Grace United Methodist Church
pastorwillrice@gmail.com
Mark 8:31-38
“Choosing Something More”
I spent most of this week in
I have to be honest, for a young, up and coming pastor in the Southwest Texas Conference, this is an extremely dangerous place to be. If I let them, other clergy members will lay in front of me the glory to come. Not necessarily, the glory of the Kingdom of God, or the glory of a world of mercy and justice, but rather, the glory of a fruitful, successful future in ministry. “Look Will, let me take you to the top of the mountain and show you the power and glory you may some day have.” I can listen to them tell me about the large congregations I may someday serve, congregations that offer equally large salaries. I can even hear about my future as a district superintendent, serving over the pastors of my assigned district. If I really let it get thick, I can hear about the thought of me as Bishop, with an entire annual conference as my kingdom!
Last week, in his sermon, Pastor John took us into the wilderness with Jesus. We heard the wilderness story from Mark’s Gospel, and heard that Jesus was tempted by Satan. Mark 1:12-13:
12And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Mark has the most barebones description of Jesus time in the wilderness. In Matthew and Luke’s gospel, Mark’s words are expanded. We get some details of the temptation. Matthew 4:1-11.
In Matthew’s account, the tempter offers Jesus three temptations. For simplicity, I will call them the temptation to comfort, security and glory.
3The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
Comfort, something to eat after 40 days without. Security:
“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
Security, testing God to be sure God will protect him physically; and glory, having power and recognition.
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
I read that this weekend as I was considering my future glory a pastor in the Southwest Texas Conference.
10Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”
Before we spend too much time on last week’s text, let’s take a look at this week’s Gospel reading.
31Then he began to teach them 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. 32He said all this quite openly.
Remember, the disciples didn’t know the end of the story like we do. In fact, in Mark’s gospel, this is the first time Jesus is bringing up all this stuff about rejection and death and resurrection. No doubt they might be a little surprised.
OK guys, I realize that you have all left your homes and jobs and have been following me around for some time now. I realize you have witnessed some strange and amazing things and have been put in some particularly difficult and frightening situations. I know that over the last couple of years I have taught you some really tough stuff, some stuff that you have had a hard time grasping. It seems like you are finally starting to catch on, and now I have some good news. I, the guy you have been following, the guy you thought was going to change the world am going to undergo a bunch of suffering, get rejected by all the important religious people and then, well, die. In case that doesn’t freak you out, three days after that I will rise again. Who wants to go get some lunch?
Peter really has a reaction.
And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
It seems pretty shocking to hear that Peter began to rebuke him. Rebuke is such a strong word. It translates literally as “to assess a penalty” or “charge someone as blamable.” It is a strong word of warning, almost a threat.
Remember, Jesus does a lot of rebuking. Back in the first chapter of Mark, Jesus rebukes a spirit:
1:25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!"
Jesus threatened the wind in chapter 4:
4:39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.
And just a verse before where we began today, after Peter announces the Jesus is the Messiah,
8:30And he sternly ordered (rebuked) them not to tell anyone about him.
So far in Mark’s gospel, Jesus has been doing all of the rebuking. But now:
32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
You know, you can’t really blame Peter for wanting to rebuke Jesus. We all have to occasionally get our friends back on track. I remember going through the painfully enlightening process of writing and submitting my examination for commissioning as a probationary elder in the
Tina rebuked me, in other words, sternly ordered or warned me to get my butt off the floor, back onto the chair and start working on my exam. She was just pulling me out of my own pathetic self loathing and putting me back on track. I imagine that is what Peter thought he was doing.
There is a big difference here between the rebuking Jesus does and the rebuking Peter doesn’t do. It is very clearly written in English and in Greek that Peter only began rebuking him. He starts, but Jesus finishes.
33But 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.”
It is easy just to read that “Get behind me, Satan!” as just unnecessarily harsh. I mean the guy just misunderstood, Jesus doesn’t have to go calling him Satan! But remember last week’s text of Jesus in the wilderness. Remember the passage from Matthew we read. Jesus is offered some temptations, the temptations of comfort, security and glory. But, Jesus chooses none of them, Jesus chooses the path that leads to the cross, the path that leads to discomfort, to insecurity, perhaps to glory, but not glory the way the world understands glory!
“Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
Peter couldn’t yet see that Jesus was choosing something more than what this world would measure as good: comfort, security, glory. Peter was tempting Jesus with the same worldly comfort, security and glory that Satan was. Jesus was facing again the same temptation and Jesus was choosing the path to the cross, a glory that mystifies this world.
And you see that is what I was considering while listening to my colleagues earlier this week. I find I really need to keep reconsidering what path I am taking. It can be really hard to tell. There could be a path that leads the way God is leading me, that takes me to larger churches, better appointments, maybe even to the role of Bishop someday, but why am I following the path I choose, am I seeking comfort, security and glory or am I truly seeking God?
34He 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.
Alright, there is a lot in that statement, but focus on one thing for a moment:
Get behind me (opisow mou), Satan
"If any want to become my followers (opisow mou)
The words for behind me in verse 33 and the words for my followers in verse 34 are, in Greek, exactly the same words. That “behind me” is, in essence, “follow me.” You see, here in lies the choice, do we follow the temptation to grasp for the values of the world, comfort, security and glory, do we get behind that or do we get behind Jesus, do we follow the way to the cross?
And that is one of the things that we get to think about in Lent. As we prepare to celebrate Easter, we decide if that is what we really want to do. You see Easter is all about glory, but what kind of glory. Do we want to follow the world and seek comfort, security and glory, or are we willing to begin letting go of the search for those things of the world and instead embrace the possibilities that God has for us in following Jesus.
This is not the question of whether or not we want to be Christians, but rather, what kind of Christians do we want to be.
I can still be a Christian and listen to my press and follow the path to larger churches with bigger salaries and more prestige. And I can still do God’s work in that. No matter what path I follow there, I will be a pastor, and I will be preaching the word and bringing people to the faith and encouraging spiritual growth and engaging people in mission. All that is good.
But what if… what if I truly follow, truly get behind Jesus and put aside thoughts of comfort, security and glory, truly give in to the possibilities of following Jesus, choose something more, even if that means less comfort, security, and glory. What if that means smaller churches and less prestige because that is what would better serve God.
This becomes a complicated struggle in our lives because it calls us to consider our own motives. We have to ask ourselves why we are following the path we are following. Are we hoping to find the best the world has to offer, or the best that God has to offer?
Some people mistakenly think that my main role as a pastor is to bring comfort, to bring people the good news of God to free them from the burdens of their lives. Sometimes I do that, but it is not really my task. My real role is to make you uncomfortable. The world teaches us that our true goal is comfort, security and glory. I am here to remind you that our true goal is to reach for God.
This discomfort can and should be part of our lives as individuals as we consider the path of our lives and the choices we make. Often we face tough choices in reconciling the decisions we make about how we make our livings and how we spend our time and money with what we believe as Christians because the things of the world come into conflict with the things of the Gospel.
Sometimes that really works itself out day to day. I just had to replace my vehicle and the world tells me I need the comfort of leather seats and power locks and windows, the security of 16 airbags, the glory of something that will turn heads. The gospel made me ask if I really thought my car payment should be bigger than my offering to do God’s work in the church.
This discomfort can and should be part of our life as a church as we consider and struggle with our future. As a church, we constantly struggle with our worldly desire to be comfortable and safe and even proud with the gospel’s call to be open to all. Here at Grace we are already struggle with the need to make more space for more people whose lives could be changed by the gospel fighting against the fact that we like things the way they are. The world tells me it is ok to embrace the comfort, security and glory of sitting in the same pew I have sat in for years, of being surrounded by people I know, of not facing the financial burden of building or expanding, of feeling like we are certainly doing God’s work because we are already full. The gospel tells me that, as a church, comfort isn’t important, discomfort is the better path when it leads to more people being invited to experience the grace of God, more people being nurture in that faith and more people feeling the call to reach out in mission to our community and world.
34He 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.
In Lent, I invite us all to choose that path that leads to the cross, I invite us all to choose something more. I invite us all to embrace the discomfort, to truly follow Jesus in the path that leads to life. Amen
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