What is it that God has done and is doing through Jesus'
life, death, and resurrection? As followers of Jesus, I think this is an
important question we must address, I do think it takes a lifetime journey to
find an answer to that question, and I’m pretty sure the answer lives in the
realm of mystery. But what I do know is that figuring out how to live takes
embracing not only life but death as well. In Matthew's gospel we hear,
"those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their
life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the
whole world but forfeit their life."
Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, Jesus is
charged with sedition, and is sentenced to death on a cross. In the eyes of the
culture, then and now, death, and especially death on a cross - was not
only terminal, but counted as failure as well. We know that Jesus' mortal life
ends on a cross, hung between two thieves. But the reality of this story, this
story of life and death and resurrection, is that what the world counts as
loss, what seems like failure, what looks to the world as death, is really
something amazing, something astounding, something completely new. When a new
doorway is opened, another doorway is closed. When a seed is planted in the
ground, it comes up looking nothing like it did when it went into the ground.
When a branch is pruned, it makes way, it leaves space for completely new
growth. For every new thing, something dies, and is born again in an unimagined
way.
The reality is that this life takes a lot of death. And
that's not necessarily a bad thing, it's also not necessarily a good thing
either. It is usually painful, but it's most definitely not failure. It just
is. The world shifts under our feet, it is not exactly what we expect, it is
not what the world expects. The shifting is literal, earthquakes and hurricanes
and floods. The shifting is violent, wars and shootings, protests and counter
protests. The shifting is heart-wrenching, broken hearts and broken lives, and the
shifting is decisive, when we experience the death of our loved ones.
And that, you see, that is what Peter is railing against.
Even to Peter, Jesus' impending ordeal and death looks like failure. What a
disappointment this must have been, what a baffling shift in expectations.
Clearly, this is not what Peter had imagined. Peter says something like,
"listen, Jesus, this cannot be what God intends for you. There must be a
different way. This is not what our deliverer ought to do. Suffering and dying
is what we have all endured, prophet and ordinary person alike. You are
supposed to be different. You are supposed to save us from all our
enemies!"
What does it look like to follow the Messiah, the anointed
of God? What does it look like to be a follower of Jesus? That path is lined
with crosses and paved with Jesus’ passion. This is a matter of life and death
for Jesus’ followers as much as it is for Jesus. It is about making space for
the new thing that will grow, that must grow. We usually don't really even know
what that looks like until we are facing it head on, or until we trip over it,
or until we step in it. You know what I mean, what is it you must lose, so that
you may live fully alive? What is it you have to die to, or let die, so that you
can live fully and completely the new creation that God promises?
The things that we must let die, the things that demand
our time and attention that pull us away from true relationship, the things
that cause us to judge others, the things that disconnect us and fragment our
beings, these are the things that pull us away from mercy and compassion, love
and justice. These are the things that harden our hearts and keep us from
forgiveness and healing. These are the things grip our hearts and minds so
tightly, we cannot see beyond them. These are the things that cause us to
judge, ridicule, and oppress. These things are seductive, like all things that
divert our attention from the one who loves us to the things that will destroy
us. They are not intrinsically bad things, they may in fact seem like good
things, but their false claim is so strong on us that we can not pay attention
to that which has the ultimate claim on our lives and our souls, which is Love.
The Love of the creator for all of creation, the Love of the creator who is
willing to show us how it's done, the Love of the creator who gives up all
power to show us the way of the cross, to show us the way of Love, and mercy,
and compassion, and reconciliation, and healing.
That is what is happening in this passage from Matthew.
Peter and the disciples, and you and me, are witnessing this powerful thing
that God is doing in our lives and in our world, then and now and in the age to
come. As followers of Jesus we are called to lay down that which is killing us,
and to pick up the new life that Jesus offers. It is not really easy. And
yet we learn that suffering and death, each and every death that is part of
this life, this cruciform existence is not all that there will be. The Son of
Man will return and bring justice in this world. Such justice is not merely the
paying off of old debts or the settling of bitter scores. Instead, this justice
is a promise of deliverance.
The cross will appear to span finality. The cross will
appear to be the end of the story for us all. But the promise Jesus makes here
and the promises God has made from the beginning assure a future, a future in
which justice blooms, a future in which the hungry are fed and the imprisoned
are comforted. And that future is not a long way off.
Can you imagine it? Can you imagine that God is at work in
and through your life for the good of the world? Can you imagine that this
congregation has something of value to offer our community? Can you imagine
that when you befriend the lonely or encourage the frightened heaven rejoices?
Can you imagine that, though afraid, when you stand up to those who spew hate
God is with you? Can you imagine that even small acts of love and generosity
challenge the world order and introduce a different reality? Can you imagine
that God wants for us not just comfort but freedom? Can you imagine that love
is more powerful than hate? Can you imagine that God raised Jesus from the
dead?
We stand at a crossroads, a cross really, in our lives
today. We stand at this place where we must choose the way of Jesus, the place
that to some, the mighty and powerful, looks like failure, but that is a lie. The
very hard truth of the cross is that we are so very much like Peter, believing
that Jesus can deliver us from this life that is so very hard sometimes,
believing that Jesus can deliver wealth and prosperity to us if only we are
good enough and pray hard enough and go to the right church. The truth of the
cross is love. The truth of the cross is that Jesus embraces all of creation,
not just some or a part of creation. We must imagine the way forward with God
who raises Jesus from the dead.
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