Loving God, you came to us in weakness and vulnerability rather than in power and might, and yet conquered sin and death through the way of the cross.  Continue to meet us in our brokenness and need, raising us to new life through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    After spending some time in the Holy Land this summer, I can no longer hear today’s gospel, and many other passages, without picturing where they take place.  In the case of Caesarea Philippi, the location is actually of great importance in understanding the context of the questions that Jesus is asking his disciples.

    Imagine Jesus walking along with his disciples close to the springs of the River Jordan.  As they walk along the dusty pathway, they can see the temple to the Greek god Pan, which has stood here since the days of Alexander the Great.  Pan, the nature god, is worshipped here along with other members of the pantheon, in this place of rocks and trees and flowing streams.  And here - in this place - Jesus asks the disciples two questions.

    The first question is relatively easy to answer, as Jesus asks what other people have been saying about him.  The disciples respond that some think he might be John the Baptist (or at least like him), and some think he might be Elijah, who has returned, and still others identify Jesus with one of the other prophets.  However, the second question is more to the point: “[And you -] who do you say that I am?”  Peter is the one who is bold enough to respond.  “You are the Messiah.” (Mk. 8:29) “You are the Christ,” and Matthew adds “the Son of the living God” (Mt. 16:16).  This addition in Matthew is important, too – especially as they stand near a temple dedicated to Caesar Augustus - the “son of god.”  Jesus isn’t just “Son of God,” but Son of the living God!

    And so, in the midst of Greek and Roman deities and temples, Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah.  However, it doesn’t take long before Peter and Jesus are butting heads over what kind of Messiah Jesus is going to be.  It is most likely that Peter was thinking of a Messiah that would be something like this: The Messiah (or anointed one) would come and purify society, reestablish Israel’s supremacy among the nations and would usher in a new era of peace and holiness (Matt Skinner, WorkingPreacher.com).  However, Jesus - and apparently God as well - has a different kind of Messiah in mind.

    Jesus may well be the Messiah, but he is not going to be the victorious world leader that others have in mind.  Instead, he will “undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mk. 8:31).  Peter - and undoubtedly the other disciples, too - have a hard time imagining this.  A Messiah that suffers and gets himself killed? – What kind of a Messiah is that?! – God’s kind of Messiah, as it turns out.

    Out of all of the possible ways in which God could have showed up among us, God chose the way of vulnerability, and weakness, and suffering, and death.  To those who are struggling and weak and sick and in need, this is good news indeed, for our God is not one who is far away and does not understand, but one who has been there and who understands and identifies with our pain and our need for healing.

    However, those who are feeling powerful and in control and healthy and strong still have a hard time understanding Jesus.  Some people feel that they really have no need for a Saviour, or even for God, and even less need to be strengthened and renewed through gathering together with others for worship.  The sad thing is that by the time some of these people recognize that they really do need God, they have already missed out on years that could have been spent in a life-giving relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

    Of course, today’s gospel might not sound like a life-giving relationship.  Life-giving?  Take up your cross?  Deny yourself?  Follow Jesus?  There is some seriously inverted logic there that oddly enough, turns out to be true.  I can’t help but think of the apostle Paul (or any of the other apostles, for that matter), who in the midst of being persecuted and imprisoned and flogged and hungry and thirsty and cold finds himself full of joy and peace in the Holy Spirit because of the great treasure he has found in Jesus Christ.  It really can work that way!  Yet, we do not need to seek out persecution and imprisonment in order to experience new life through Jesus and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  We also are not called to self-flagellation and enduring abuse as part of following Jesus.

    How, then, are we to understand denying ourselves and taking up our crosses?  One suggestion is that denying ourselves involves setting aside the self-definitions that others place upon us, just as Jesus wouldn’t allow others to define what sort of Messiah he was to be.  This means giving far less weight to what others have to say, and defining ourselves in the light of what God might have to say about us rather than according to how others want to define us.  Another suggestion is that following Jesus involves dropping the ego and the pride and the feeling of being good and important and recognizing instead that we are all sinners who are forgiven through Jesus, and humble servants, just as Jesus was.

    As for taking up our crosses, there is a certain amount of opening ourselves up to ridicule and risking rejection by those who are powerful in our society that is implied.  When we follow Jesus, these things could happen, just as they happened to him.  Yet, in spite of how awful this sounds to us as people who want to be liked by everyone, those who follow Jesus do discover life in all its fullness.  It’s that inverted kind of logic again, that turns out to be true.

    In closing today I’d like to share with you a poem that I wrote a number of years ago reflecting on this inverted logic.  I chose to call it “Paradox.”

PARADOX
Is not two doctors,
But a sense of humour helps.

The search for meaning
Yields platitudes and empty answers.

The more happiness is pursued,
The more it runs away.

When we get what we think we want,
We only want more.

Those who are feeling lonely
Often isolate themselves from other people.

Those who are labelled insane
Often have more insight than the sane.

Using the earth for our “comfort”
Will be the discomfort of all.

It is in darkness that
The light shines brightest.

It is only by experiencing great sorrow
That we can experience great joy.

It is when studying
That one learns the least about life.

Jesus had to suffer and die
In order to bring healing and life.

It is only by giving ourselves to others
That we find our meaning and worth and happiness.

It is in giving our life to others
That we find our very selves.

    May it be so for us, as well.  Amen.

Lectionary 24(B)                                Mark 8:27-38
September 16, 2012
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2012 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved