Peter is at it again. The big mouth just can’t help himself. Rebuking
Jesus? Peter, my man, are you okay? Did they have Kool-Aid back then?
Did ya have to drink it?
We all know people like him, right? The ones who say something wrong,
hurtful, embarrassing, and/or unnecessary at the family event. And then,
after being made aware of their mistake, they don’t apologize, they
double down. As if that could change the facts. Did Peter really think he
was going to change Jesus Christ? The one he just called Messiah. Did
Peter really think he knew better than his teacher? How presumptuous, I
would never!
Hindsight is a beautiful thing, isn’t it? For centuries now, we had the
benefit of hindsight while reading the scriptures. So, when we read
Peter’s blundering comments and misperceptions of Jesus Christ, it’s so
easy to think that we would never make his mistakes. We would never
doubt. We would never be afraid. We would never deny Jesus, let alone
three times? We would never want to be first in God’s affection. We
know better. We would never try to impress Jesus, right?
I fear I am a lot like Peter. I can absolutely relate to him. Like Peter, I
can be too eager to get my theology “just right” and then show it off.
Like Peter, I wish God and the world would know that I am a good
person. Like Peter, when I’m confronted with a new theological insight,
sometimes I’ll put up a good fight first. Yes, I have to admit, there is a
good chance, I might have rebuked Jesus.
Maybe that is why I feel defensive for Peter. Look, he did answer the
question right, didn’t he? “Who do you say that I am?” Answer: “You
are the Messiah.” Correct!! Goldstar! Teacher’s pet! The star student. I
love being the star student… yet somehow Peter still missed the point.
But Jesus and Peter are in agreement here, so what gives? It’s the correct
title. Messiah. The problem is this: Peter is a product of his environment
as are we all. And in Peter’s environment, in his culture and belief
system, the Messiah is somebody like King David, but of course more
powerful. Jesus’ lineage was linked to King David’s for that very reason.
The Messiah Peter and almost every person then was expecting,
possesses the kind of power it takes to conquer the Romans, much in the
same way that David discarded Goliath. This Messiah would then usher
in a new kingdom like King David did. A kingdom with independence,
and sovereign power, and he would rule over a united Israel, once again.
This Messiah may have spiritual blessings but is engaged with earthly
matters. Solving problems, not in a divine, but in a worldly way. This
Messiah is a conqueror of the mortal world. A governing and militaristic
savior. That is the Messiah expected by the culture, the people that Peter
grew up with, the people he called family and friends. This Messiah is
less about God’s kingdom, and more about the people’s kingdom.
Is this vision of Jesus Christ too different from ours? Do we still want
and expect a being of superior worldly powers? More like a superhero
than the Son of man?
Our history shows that even with the benefit of hindsight, we haven’t
been putting Jesus’ lessons into effect very well. Just a few centuries
ago, men still want God to be in charge on earth and in a visible seat of
the utmost earthly power. This turned into several wars known as the
Crusades.
And now? Are we getting it? Or are we just like Peter, still waiting for
Jesus Christ to lay down the law.
Based on what??? Here’s the thing, Peter called Jesus Messiah. Peter’s
authoritative kind of Messiah. But all he has seen Jesus do, is healing
sick and demarginalized people. Jesus is bringing the ones on the fringes
back to community, he’s hanging out with people that haven’t got a lick
of power. Jesus continuously shows a disregard for worldly powers and
their machinations. Jesus builds relationships, not a platform. He
operates completely outside of mainstream. He has not in any way,
shape, or form, shown his disciples in our gospel today any sign that this
might change, and he will go toe-to-toe with the Roman Empire before
long. There is no sign of an army gathering, no sign of Jesus starting to
consolidate power. Jesus shows no signs of being the Messiah everyone
is expecting. So Peter’s assertation that Jesus is the Messiah, is not really
a factual statement on his part. It is a hopeful statement. As they are
getting closer to Jerusalem, Peter’s expectations of Jesus grow.
No wonder then, that when Jesus describes his messianic path as fraught
with danger, humiliation, and pain, and ending in being sacrificed on the
degrading cross, instead of having the power to crucify his enemies, it’s
no wonder poor Peter’s brain short-circuited. This is the complete
opposite of his expectations after all. His human expectations. Peter
rebukes Jesus.
“Get behind me Satan. For you are setting your mind not on divine
things, but on human things.” Jesus rebukes Peter.
That’s harsh. Satan? I set my mind on human things. Most of the time.
I’m human. Like Peter, I need to learn and practice to set my mind on
things divine over things human.
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take
up their cross and follow me.” These are Jesus’ instructions to Peter, to
his disciples, to the people of Israel, and to us. “If any want to become
my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and
follow me.”
Self-denial and taking up your cross, well don’t threaten me with a good
time! What kind of blessing is this? How saved are we going to feel by
our beloved Messiah when we deny ourselves that dessert and carry the
cross of suffering without even being allowed to complain? Some
salvation this is.
Maybe Jesus is not talking about the suffering that is simply a part of
being alive. Like deadlines, bills, disease, and those annoying neighbors
to your left. And I can’t believe that Jesus would want us to actively
seek out suffering for some ill-conceived martyrdom. He didn’t seek to
die on the cross Himself, he accepted it as the natural consequences of
His divine actions in this broken world. To carry the cross then, means to
accept the consequences from following Jesus Christ. It means putting
God’s priorities above our own self-interest. Setting our mind on things
divine, not human. Even if that means giving up security. Carrying your
cross is to bring the good news to others, so that they can experience
God’s love through Jesus Christ.
Ok, preacher. Great, we’ll carry our cross. But tell us again what’s in it
for us. Self-denial and carrying the cross still doesn’t sound like a good
time, you know. Right you are.
No one likes to suffer. I don’t. Although I recently experienced a kind of
suffering, I willingly chose. And not just me, thousands of people. Most
of you know that I participated in Burning Man. For over a week I
camped in the desert, it was hot and windy. And it was cold and wet.
And believe it or not, a dust storm on a playa in the Nevada desert is
much, much worse than ours here. Burners accept this suffering. I
wondered why, and curiosity will kill me one day probably. So, I went.
On my second day there, we built a geodesic dome, this would be our
chapel. In broiling temperatures. With biting dust in the air. After a few
hours of this, a strange sweaty man visited our camp lugging around a
heavy cooler. His costume was something else... He put down his load,
and with a big smile he handed all of us popsicles. Nothing ever tasted
this good. And I have never seen a cooler costume in my life! No weird
stranger he, but my new best friend!
See, here’s the thing: when we all carry our cross, we carry one another.
When we carry the cross, it carries us. It was my job to help build this
dome as a chapel for all the campers, so I accepted it. That meant I
accepted the sweat, the strained muscles, the bruises, the dust that bores
into your skin, the suffering. It was his job to go around all the camps
and make sure his neighbors are hydrated while building. Lugging
around a heavy cooler. These jobs are not assigned. They need to be
done, and people just start carrying that cross when they see it needs
doing. In this way, everyone did their part, carried their cross, and was in
turn held up by a neighbor doing the same.
When we all carry our cross, we carry one another. And that, that does
sound like a good time. That sounds like God’s kingdom. Not in the
distance, at some unknowable day in time, but right at our fingertips.
Wherever we are in life, when we carry our cross, it carries us into
God’s love.
Like our Messiah says: “If any want to become my followers, let them
deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Amen.
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