing. Just as the increase of religious violence in the world today could make us reluctant to be identified as people of faith, so Peter was reluctant to be identified with a teacher and prophet who was about to be violently killed.

After all, Peter was Jesus’ right hand man. He had signed on to the journey because he believed in Jesus’ message and the kingdom he represented. But one might expect that being the right hand man to the Prince of Peace would come with a good benefits package! Peter might have wanted to be a prince, or a vice president, or assistant to the bishop. He might have been expecting a corner office, or at least his own group of followers once this Kingdom of God venture got off the ground.

But instead, Jesus is openly talking about suffering, and rejection, and death. He lays out a path that is all guts and no glory. So Peter takes him aside and rebukes him—either because he himself rejects the plan, or because he doesn’t think it will play well to the crowd, or maybe a little bit of both.

Jesus’ answer to Peter is swift and sharp: "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

Icon of the crucifixion
Athens, Greece
Photo by Carrie Smith

The cross of Christ is no less a scandal today than it was 2,000 years ago. We’re still setting our minds on human things—things like glory and triumph, comfort and privilege. The extreme popularity of churches preaching the so-called “prosperity gospel” is one example. The increasing interest in forming theocracies and imposing belief on entire populations is another.

Those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus still struggle with what it means to follow in the footsteps of one “who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, (he) humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-10)

Thanks be to God, our salvation depends neither on our ability nor our willingness to carry anything whatsoever. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) We are not required to carry the cross. We don’t need to walk to Calvary to atone for our sins, because Jesus already did it. And still…Jesus invites, calls, beckons to us, “If you want to be my disciple, take up your cross and follow me.”

Jesus invites us to live the Good News and join him in this self-emptying, “other-centric” walk of faith, but we, like Peter, have a hard time hearing it. We sanitize it, we talk around it, we spiritualize it, until “the cross we must bear” becomes an annoying neighbor, a bill we don’t want to pay, an illness we must suffer, or some other burden of daily life.

We downplay the Way of Jesus because the truth of the cross we are asked to carry is not only scandalous but shameful. It can’t be emphasized enough that the cross was and is an instrument of torture and death. What we now wear as jewelry or claim as a symbol of triumph was a human invention designed to cause suffering, death…and shame.

"Pieta" by Paul Fryer

I often wonder what the equivalent contemporary symbol of shame and suffering and death would be today. Some churches have created Stations of the Cross with photographs depicting each station. Images of lynchings of African-Americans, or of Jesus in an electric chair, stand out as fairly accurate modern interpretations. But one could also make the case that a rainbow flag, homelessness, illegal immigrant status, or a Muslim woman’s headscarf are as heavy and shameful to carry as the cross today.

Jesus said, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 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.” Not many of us will be called to give up our lives for the sake of our faith, thanks be to God. And Jesus is no cult leader or terror mastermind, demanding violent displays of allegiance.

But discipleship is costly. Boldly living the Gospel of love may mean carrying the burden of criticism from family or friends. Speaking out for justice may mean suffering retribution from an employer. Challenging systems of oppression may bring the weight of the system down upon us. Standing for peace and reconciliation in a world of violence and triumphalism may mean being thought a fool, or worse.

It’s a scandalous choice, to follow the way of the cross.

But we are not ashamed. We are not ashamed, for “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; (and) God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:27)

It’s been said that the core message of the entire Bible is “Be not afraid.” It’s mentioned in some form or another at least one hundred times. 

Indeed, our faith in the God of Abraham and Sarah teaches us to “be not afraid,” no matter where our journey takes us.

At the same time, I believe a core message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is “Be not ashamed.”

Be not ashamed to love.

Be not ashamed to confess your own failings.

Be not ashamed to associate with the outcast, the persecuted, and the despised.

Be not ashamed to live for others.

Be not ashamed to speak for justice.

Be not ashamed to show mercy.

Be not ashamed to carry the cross.

Be not ashamed, for Jesus has already borne the ultimate shame.

Jesus has already taken on the weight of our sin, of our lack of faith, of our violent thoughts and deeds, of our unwillingness to forgive or to make peace or to love those who are different.

From the gates of Jerusalem to Golgotha, Jesus carried the shame of the cross on his body for the sake of the world. And now we are invited to follow him in carrying the cross for the sake of others. This is no call to power, or purity, or revenge, or triumphalism. The call of discipleship is a call to life—a life lived for God and for neighbor. Of this we are not afraid. Of this, we will never be ashamed. Amen.