2008-08-31 Pentecost 16

Pentecost 16 -- Aug. 31, 2008 “The Cross: Not What We Want, but What We Need” Matt. 16:21-28 “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” IN the Name of Jesus. Amen In order to be successful in business, you must give people what they want. You must cater to the consumer. Those of you in business know that this is no easy task—for people have all sorts of ideas of what they want. And if you don’t give them what they want, they will simply go somewhere else. These ideas carry over into the realm of religion. There is a proliferation of places that provide people with the things they desire when it comes to a deity. We want a god that we can be comfortable with, that will, like a genie in a bottle, be there to grant our wishes and to supply us with our wants. Even Christians are prone to such thinking, which is why we find such an abundance of “church shopping” these days. The modern mindset is, if I’m not getting what I want at this church, I’ll just go find another one. The Gospel lesson for today is a radical call to Christians to reexamine this kind of thinking. For in it Jesus speaks not of what is wanted—but what is needed. His words are directed to Peter and the disciples, but they apply equally to each of us. If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” In order to understand and appreciate these words, we need to back up a bit. Just prior to this Jesus had asked the disciples a question about His identity: “Who do men say that I am”. Do you remember 1

their answer? It’s there in verse 14 of this chapter. (read) Though the people would have liked to have had another Elijah, or John the Baptist, none of these answers were correct. And so Jesus asks, “But who do YOU say that I am?” And how did Peter answer? Again, if you don’t know, look at verse 16. (read) This was quite a confession of faith! A confession prompted not by Peter in and of himself, but of God the Father, as Jesus makes clear. It was a confession of Jesus as the Christ—the Messiah—The One who had come to redeem Israel. Jesus would, and in fact HAS, done so. But not in the way that was expected—nor in the manner that people wanted. And this is where people have the problem when it comes to Jesus. For you see, He is not interested in being a “successful” savior— at least not in the way that we think of success. If Jesus had been catering to the whims and wants of the world— be it at that time or in this, He would’ve taken aside the disciples and begun to draw up a ministry strategy. Perhaps He would have had a demographic survey done, or maybe put together a long-range plan. Together with the disciples they would have strategized, made up a marketing plan, and put the pieces together necessary for their expansion. But Jesus did not come to give the people what they wanted—but what they needed. And that is why we hear Him speak of an event that is shocking, even today. He speaks of betrayal and beatings, of the cross and the crucifixion. That is NOT what Peter wanted to hear. For that is NOT the kind of Messiah he had been expecting. Peter wanted a Messiah King like David or Solomon. 2

Peter wanted a palace and a position of prestige. For he was part of the inner circle of disciples. Remember, at this point in His ministry Jesus was still quite popular, and had just commended Peter. Having this status was probably a pretty heady thing for Peter. Quite possibly he was imagining what position he would hold in the Messiah King’s cabinet. He could’ve been envisioning holding court with all sorts of influential rulers and dignitaries. What a shock it was to hear his Lord talking about being betrayed, and crucified and killed at the hands of the religious leaders—that was the farthest thing from Peter’s mind— the last thing that Peter wanted. And that is why he responded by saying “Never, Lord! This will never happen to you!” Like us, Peter had in mind the things of men, not the things of God. Like us, Peter had his mind set on gaining the world—at the price of losing his soul. Like us, Peter wanted a cross of his own choosing—not the one that he would see His Lord carrying to the place of His crucifixion. And that is why Jesus calls Peter Satan—his wants and desires are leading him on the dark descent to hell. It is the same place our limitless lusts lead us. Yes, to hell. We know that Hell is a place of torment and torture. But in Dante’s Inferno it is also portrayed as the place where the inhabitants are given everything they always wanted! Hell is pictured as a place created in love, because God is giving people what they always wanted in life. Think about that for a moment. In hell people are given all they ever wanted, and more. Hell is the place where the desires can never be satiated, no matter how much you have. It’s not 3

hard to imagine, for we see examples of those who have all the money, power, and fame that they could ever want, whose earthly lives go to hell. Brittany Spears is just one example. So I ask you again, what do you want? What do you want not as a consumer, but as a Christian? What kind of savior are you interested in following? What do you desire from your Lord, and His church? And where is this desire leading you? As you think about that, ponder again the words of our Lord (vs. 25-26) There are many things in this world that we want—but they are illusions. Jesus says there is one thing that we truly need. And that is the cross. “It is necessary” He says, for the Son of man to go to Jerusalem, and there to suffer and be killed at the hands of His enemies, and to be raised to life on the third day. It was necessary not for His sake—He had nothing to gain--but for ours! For by dying on the cross, Jesus gives us not what we desire or deserve, not even what we want, but what we really need—forgiveness and eternal life. He gives us those gifts that the world does not, can not value, for the world has no soul—and without a soul one can only value what is tangible and temporary. Therefore only the One who is NOT of this world, yet of His own volition enters into this world, can give the gifts of God that are out of this world. Chief among these gifts is eternal life. Now we must be clear, when we talk about eternal life we are talking about two things. One is the life that we live with God in heaven. The resurrected life that is described in Scripture in such glowing terms that we can’t wait to get there. But the other part of eternal life is the life that we live NOW. It is the life that we are born into in our baptism. It is the life that St. Paul describes in Galatians 2 4

where he says “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me.” It is a life that ironically begins in death. Death to sin and self in our baptism. In baptism the consequences of our sins are buried with Christ. We no longer have to fear the punishment that will ensue from them. But in baptism we also die to self. Jesus said, “Whoever wishes to follow me must deny himself.” What is it in your life that needs denying? What is it that you spend far too much time thinking about, pursuing, or planning for? Is it success or power? Is it the desire to have people desire you? Is it the quest for happiness, for fulfillment, which, when not achieved leaves you feeling like a failure? Is it the never-ending need to be loved, which results in settling for sinful relationships with others? Or is it something else? In the life of a Christian anything that conflicts, constricts or contradicts the cross is what needs denying. Ultimately, eternally, what we want does not matter. Peter provides proof of this. For Peter did not want to see Jesus crucified. He did not want a suffering savior. He did not want to be associated with his Messiah. And so, he denied Jesus. Not once, not twice, but three times. Do you know why he denied Jesus? Because he did not want to be associated with a savior who dies on the cross. And he certainly did not want to follow him there. Not to that cross. Not to a cross of shame, and degradation and death. Peter wanted a cross of his own choosing. And so do we. We want a comfortable cross. We want a convenient cross. We want a cross that is decorated with the latest in designer fashions. We 5

want a cross fit for a charismatic leader—not a crucified savior. We want something slick and fancy, not rough and hard and bloody. The LAST thing that anyone WANTS is to carry the cross of crucifixion. Peter didn’t, and neither do we. But what we want is not what we need —nor is it what Christ has given us. He has not given us the cross of our choosing, but His. Do you remember another person in the bible named Simon? Not Simon Peter, but Simon of Cyrene. He was the person pressed into carrying the cross as Jesus went to be crucified. In a sense, all Christians are to be like Simon—carrying the cross of Jesus. The difference being that Simon was forced to do it, but we are FREED to do it. To carry the cross of Christ. By the working of the Holy Spirit Peter came to see was that Christianity is NOT about what we want, but about what we need. It is not about earthly glory, but heavenly splendor. It is not about gaining as much as we can in this life, but rather being given the cross of Christ, which assures us that Christ has done everything necessary in order to gain eternal life for us to come. Through the working of the Holy Spirit Peter came to see this—and through the Holy Spirit we see it as well. Do you remember the movie “City Slickers” with Billy Crystal? It was the story of a man who was looking for fulfillment in life. He went to a dude ranch to find himself, or find that one thing that was missing in his life that would make him happy. In one scene he asks Curly, the rough old ranch hand played by Jack Palance, about the meaning of life. In response, crusty old Curly holds up one gloved finger. By this he indicates that there is one thing that each person must find to be fulfilled. For Christians, that one thing is obvious. It is the cross of 6

Christ. It is the one thing needful. The one thing we do not need to seek, for it has already found us. Amen.

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