Rev. Peter Hofstra
Whosoever
does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. How is that for a challenge to who we are as
Christians? If we have not taken up our
cross, we are not worthy of Jesus. Wait
a minute, this is ten chapters or so before we even get to the crucifixion of
Jesus, why is he talking about crosses here?
That is
the Gospel for you. It is a unique style
of literature. Part history, part hero
tale, part theological treatise, part a half dozen other things. Simply put, it is the witness to Jesus
Christ. Assuming a chronological order
of unfolding events is not the way to read these verses. Reading every piece in light of the climax,
the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is far more appropriate. But wait, can we trust a text that is talking
about the cross before we ever get to the cross? Chronological thinking. This is God-inspired literature, whose
purpose is to share with us the truth of the gift of Grace through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Better to take it as truth
rather than history.
As we
go through this passage, there are a couple of ‘lifted’ verses from this
passage, proof texts that are used in other areas of life, but, out of context,
carry a very different spin.
Verse
24 is the first, the disciples is not above the teacher, nor the slave above
their master. The base content is
putting humans alongside God, in Jesus and in heaven. Disciple/teacher is the relationship Jesus
has fostered. Slave/master is one
metaphor of the people of Israel to their God.
This verse has been used in any number of contexts where the point has
been to keep someone in their place over and against a higher authority. In one of its most flagrant abuses, it was
preached from the pulpit in the antebellum south to keep blacks in their place,
as slaves. “Because the Bible tells me
so.”
The
context of the verse is not about disciples or slaves. It is about the masters. Whose your master? Whose your teacher? Is it Jesus?
Or is it Beelzabub? Is it the
devil? But it is not about the House of
the Devil either. It is about who truly
is in charge. Have no fear of “them”,
according to verse 26, what is covered will be uncovered. A modern rendition might be ‘the truth will
out’.
As
Jesus concludes in verse 27 “What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light;
and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.”
See
what Jesus is doing here? When he is
telling his disciples they will be sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and the
message of salvation, he is also telling them that they will be revealing the
secret knowledge of Beelzebub, of the devil, and the devil’s plan in this world-which
is to lead all to destruction. And rest
assured…verse 28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the
soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
And
over and against this diabolical power, Jesus stacks up the power of God, “Are
not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground
apart from your Father. And even the
hairs of your head are all counted. So
do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” I have used the line about God knowing the
count of the hairs on my head, because that number is in decline.
But why
sparrows? It is a reference that the
disciples would understand. Two sparrows
sold for a penny, that is the most basic animal sacrifice that can be brought
to the temple. So there is a real
connection to Godly worship. Jesus is
saying something like, “You know the sacrifice of the poorest of the poor (the
two sparrows). Not one of them will fall
to the ground apart from the Father. The
Father in heaven preserves the sparrow and humans are worth much more than many
sacrifices to God.” See the spin? Makes the comparison a little less random I
hope.
But the
key to these verses is that they stack the power of God against the power of
Beelzebub, the devil, and the clear victor is God.
So what
has Jesus told his disciples? He has
told them to spread the Good News of the Gospel, even though that news is
against the plans of the one who, by Jesus’ own acknowledgement, has the power
to destroy not only the body, but also the soul. Those whose master is Beelzebub will see both
destroyed. In the grand scheme of God’s
plan, the body is already spoken for, to be resurrected and preserved for
eternity by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now
comes the dividing line between heaven and hell: "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me
before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever
denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.”
Sidebar,
can you imagine how Peter felt after denying Jesus to others three times on the
night of Jesus’ arrest in light of these words?
But
note the activity that is required in these verses. It is about an active acknowledgement of
Jesus before others or an active denial of Jesus before others. There is a HUGE middle ground in the church today
of people who acknowledge Jesus in heart and mind and would NEVER deny Jesus in
front of others, but who do not express an opinion about Jesus one way or the
other outside of church.
And
there is a HUGE middle ground of people today who would say that they believe
in God, but never follow that up with active participation in one of the communities
of believers that cross this nation.
This is
confirmation of what has been repeated multiple times as the biggest problem
with the church today, that being Complacency.
We got it good so we don’t rock the boat. We feel we are ‘good enough’ so we do nothing
more. We are not bad people, which is as
far as we need to go. And in light of
what Jesus says next, I can understand holding the status quo.
He says
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not
come to bring peace, but a sword. For I
have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's foes will be members
of one's own household.” What’s the
rule? No discussing religion or politics
at the table? Why rock the boat?
Ever
been witness to when that rule has been broken?
When family members won’t talk, sometimes for years, because of that “stupid
argument”? Maybe it wasn’t about religion
exactly, but something derivative of faith?
A homosexual or trans child is banished because of their sexuality? How about the charge of fatherly authority,
derived from Paul, “If you walk out that door, don’t ever come back…” Or if there is an active believer in the
family, one whose aim in life is to make sure their loved ones know Jesus as
Lord and Savior, and are convinced that everybody in the Middle Ground is
actually in the group that Jesus says he will deny before the Father? In the eyes of that believer, they are trying
to save their family’s souls.
Once
again, we come back to the measure of our faith. Now it is a matter of being worthy of Jesus,
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever
loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not
take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”
In my
experience, the two sides of this sentence are generally separated. The first part is pretty much dismissed
because it reads like we have to be less loving to our parents and children
than to Jesus, like he is somehow making us pick.
The
second part of the sentence is a “call to arms”, in line with Jesus bringing a
sword and not peace. It is the call to
get off our duffs and share the gospel.
But I see these as one, linked
together by the phrasing of “not being worthy of me”. Why would someone who loves mother or father
or son or daughter not be worthy of Jesus?
Look at the verses that we just came through. Jesus ends them by saying “one’s foes will be
members of one’s own family.” It is a
full blown family feud. So follow out
the logic, a massive fight with the family about Jesus and the choice is made
to turn away from Jesus entirely to somehow satisfy the immediate family…see
how Jesus would say that person is not worthy of him? I am of a mind that if a family is so
insistent that the only way to satisfy them would be to give up one’s faith, I
don’t think that family is worthy of the believer.
Of
course, that is so easy for me to say, living in a nation where Christianity is
in the majority. Harder where it is
difficult, even criminal to change from the local religion to our faith.
Whoever does not take up their
cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
That is
the tough one. That’s the one that speaks
to Christians who find themselves comfortably on the middle ground, lukewarm
about the faith. Yes, go on Sundays, and
at holidays, yes we sing and pray, but when it comes to getting out of the
walls of the church, into the mix of life…well…that’s another story.
Then we
come to that final bit, how does that even relate? If I find my life I will lose it, but if I
lose it for Jesus’ sake, I will find it?
Well, I get the second part, die in the faith of Jesus and we have the
promise of the resurrection. We are
worthy. It’s like Jesus said above,
those who acknowledge Jesus before others, Jesus will acknowledge them before
the Father. And since, from a few weeks
back, we came to understand that Jesus was given all people, it is not just “a
good word” put in with the boss, but it is salvation itself we are talking
about.
But if
I find my life, I will lose it… Who are
going to lose their lives in this passage?
Take it back to the part about Beelzebub, verse 28, do not fear him who
can kill the body but not the soul, fear the one who can kill both. Fear the devil? Well, the devil might be able to orchestrate
the end of our life. But it is going to
take service to the devil, the work of denying Jesus to others, the choice for
evil, that is going to have Jesus deny that person before his Father in
heaven. And the one who is denied in
heaven, I think that’s the one who loses body and soul. They find their life now, in this time and
place, and this is where they die, without hope for more.
Now
that leads to another spin on this passage.
Christians have interpreted it to mean that Jesus basically denies this
life for the life to come. Die soon and
get Paradise quicker, to sum it up. But
that is not what Jesus is saying.
Rather, he is answering an age old philosophical inquiry about
life. “Is this all, is there nothing
more?” There sure as the sun shines is
more.
But it
all comes down to this. Christians are
out there breaking down the status quo.
Because the status quo, the way things function, that is sin in the
world. That is the place where Beelzebub
is in charge. And the Christian steps
into that world and proclaims the truth, that greed and hatred abound, and no
wonder Jesus says that he came to bring a sword, and not peace.
Peace
is the ultimate goal, but there is going to be a fight before we get
there.
Maybe
this is why we have a huge gathering of people standing in the middle
ground. They know God and Jesus are good
things, but to wade into a fight over it?
Why risk it? I love the way some
phrase it, “Why risk what God has already blessed me with?”
Which
is actually a pretty great question. Why
should we risk what God has given us?
Why move out of the comfortable middle and into what Jesus is describing
as an armed conflict?
Last
week, I took some time on the Black Lives Matter movement. That right there is a tremendous reason to
get into the action. There is an entire
segment of our American population that has been systemically subject to racism
since the first whites even came to this continent. What really churns my gut is that we have
built up a system of law enforcement that twists people who stood up to care
for their community and fellow human beings into those who kill and assault
others, or feel the intense pressure that they have to cover it up when their
colleagues do it. That is what is
important to me right now, and how I am trying to make the name of Jesus truly
known-that Jesus loves everyone.
How
about until the day that everyone can see freely and joyfully in church to
worship the Lord Jesus Christ, our work isn’t done? The fight isn’t over.
We have
this faith of ours, Jesus tells us it is a truth that will overcome the devil’s
‘truth’ of world dominance. If we just
acknowledge Jesus to others, Jesus will acknowledge us to God.
So
there it is. The call to action. Jesus issued it to the disciples and he
issues it to us. He lays out the risks
and the rewards, the truth and the consequences. The future of the church, the success of the
church, the lifeblood of the church is in how we take up Jesus at his challenge
to us today.
Amen.
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