Showing Jesus

Dr. Jon Burnham preached this sermon from Mark 8:31-38 on March 8, 2009 (Lent2B) at St. John's Presbyterian Church in Houston

You might remember comedian Yakov Smirnoff. When he first came to the United States from Russia he was not prepared for the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores. He says, "On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk--you just add water, and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice--you just add water, and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to my self, "What a country!"

Smirnoff is joking but we make these assumptions about Christian Transformation-that people change instantly at salvation. Some traditions call it repentance and renewal. Some call it Sanctification of the believer. Whatever you call it most traditions expect some quick fix to sin. According to this belief, when someone gives his or her life to Christ, there is an immediate, substantive, in-depth, miraculous change in habits, attitudes, and character. We go to church as if we are going to the grocery store: Powdered Christian. Just add water and disciples are born not made.

Unfortunately, there is no such powder and disciples of Jesus Christ are not instantly born. They are slowly raised through many trials, suffering, and temptations. A study has found that only 11 percent of churchgoing teenagers have a well-developed faith, rising to only 32 percent for churchgoing adults. Why? Because true-life change only begins at salvation, takes more than just time, is about training, trying, suffering, and even dying (adapted from James Emery White, Rethinking the Church, Baker, 1997, p. 55-57).

Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked him. Peter believes the kingdom of God can be obtained instantly by force. Peter has a worldly view of the Kingdom and Jesus is speaking about a heavenly kingdom. For a moment I would like you to listen to this story with new ears and see Jesus through the eyes of Peter and the rest of the disciples. Get rid of all your notions about who Jesus is. Take away from your mind Jesus as the Son of God. Strip from your memory that he died on the Cross and that he did that for your sins. Forget that Jesus ever said love your enemies or love your neighbor.

Now I want you to think of Jesus only as a military leader. Imagine that your country has been invaded and is being ruled by godless men. Sense, now, that the tension is mounting and you are about to go into battle. That you are about to conduct a coup d'etat. That you and this band of ruffians are going to attempt to overthrow this government by a sudden violent strike. That the odds are stacked against you but you have a very strong belief that God is on your side despite the overwhelming odds.

Now you are thinking like Peter. Jesus comes before his disciples and lays out his military strategy. Look at verse 31. Jesus says, "We are going to march into Jerusalem you, the soldiers, are going to lose your lives and I, your General, will suffer many things. Furthermore, we are not going to get any help from our Jewish brothers the Elders. Even the Chief Priest and the Sadducees will not join us. Our government, the Sanhedrin, is corrupt and can be of no help to us. We are going it alone and I will die in this battle."

On this day Jesus spoke plainly to his disciples about the events soon to transpire and even though it was plain language it was not plain enough. Peter was not able to shake his understanding of Jesus as his General so he pulls Jesus aside and rebukes him. He says, "Sir, this is not a very good military strategy. You are not going to die, don't say that. It's not good for morale. We are going to be there with you and we will fight to the end and we will throw these godless Romans out of Israel, you will ascend to the throne in place of Herod, and we will be at your right and left hand as the new leaders of Palestine.

It is fascinating to note that just before Jesus rebukes Peter he turns and looks at his disciples. It is as if Jesus is putting two and two together and realizes the disciples have put Peter up to this. It is a perilous moment in the life of Christ. He must dispel this error from their minds and teach them the meaning of his mission. So, he rejects Peter outright calling him a tool of Satan and says, you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.

Jesus is up against a formidable foe. And in the end this foe may posses more power then he. But the foe is not Peter and it's not the Sanhedrin or Pontius Pilate, or Rome. This formidable foe is not even Satan himself. The powerful enemy of Jesus is our quest for positions of rank and status.

To address the confusion Jesus pulls his disciples together and brings them before a crowd. And in front of the crowd he corrects the disciples' aspirations for privilege, rank, and power and he gives them this simple little directive: You must take up your cross and follow me.  What does it mean forsake all and to take up the cross and follow Jesus? For one thing it means helping the needy and the outcast. That is not to say that the needy are easy to help.

    Jesus has a definite mission. He spelled it out at the beginning of his ministry:  to preach good news to the poor; to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set at liberty those who are oppressed and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18,19, RSV) We misrepresent the gospel when we limit Jesus' mission to getting people into heaven.  He did that, of course, but his mission had far more to do with getting heaven into people!
    I expect we will have a big crowd in worship on Easter Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord from the dead. But I expect we will have a small crowd at the Maundy Thursday service when we remember Jesus last supper with his disciples in anticipation of his death on the cross. Someone got it right when they said: "Everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die." No wonder Jesus rebuked Peter when Peter didn't want to hear Jesus talk about he would undergo suffering, be rejected, and be killed before he rose again from the dead.       
    Christian worship is important as an end in itself and as a means of preparing us for serving the world outside. There are some groups that measure Christian discipleship in terms of how often people go to church. Well, going to church is important. Corporate worship is not optional for followers of Jesus. But worship is a minimal act of commitment. As the old story about the Quaker church goes: "The service begins when the meeting is over." A poem has been circulating titled I See Jesus. It is attributed to Summer Waters, age 11:

    I saw Jesus last week. He was wearing blue jeans and an old shirt. He was up at the church building; He was alone and working hard. For just a minute he looked a little like one of our members. But it was Jesus . . . I could tell by his smile.
     I saw Jesus last Sunday. He was teaching a Bible class. He didn't talk real loud or use long words, But you could tell he believed what he said. For just a minute, he looked like my Bible teacher. But it was Jesus . . . I could tell by his loving voice.
     I saw Jesus yesterday. He was at the hospital visiting a friend who was sick. They prayed together quietly. For just a minute he looked like Brother Jones. But it was Jesus . . . I could tell by the tears in his eyes.
     I saw Jesus this morning. He was in my kitchen making my breakfast and fixing me a special lunch. For just a minute he looked like my mom. But it was Jesus . . . I could feel the love from his heart.
     I see Jesus everywhere, Taking food to the sick . . . Welcoming others to his home, Being friendly to a newcomer . . . and for just a minute, I think he's someone I know. But it's always Jesus . . . I can tell by the way he serves. (WIT AND WISDOM, RichardWimer@xc.org)

         I am glad you are in worship today. But I hope you know that the real test of your commitment to Christ is not how well you sing the hymns or how well you listen to me speak.  The real test happens when you walk out the door. There are so many people in our society with fat bank accounts and empty souls. There is a better way. It is to get involved in the mission that Jesus began of reaching out to the least and lowly. It is forsaking all, taking up a cross and following Jesus.