SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR B
Genesis 22:1-14; Psalm 16 or 16:5-11;
Romans 8:31-39; Mark 8:31-38
O Almighty God, who pours out on all who
desire it the spirit of grace: deliver us from coldness of heart, closed eyes
and ears and wanderings of mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Jesus said, “If any want to become my
followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow
me.”[Mark 8:34]
Just who was this man, Jesus? There must
have been a great deal of supposition about who he was. All of his activities
had to have attracted the attention of many. Certainly we know the authorities
took notice. Finding out exactly who Jesus was brought the disciples more than
even they had bargained for. When Jesus told them that he was to be rejected,
abused, and killed, Peter rebuked Jesus. Perhaps Peter feared for his own life,
perhaps he could not imagine such a thing happening to the Messiah. Perhaps in
his own mind he had fantasized great and powerful things that Jesus, the
Messiah, would do to the Romans and those in authority. Perhaps he envisioned
himself standing there beside Jesus sharing the glory. But, when Jesus called
out “follow me”, he had bid the disciples not only to go with him, to give up
family and everything they owned, but also to their probable death. Surely
suffering was not part of Peter's dream for Jesus, or for himself or any of the
other disciples. Assuredly, Peter had not envisioned his own head-down
crucifixion or John dying a homeless soul in Patmos nor Judas dying at his own
hands. Reflect for a moment on just who that scruffy band of disciples was and
the life from which they had come. How outrageous all this must have been to
them. And just imagine Peter’s surprise when Jesus rebuked him saying, “Get
behind me, Satan!”
Jesus continued teaching his disciples and
others, revealing to them the true nature of his mission on earth and their
mission as well. Jesus gradually revealed to his disciples and others the
nature and implications of his "kingship." He would lead, they would
follow; this was not to be a partnership of equals. They must be prepared to
deny themselves, to abandon any thoughts of self-centeredness. They must be
prepared to take up their cross, to perhaps face martyrdom. In those days it
was a common practice under the Romans for the condemned to literally carry the
crossbeam of their own cross to the place of execution. Not a pretty thought to
contemplate. And all for the sake of spreading abroad the good news of the
kingdom of God, to attain true life not in this world but in some vague age to
come. They were asked to follow Christ's example, to trust in God, to obey
God's will, and to accept loss and injury in the cause of Christ and his
Gospel, all the while ignoring the human desire to preserve and enrich one's
own life in this world.
Jesus set out to confront the many needs
and injustices that faced the people: poverty, bigotry, and dreadful diseases.
As he lived among the people, as he walked their streets and ate in their
homes, lives were touched, relationships were healed, hearts were transformed,
despair replaced by hope. As they began to accept the challenges he laid before
them, the disciples and other followers began to change within themselves, and,
in the process, with his love and support, they became more and more like the
one who taught them.
Certainly we know from our own lives that
changes do not come about easily or quickly. We will find out as we read on in
Mark over the next few weeks that even the disciples, being human, had difficulty
following Jesus to the cross. Some fell asleep when Jesus went to pray. Peter
openly denied Jesus after his arrest, and some of the others went into hiding
until after the resurrection when they had the opportunity to see him and be
with him again, Thomas not believing until he touched the wounds. But
ultimately they were changed, they went out and preached everywhere, doing the
work they had been commissioned to do.
Jesus spoke directly to the disciples with
simple instruction and personal guidance as the need arose. We call that
“just-in-time training.” Does Jesus speak to us differently today? Since we do
not receive guidance directly from his lips, we would certainly be in a
hopeless predicament if that were true. Jesus' message was not only for his
disciples and followers then, but it continues to be a message for all those
who would follow him today. The Gospel is not simply a retelling of what
happened at that time, it is intended to show people everywhere exactly what is
involved and demanded whenever and wherever they recognize that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God, the Christ. But we are not alone in this. Because
Jesus asks this of us, we have his promise that we will not have to do it
alone. Be it our own suffering, our own trials, our own doubt, our own fears,
there is nothing that Jesus has not seen, that he has not heard, nothing that
would cause him to withdraw his love or his saving grace.
Consider Abraham in today’s lesson from
Genesis. Each time God called Abraham's name, he answered, “Here I am."
Even when God was asking Abraham to sacrifice his own son, his trust in God
never wavered. At the last minute his son was spared, and a ram was provided
for the sacrifice. Perhaps he was confident all along that God would intervene
and provide another sacrifice; but nevertheless, Abraham never wavered, always
faithful to the will of God as it was revealed to him.
Thankfully, not all of us are called upon
to face the life or death situations that confronted Abraham. But we all do
have to make choices all the time, some big, some very small, choices that
reflect on our own discipleship, that each and all together give a telling
picture of our commitment to Jesus. None of us can know what lies before us, or
what will be asked of us in the days and years ahead. What Jesus asks of each
of us is that we follow him, that we keep our eyes on the one who endured
everything for us; that wherever life's path takes us, we let his love and his
light be our guide.
A
wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They would often
sit together and admire the great works of art. When the Vietnam conflict broke
out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while
rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his
only son. About a month later there was a knock at the door. A young man stood
at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, "Sir, you don't
know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved
many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him
in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you and your
love for art." The young man held out the package. "I know this
isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have
wanted you to have this." The father opened the package. It was a
portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the
soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. He
thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir,
I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift." The
father hung the portrait over his mantle. A few months later the man
died. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential
people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an
opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the
painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. "We will start
the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this
picture?" There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted,
"We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one." But the
auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid for this painting? Who
will start the bidding? $100, $200?" Another voice shouted angrily.
"We didn't come to see this painting. Get on with the real bids!" But
still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll
take the son?" Finally, a voice came from the very back of the
room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give
$10 for the painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.
"We have $10, who will bid $20?" "Give it to him for $10.
Let's see the masters." They didn't want the picture of the son. They
wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer
pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!" A man
sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the
collection!" The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry,
the auction is over." "What about the paintings?" "I am sorry. When I was called to
conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I
was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the
painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would
inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. "The man who took the
son gets everything!"
God
gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the
auctioneer, His message today is: "The son, the son, who'll take the
son?" Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.
How trusting and
faithful are you? Do you need to do better? Your salvation was bought at a
heavy price. Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. Let us try during this
Lent to be the disciples Christ calls us to be, disciples who truly follow
Jesus to the cross. Then truly nothing in this life can touch us whatever may
happen. In Christ we prevail for, as St. Paul says, “Neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38,39)
I close with the words of the final chorale of JS
Bach’s Gott ist unsre Zuversicht:
“So journey glad on God’s true pathways,
And what you do, that do in faith!
Now earn well your God’s great blessing,
For it is ev’ry morning new;
For he who places his confidence in God,
Him he’ll not forsake.”
Thanks be to God. Amen.
03-16-2003