Gospel text for Sunday 28 February 2021

 Mark 8:31-38        Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Reflection        Who wants to hear the teacher’s instruction, “Take up your cross and follow me?” And what in the world does it mean to, “Take up your cross” anyway? Throughout the years I have stumbled  over a variety of possible explanations. Today I believe twenty first century Jesus might express it this way, “Consent to your humanity as I do.” Why do I think this? 

Mark’s gospel begins with the acclamation, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.” (1.1) Ten verses later at Jesus’ baptism  “a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (1.11) Twice identified as Son of God nonetheless Jesus calls himself Son of Man. What is this about?

I believe in calling himself Son of Man Jesus is consenting to his human condition; subject to every emotion, challenge, conflict, suffering, benediction and finally to his mortality. Although Jesus finds his spiritual identity in God as affirmed in his baptism, he also recognizes his corporeal identity in his humanity. The cross stands for the coherence of the spiritual and corporeal; humanity (our fickle human condition) represented by the horizontal beam fastened to our trustworthy vertical stanchion, identity in God.

Jesus is the Son of God and also the Son of Man, which thankfully establishes Jesus as one of us. As beloved sons and daughters who from the very beginning are made in the image and likeness of God we too must consent to our fickle humanity as well as our trustworthy identity as daughters and sons of God. We too must take up the cross, following the way of Jesus.

Like Jesus we find our identity in God as affirmed in our baptism, but that does not procure for us a “get out of jail free” card. (Clearly that did not work for Jesus!)  Even though we are daughters and sons of God we must also consent to our temperamental human condition, subject to every emotion, challenge, conflict, suffering, benediction and finally to our mortality. The way of the cross is the way of life grounded in God and subject to the volatile human condition. 

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Gospel text for Sunday 3 September 2017

Matthew 16:21-28       Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For 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? Or what will they give in return for their life?

“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Reflection        “God forbid it… this must never happen!” No one wants suffering. Not Peter. Not me, not you, not the countless people devastated by the ravages of Hurricane Harvey. Like Peter, we want God to forbid suffering. That would be so much easier than having to live in imitation of Jesus, so much easier than setting our personal comforts aside and caring for all those suffering people. “Jesus, do you not understand, when all hell breaks loose it could cost us our lives?”

Can you hear Jesus’ response? “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Ouch. I want to crawl under a rock. My petty concerns, anxiety about my security, safety, esteem, power and control, my withholding love and care and generosity are stumbling blocks to God’s compassionate presence being revealed in the world.

Yes, I better get behind Jesus but I want to cling to my way of life, to my thoughts, my beliefs, my comforts, my church, my money, my way. Then Jesus asks, “For what will it profit (you) if (you) gain the whole world but forfeit (your) life?” What life is Jesus talking about?

I believe Jesus is talking about our “with God life.” Jesus finds his life in and of and with God. He does not cling to things of this world demanding that they never change. He is willing to challenge the status quo; to let old ideas, thought forms, beliefs and conventional strategies for security, safety, esteem, power and control die even though it costs him dearly. This is what he means by being willing to lose our life to follow him. We must be willing to lose our lives as we have known them in order to live our “with God” life.

Tens of thousands of people are suffering In the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Calling out to God on their behalf is simply not enough, in fact, Jesus would call this being stumbling blocks. When all hell breaks loose it is up to us to live in imitation of Jesus, setting our minds on divine things, caring for all the suffering people without withholding, without judgment. 

Here are three ways you may help the animals and the people suffering from the ravages of Hurricane Harvey. 

Animals

https://www.gofundme.com/rejoiceranch to help the Rejoice Horse Ranch in Texas rescue and care for pets and livestock that are literally pouring onto their ranch.

People

http://www.episcopalrelief.org/hurricane-harvey-response to help the Episcopal Relief and Development Fund provide assistance to people recovering from the impact of Hurricane Harvey.

Ready to Serve

https://www.episcopalrelief.org/what-you-can-do/volunteer/ready-to-serve If you want to volunteer as part of the long term recovery from Hurricane Harvey you can register at this website.

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Gospel text for Sunday 4 September 2016

Luke 14:25-33       Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.

Reflection      Most of us look at the cross and see either the dark Good Friday cross with Jesus’ dead body nailed to it or the Easter Morning cross, draped in white and pointing to resurrection. But none of this has happened yet. Jesus is very much alive when he instructs us to “Pick up the cross and follow me?” He never read  the description of his death, “He (Jesus) bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2.24) Nor was he privy to the work of the bishops at the First Council of Nicea three hundred years after his death, ironing out the details of his dual nature and the atoning benefits of his sacrificial death as perfect substitute for the sin of humanity. So, what does Jesus mean, “Pick up the cross and follow me?”

One way to understand the cross is as the intersection of human and Divine life.  The horizontal timber corresponds to our temporal life journey. The vertical beam represents Divine Presence on earth. At their intersection is the present moment. Each of us is traveling the horizontal plane amidst large crowds with Jesus, headed to Jerusalem because no one gets out of life alive. All along the way the vertical dimension of Divinity crosses our path in the present moment. Whenever we choose to accept or consent to the present moment, we are aligned with Divine Presence. We have “picked up the cross to follow Jesus.”

More often than not, instead of saying, “Yes, yes,” to the present moment, we equivocate. “Well, this is not how I pictured it. This hurts, I don’t like it. This makes me feel vulnerable, puts me out on a limb, out of control. What will people think? This is not good. No way. I can’t. I won’t.”  We reject the present moment. In Jesus’ terms, we refuse to “Pick up the cross and follow me.”  Perhaps this is why Jesus counsels us to “give up all of our possessions,”  to let go of anything that is in the way of saying “Yes, yes,” to the present moment. 

Let me be clear. I do not for a moment believe Jesus wants us to give up our food, shelter or loved ones. Nor do I believe Jesus wants us to roll over and be doormats for mistreatment. Rather I believe Jesus is inviting us to dispense with our ideas about God about ourselves and about the way things are supposed to be. Jesus is inviting us to consent to the present moment and in so doing align ourselves with Divine Presence. Jesus is unequivocal. “Pick up the cross and follow me. Consent to the present moment and you will find me there with you. “

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Epistle Holy Cross Day, 14 September, 2014

Philippians 2:5-11

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death--

even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Reflection        When Jesus entered Jerusalem he knew he was headed for death. Not just death, tortuous death; excruciating, humiliating death nailed to a cross and lifted high so all could watch him gasp for breath. Jesus knew what was waiting for him and he chose not to wipe Jerusalem’s dust from his heels and walk north to Samaria or Cana. He could have headed for the proverbial hills, gone underground and out of sight and saved himself. Who would blame him?

But Jesus was not listening to the voice of fear shouting, “By all and any means, save yourself. The most important thing is to be safe and secure, to surround yourself with people who care for and esteem you. Be sure to maintain a modicum of power and control.” That was not the voice that he was listening to. Jesus was listening to the deeply interior voice of his Father God.

Jesus’ decision to walk into Jerusalem, to host a farewell supper with his closest friends, and to allow one of them to betray his whereabouts to his persecutors was not a personal decision. Jesus’ decision to allow himself to be handed over to suffer and die on a cross went beyond his desire to take care of his basic needs for safety and security,  affection, attention and esteem. It bypassed his personal need for power and control. Jesus’ decision and action was not personal, it was transpersonal.

Transpersonal experiences have been defined as experiences "in which the sense of identity or self extends beyond the individual or personal to encompass wider aspects of humankind.....”  Jesus was operating from a transpersonal perspective.  And so he chose to stay the course, to remain faithful to truth as he knew it. Jesus chose to stand in his place and claim his birthright as the Son of Man and the Son of God. The officials called this treason. Jesus called it truth. He was willing to  give up his life rather than give up his Truth. 

What does this have to do with us, mere humans, not Jesus? Everything. We are made in the image of God which means “we are free to make choices : to love, to create, to reason, and to live in harmony with creation and with God.” (BCP 845) In other words, we participate with God in bringing about good in creation. That is why we are here.  Remember Jesus words to the disciples“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these…?” (John 14.12) 

I believe we have set our sights too low. Rather than claim our birthright as daughters and sons in the family of God we have let ourselves off the hook by claiming we are mere humans. What if we stood in our place and claimed our birthright as children of humanity and children of God, would we be moved to give ourselves away to care for and dignify all people? 

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Gospel Text for Sunday, 4 March 2012

Mark 8:31-38 Then Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."