The Way of the Cross - Jesus Does Not Use Fine Print

A sermon from the second Sunday after Pentecost. 

Matthew 10:24-39 (NRSV)

²⁴A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; ²⁵it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
²⁶So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. ²⁸Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰And even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
³²Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; ³³but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
³⁴Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
³⁵For 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;
³⁶and one's foes will be members of one's own household.
³⁷Whoever 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; ³⁸and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

The Way of the Cross - Jesus Does Not Use Fine Print

     We live in a world of fine print. Every cell phone or cable contract we sign has fine print. Every pill we take comes with fine print. Our lives are governed by fine print. And let’s be honest - who really takes the time to read it all. The messages are in fine print for a reason. If we really knew the details of our cell phone or cable contracts, if we really knew all the details for the medicines we take, if we really knew all the warnings that come with most of the things we deal with on a daily basis, we would never go outside. The fine print is enough to drive anyone a little crazy. We sleep better at night not having the fine print. So we leave it as fine print. We know it’s there, but we get peace of mind by not reading it all.
    Sometimes we treat the parts of the Gospel as if it were written in fine print. There are some really tough sayings from Jesus contained in the pages of the Gospels. He calls us to do some pretty absurd things with our lives as we follow him. We know he says them, but we often look right past them. It’s as if Jesus says some things that ought to come with warning labels. That’s how we treat them.
    Take today’s story from Matthew as example “A.” This passage might as well be written in fine print. We know it’s there, but do we really every take it head on? This is one of the passages that gets glazed over.
    But not today.
    Jesus does not speak in fine print. So we will not treat this passage as if it were regulated to the fine print. Listen to the words of Jesus.
    “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” These are hard words. And they seem to contradict some of the things we know about Jesus and have heard him say. Just a few weeks ago we heard the story from John of the resurrected Jesus’ first words to scared disciples in a locked upper room - “Peace be with you.” We have heard Jesus claim peace. So perhaps he is working with a metaphor here.
    Jesus and his followers and the Jewish people of his time knew the metaphor of “peace.” They knew of the peace of Rome - the “pax romana.” But the peace of Rome wasn't really peace at all. The peace of Rome was won with violence and brutality. Rome imposed it’s peace with war. Jesus and his people knew all too well of this kind of peace. Perhaps Jesus is alluding to this - pointing out that the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom he preaches about and lives out, will not look like Rome. The peace of God’s kingdom is radically different. But what about the sword?
    Jesus does claim that he comes to bring a sword - which is puzzling. But this sword is not a sword of violence. It is not meant to take life. It is meant to give life. Jesus comes wielding the sword of the Gospel. The world-changing message and way of life that is the kingdom of heaven. And this message and way of life is divisive by nature.  
    The Gospel of Jesus Christ is divisive. It is in conflict with the powers of this world - the status quo - the complacent privileged. The kingdom of God is in conflict with our rabid desire to label people as “in” and “out.” There is no clearer example of this than the life of Jesus himself. Jesus is put on political trial for pushing back against the systems that were stripping life away from marginalized people. He took on the broken systems of health care, table fellowship and economics. These are not acts that bring peace into the community. There are divisive. And that’s the point. God acts differently than we expect.
    Jesus dared to heal the sick. He upset the broken system of healing that left so many outside of the community. Jesus reached out to the marginalized and welcomed them into the community. His way of healing was divisive to the statues quo.
    Jesus dared to eat with tax collectors and prostitutes. He changed the dynamics of table fellowship and how resources were shared. Jesus reached out to those who were not invited to the table. His fellowship practices were divisive.
    Jesus dares to turn over the tables of the money changers. He reacted in anger to the abuse of the economics of the temple that devoured the resources of orphans and widows. Jesus took a bold stance on how the economics of God works and declared with his life that there us enough for all in the kingdom of heaven - not just the privileged few. His economic practices were divisive.
    This way of life is what led Jesus to the cross - where God does God’s ultimate work. God works through the cross - the most unimaginable place of all. The cross - the ultimate symbol of death. The signal that the powers have made their decision and deemed the one crucified not worthy - proclaiming the victim insignificant and powerless. This is where God does God’s work. The cross becomes a signal of victory for the people of God. And it’s in this victory that we are invited to participate. Jesus invites us to take up our crosses and follow him.
    Taking up our crosses means aligning our lives with the one who turns over tables and dines with all the wrong people. Whose very ministry was divisive because it did not play into the rhythm of the privileged or the status quo. The ministry of Jesus exposed the fallenness of the world and bore witness to a way of life based on the depths of God’s love. The divisive sword of Jesus - his life and ministry - cuts through the brokenness so that all can have life. The sword that Jesus wields cuts through the divisions we have so ignorantly made in our lives and relationships. The sword of Jesus cuts through the barriers and boarders that we erect between ourselves and others. The sword Jesus wield cuts through our own egos.
    It will disrupt the lives we think we deserve to lead. It will effect our relationships with family and friends. It will effect the choices we make about how we spent our money and invest our time and energy. Following Jesus on the way of the cross will lead to death. The way of the cross will lead to the end of life as we know it - But we have nothing to fear.
    Paul writes with great confidence in his letter to the Romans. “For if we have been united with him in a death like his (the cross), we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Paul knows what the death and resurrection of Christ has done for us all. He knows that the death of Jesus and the resurrection has united us all. He will write later on that he is convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love for us through Christ Jesus. He is absolutely confident in the love of God through Jesus Christ.
    The love of God is strong enough to united and build a kingdom that will not end. But it’s on God’s terms - and we are invited to follow. We are called to follow by proclaiming and living out the Gospel. And there is no fine print. Jesus is quite clear what will happen. There will be tension. There will be division. The road will get rough. But the love of God is strong enough to get is through. God’s love will see us through the storms that rage. And we will not be the same people on the other side. Our lives will be different. The sword the Jesus bears will reshape our lives and cast it anew in his image.     

  Friends, there is no fine print. Just the call to follow. The call to take up our crosses, trust that God’s love is great enough to weather the storms Jesus knew would come, and follow Jesus on the way of the cross. May God bless you, this day and always, as you follow Jesus.

Christ the King

A Sermon from November 24, 2013 - The Festival of "Christ the King" - based on Luke 23:33-49.  The audio recording was taken at the Praise and Worship service at Bethany.

Luke 23:33-49

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.  Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing.  And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!”  The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”  There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”  One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”  But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?  And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last.  When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.”  And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts.  But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. 



    The cross is our theology.  This simple statement points to the heart of how Martin Luther understood our relationship with God.  The cross stands at the center of what Luther taught and preached during his life and ministry.  The cross is written into what we confess and how we live out our faith.  We have inherited this focus from the generations before us and we pass it down to our children.  A cross is the center point of our sanctuary.  When you walk in you can’t help but see it suspended behind the alter.  It is so prevalent in our midst that I wonder sometimes if we even notice.  Hidden in plain sight is the cross, the heart of our theology.  We encounter it on jewelry and t-shirts so much that perhaps we look past it.  And yet we are faced with it’s reality this morning.  
    And it may seem odd to find the cross in the cold winds of November.  We left the cross back in April, on Good Friday.  We left it standing empty on a hill outside of Jerusalem.  We celebrated the empty tomb and the Easter miracle of Christ’s resurrection.  As the church year flows, the cross is behind us.  Among the Christmas lights and trees popping up around town and on TV, the cross makes an interesting contrast.  Next to the mangers of the nativity the cross may seem like a harsh reality - let us celebrate his birth before his death.  But here the cross stands.  And its at the feet of the crucified Christ that we find ourselves this morning. 
    Today we celebrate Christ the King, also known as the Reign of Christ; the final festival of the church year.  We adorn the church in gold and white and festival before we enter into the blue and waiting of Advent.  Today is the day we celebrate the lordship of Christ in our midst. 
    It’s actually a rather late aspect of the church’s life on this earth.  The festival of “Christ the King,” or the “Reign of Christ,” does not get introduced into the church’s calendar until 1925.  Pope Pius XI introduces this festival to the world in order to combat the rise of nationalism and secularism.  This festival was born in the shadow of the first world war.  The victors were celebrating, the pride of victory spilling over into the rise of a more secular society.  Humanity had won a hard fought victory through weapons, not God.  It was into this environment that the Pope pointed to Christ.  The world needed to be reminded of God’s gift for all people.  Nationalism and secularism needed to be kept at bay so the pope pointed to Christ.  And still to this day we celebrate the reign of Christ. 
    But today we find Christ on the cross and not on a throne.  Today we hear the story of Christ’s crucifixion and death.  If we are celebrating lordship and the festival of a king, perhaps we chose the wrong one.  The figure hanging on the cross does not resemble a king.  He does not resemble a person of power.  In the context of the story, which is to say the context of Rome, he is a criminal, and is receiving his state approved sentence.  Jesus is labeled as a threat to the state and so he must be dealt with accordingly.  The cross was used by Rome to send a clear message; we control life and death.  The empire controlled life under it’s watch.  It set the boundaries of what as acceptable and if you threatened these rules or broke them, you paid the price.  The cross was a statement of control.  Left in public spaces, at crossroads, and along major highways, the crosses of crucified rebels send a clear message to steer clear of questioning Rome’s power as if to say, “Do not defy us or we will crush you.”  A loud and clear statement with a cross.  And this is where we find Jesus.
    But the picture Luke’s paints of Jesus on the cross does not look like a broken, humbled Jesus.  If the goal was to destroy Jesus’ sense of self and mission, the cross has not worked.  Luke shows Jesus in control of himself and the circumstances.  Though he is indeed crucified by Rome, Jesus is still ministering to those in need. 
    From the cross Jesus forgives those who are crucifying him.  “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  The ministry of Jesus was about reaching out and healing those on the margins, and this ministry continues from the cross.  He reaches out to those on the margins once more, speaking a word of forgiveness to those whose job it is to kill and silence the detractors of the empire.  Those who deal in death live farthest from the fruits of life, but not from the mercy of Jesus.  Jesus remains the healer.  Jesus releases them from their captivity to death, and in the face of death speakers words of healing and forgiveness.  
    From the cross Jesus speakers words of new life to the criminal who defends him.  In the face of jeers from the crowd, the calls for Jesus to save himself in a display of divine power, Jesus chooses to reach out to one in need with a more subtle display of power.  The second criminal, hanging on his own cross, dares to ask Jesus to remember him when he reaches his kingdom.  It is a treasonous statement.  The criminal, crucified for his defiance of Rome, has not gotten the message.  He looks to Jesus and sees one who is bringing a new kingdom into the world.  A kingdom that belongs to God.  A kingdom that brings hope and healing to a people crushed under the weight of death.  “Jesus, remember me when you come into you kingdom.”  And Jesus extends a hand of welcome.  Even from the cross the boundaries of God’s kingdom has no limits. 
    From the cross Jesus displays his trust in God, who has sent him into the world to preach and heal.  “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”  Jesus has remained faithful to his ministry for the sake of God’s kingdom, even through the humiliating work of the cross.  Jesus trusts that God can bring healing, even through the most unimaginable events.  And God does bring healing, and new life through the cross. 
    Today we celebrate Jesus Christ, a king enthroned on a cross.  It is a paradox.  It does not make sense to a world that expects a king to rule from a throne.  It was unexpected at the time of Jesus and I dare say things have not changed all that much.  And so for us who follow Jesus, the message of the crucified Christ is still an imperative for our lives.  
    “We preach Christ, and him crucified,” as Paul wrote in his first letter to the church in Corinth.  And this remains our calling today.  The world needs to be reminded of the healing power of God’s kingdom.  A kingdom that does not conform to the world’s standard’s of power, but to God’s boundless mercy and love.  This world needs the good news of the cross. 
    We live in a nation that spends more annually on weapons and war than it does on education.  In the face of this reality of death we preach Christ crucified, God’s love poured out for the world.  This bold statement points to the reality that’s God’s kingdom is more powerful than death.  That through the love of God poured out on the cross we can come together in peace and build a better world. 
    We are taught to fear our boarders and those who cross them.  We are taught to fear our neighbors and the strangers in our midst.  To this broken image of community we preach Christ crucified and the power of God that tears down boarders and teaches us to love.  Even our enemies.  This is a powerful witness to the community of God’s kingdom where all have a place at the table.  
    The cross, the symbol of absolute power for an earthly empire, is turned into a life giving symbol through the death and resurrection of Christ.  Through the cross God draws all things to himself.  There is no evil or sin too great for the power of God.  Jesus displayed this radical power by enduring the cross.  And we celebrate this victory today. 
    Christ is our King.  The cross is our theology.  This is our way of faith.  This is our story.