Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent
A Good Cross Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ! In today’s Gospel, Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. Then Jesus turns to the crowd and declares, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” Dear Christian friends, Question: Was Jesus’ bloody death on the cross a good thing or a bad thing? Part of you might intuitively or instinctively want to say that Jesus’ cross was a bad thing. Get over how you feel. Set aside your regret over the fact that Jesus’ death necessary is necessary because your sin. Ignore whatever Peter-like sense of justice you might be feeling, which might make you want to protect Jesus or protest that He should not spill His blood for people like you and me. Listen ONLY to God’s Scriptures and answer the Question: Was Jesus’ cross a good thing or a bad thing? If you never have a single Scripture passage other than today’s Gospel, God’s Word answers, YES! Jesus death is a VERY good thing! · God Himself has said, “The Son of Man MUST suffer many things.” · God Himself has rebuked those who would stand between Jesus and His cross, “Get behind Me, Satan!” · God insists that His Words and His actions and His plans are always good. It is not good when someone dares to stand in the way of what God Himself shall do: “For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, [Peter,] but on the things of man.” We have no choice. There is but one answer because our Lord Jesus will accept no other answer: It is an exceedingly good thing that “Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.” The problem with today’s Gospel is that it is not as simple as Jesus’ cross, all by itself. Jesus turns up the heat on us. Jesus will not leave the question focused upon His own cross, but He points to your dearest and closest loved ones as they prepare to hang upon their crosses, too. “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” Set aside for a moment the cross that you personally feel you are carrying. (There is a good chance you already spend plenty of time thinking about that cross.) Instead, think about the cross you must watch your parent or your brother or you son carry. Choose your dearest loved one. Think of that person’s harshest and heaviest cross. Answer the Question: Is your dearest loved one’s cross a good thing or a bad thing? Listen ONLY to God’s Scriptures and force yourself into your answer! “If anyone would come after Me,” declares Jesus, “let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” Part of you might intuitively want to say that your loved one’s cross is a bad thing. Get over how you feel. Your feelings will fool you. Your feelings will make you think that your loved one should try to avoid or escape the cross. Do not put yourself into Peter’s shoes, where your loved one might be compelled to say to you, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” If Jesus’ is truly a good thing, as we believe it is, then we must believe that the crosses borne by Jesus’ followers must indeed be good things, too. “If anyone would come after Me, let him… take up his cross and follow Me.” · Don’t you want your dearest loved ones to be counted among the followers of Jesus? · How will your mother ever learn to trust in Jesus and Jesus alone, unless your mother first learns that she cannot trust herself? Your mother needs her cross! · How can the good and gracious will of God be done in your son’s life, unless God first shatters and scatters your son’s obstinate will for him? Your son needs his cross! · How can your brother trust Jesus for daily strength and forgiveness while he still feels strong in himself? Your brother needs his cross! · How can your husband resurrect to eternal life without first dying? Your husband needs his cross! And you must watch. Love requires it. In today’s Gospel, love required Peter to step out of the way. “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.” With this cross in particular, forgiveness of sins and eternal life are at stake, for you and for all people. In the same way, love will also require you to step out of the way and allow your dear loved ones their crosses—just as they must likewise step out of the way and allow you to carry your crosses. · Love does NOT require us to ignore one another’s crosses. In the same way that many people paid attention and wept while Jesus carried His cross (Mark 15:40-41), our loved ones need us to pay attention and to weep while they carry their crosses, too. · Love does also NOT require us to refuse any help or aid. In the same way that Simon of Cyrene put his shoulder to Jesus’ cross (Mark 15:21), our loved ones likewise need us to bend our strength to their load, as best we are able. Paul said it well to the Galatians: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). · Love requires that we NOT get into the way of one another’s crosses! As Jesus said to Peter here today, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” In today’s Gospel, Jesus was speaking about a really good thing when He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. Jesus’ cross is good because His cross: · assures you and your loved ones the forgiveness of all sins. As John the Baptist proclaimed, Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away [to His cross] the sins of the world!” (John 1:29 · promises faith, strength, perseverance and endurance to you and your loved ones, no matter what crosses might come to you in your life, or what crosses might come to them in their lives. As St. Paul rejoiced concerning his own crosses, We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame (Romans 4:3-5a). · guarantees that your loved ones’ crosses shall not destroy them, no more than your crosses shall destroy you. We are following Jesus when we carry our crosses. Jesus’ cross does not end in death, but in resurrection and life. Jesus promises you—as He equally promises your loved ones, “Do not fear… Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list [email protected] http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
