Pentecost 14A
September 2, 2023
Matthew 16:21-28
Romans 12:9-12
INTRODUCTION
Last week we witnessed one of Peter’s shining moments, as he correctly identified Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Jesus in turn says he will build his Church upon this rock. The shine didn’t last long, though. Today, Peter will turn from Rock to stumbling block, as he rebukes Jesus for saying that the Son of Man will have to suffer and die. And wouldn’t you? Who wants a suffering savior – wouldn’t we rather have a powerful one?
Of course, we know that Jesus is right on this one: suffering, and self-denial, and sacrifice are all a part of the life of faith. Even all the nice “marks of a Christian” that Paul will outline in our second reading require some sacrifice and self-denial at times. Turns out, Christianity isn’t about serving ourselves and doing what is best for us, but about doing whatever it takes to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ, to take up our cross and self-sacrificially love our neighbor. Our readings today address this head on. Let’s listen.
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
This summer, my family has been plowing through the Harry Potter series. I think that since this spring, we have read aloud books 5, 6 and 7, and these are each nearly 1000-page books! Now that we have gotten through everything, the kids are re-watching some of the movies (skipping through the scary parts as needed!). This week we watched The Goblet of Fire. Without giving any spoilers, this segment is the midpoint in the series, where things turn considerably darker as the good side must face the reality of the evil side increasing in power. At the end, Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of the school and sage of the story, says to Harry, “Soon we must all face the choice between doing what is right, and what is easy.”
I wondered if Dumbledore might have read this week’s lectionary texts, because this resonates well with all of them! In his letter to the Romans, Paul lays out the “marks of a true Christian” – let love be genuine, seek to overcome evil with good, bless those who persecute you, be patient in suffering, don’t pretend to be wiser than you are… None of it is easy stuff. But it is right! This bit from Romans is often read at weddings, because it is good advice for marriage, but the truth is that it is good advice for all of us as we deal with a variety of people and views, some of which we might find downright appalling and harmful. How easy it would be just to fall to the level of our opponent, to “repay evil for evil,” as Paul says, rather than “taking thought for what is noble in the sight of all.” In fact, this whole passage of Paul’s could be summed up with Dumbledore’s observation, that we “face the choice between what is right and what is easy.” And the Christian way is to choose what is right, not necessarily what is easy.
I think that is, in part, what Jesus means when he says to “take up your cross” and “deny yourself” and “lose your life.” Humans are, by nature, inclined toward self-preservation. This is true physically, but also emotionally. We try to avoid emotional harm or loss by clinging to our usual ways and views and beliefs, even when confronted with evidence to the contrary, because having to admit that we were wrong about something feels like a sort of death, and we’d rather avoid it. Admitting we are wrong can feel like betrayal or, dare I say, denial of ourselves – admitting that something we had held so dear, something we had really believed and fought for… may not have been right after all. Yet it seems easier to hold on to the past than to do what is right going forward.
I get that, that desire to hold onto my expectations and hopes, even when they are misinformed, or when a more enlightened path becomes clear. So, I really resonate with Peter in this story, who is famously confronted by Jesus regarding his misinformed view of what to expect from a Messiah. Remember last week, when Peter was the shining star? When Jesus asked the disciples who they say he is, Peter answered with divinely inspired wisdom, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Ah, Jesus was so pleased with his answer, that he vowed to build his Church upon this rock. He gave Peter the keys to the kingdom, the power to loose and to bind in heaven. What a moment for Peter!
And now here, in the very next exchange… Jesus has begun to expand upon what it means that he is the Messiah, and Peter is feeling pretty uneasy about it. You see it was the Jewish belief that when God sent the Messiah, the anointed one, it would be one who came as a victorious ruler, someone to cast out the oppressors, and rule over a united Israel once again, like King David had done. This was the hope to which they had held fast for hundreds of years. And so when Peter declares Jesus to be the Messiah, this is quite a bold statement, saying that they believed this enduring hope to have come finally in Jesus, who would overthrow the enemy and reign over Israel. So imagine Peter’s disappointment and concern, even indignation, when Jesus says that for him, “Messiah” means what seems to be exactly the opposite: that he will suffer and die. And not just death, but death on a cross, the most humiliating sort of death. That’s no messiah!
Just consider a moment what might be going through Peter’s head here. For one thing, he’s worried about success of the cause. If Jesus is trying to get followers, to spread the word, then this is no way to do it. No one is going to want to follow someone who is admitting they are going to lose, who is going to die a painful and humiliating death. Even if that does have to happen, Peter is right that this branding will not sell anyone on joining Jesus, and so from a marketing standpoint, Jesus should probably keep that part quiet.
Second, Peter is worried about everyone’s safety. He wants Jesus to succeed – he wants all of them to succeed! And so talking about heading off to suffering and death, well, I can see why he wants Jesus not only to stop talking about it, but to abandon that part of the plan altogether! This is no way to be a Messiah – not in Peter’s book, anyway!
But of course, Jesus isn’t playing by Peter’s book. He isn’t playing according to the ways of humans, but by God’s own playbook. “You are setting your mind not on divine things,” he tells Peter, “but on human things.” He points out that Peter is operating based on the longings and inclinations of humans, which is to do everything in their power to avoid death, avoid loss, avoid embarrassment, avoid all the uncomfortable feelings and experiences that try to chip away at our joy, our life, our contentment.
But God operates by a different principle: that the only way truly to have joy, contentment, to have life itself, is to deny yourself (your expectations, your outdated dreams), to face suffering head on, and even to die – physically, in Jesus’ case (and sometimes in ours), but at least metaphorically, to face the loss that is an inevitable part of human existence.
And so Jesus turns to Peter to tell him so. This has traditionally been read as a fiery rebuke of Peter, and maybe it was. But this week, as I imagine Peter’s broken heart hearing these words, I’m reading it in a gentler tone, as an invitation instead of a rebuke. I learned this week that the words translated here as “get behind me” are the same words used in Matthew 4 when Jesus calls the disciples: “follow me…. Get behind me.” And the word translated here as “Satan” is not necessarily an insult; it means “adversary,” one working against, harming an effort. So what if Jesus’ words to Peter are more like this: “Peter, dude, I need you to get behind me on what I’m trying to do here. Follow me. I know this is hard to hear. I know death is hard for all humans, and we will do just about anything to avoid it! Believe me, I’m not happy about it, either. But those are human ways. I’m working with God’s ways here. I know your intentions are good, but you are trying to keep me from doing what I must do, and your efforts are a stumbling block to the plan. They are adverse to God’s plan. In God’s ways, death is a necessary step toward getting to true life. We must go through death and loss and even humiliation, all in order to get to the new life that is promised on the other side.”
I dunno, maybe that reading is way off. But even if the tone isn’t right, the point is that Jesus is telling Peter like it is, saying what needs to be said. What needs to be said is not easy to hear, and he knows it. My guess is that it likely isn’t too easy to say, either! And Jesus also knows that sometimes the only way we can hear things is when they smack us over the head, offered in the starkest, most straightforward terms. (I know this, because Jesus has had to say things to me in this manner before I finally catch on!)
So we would be wise to learn from Peter’s interaction here with Jesus: that we must choose between what is easy, and what is right, and faithful. And the right, faithful thing, as Jesus says, is to put aside our inclination toward personal safety over love of neighbor. We must not be lured by the temptation to keep the status quo over seeking transformation. We must deny the desire to keep the old, rather than living into the newness of life that God wants for us.
And so let us get behind Jesus. Let us follow him – to the cross, to inevitable loss and grief, to the way of self-sacrificial love, and to the promise of life and transformation on the other side.
Let us pray… Jesus, Messiah, Son of the living God, we are often faced with deciding between what is easy and what is right. Help us always to choose the right path, the path that leads to the life you promise. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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