On setting your mind on divine things. Matthew 16.21-28

Matthew 16:21-28 

21From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” 23But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”  

24Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 26For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? 27“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. 28Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”  

This week I spent time with the Council at a congregation in a synod far, far away conducting an exit interview with their interim pastor. I always ask the council members what they will carry with them from the time that the pastor has been there. Now, a little background on this church: they had troubles. T-R-OU-B-L-ES – it was a 6 syllable word for them. From a small group of people who ruled the roost, to a building that was as unwelcoming as the congregation, to driving out the previous pastor, to apathy and complacency from most of the congregation. They had troubles. And now, two plus years later, they've emerged on the other side. Not perfect by any means, but through the worst of it. So as we went around the table sharing what each person would hold onto from their 2+ years together, one woman said that through the interim pastor's leadership, through prayer, and getting into scripture they remembered what was important and quit fighting over the carpet and the wall color. In other words, they remembered to set their minds on divine things and not human things. The majority of the congregation experienced a reorientation, a transformation, and were reestablished as helping to build up instead of causing to stumble.  

The reading from the RCL last week is the first part of this story with these verses today as the second part of the story. In the first half, Jesus asks the disciples who people say that he is. And then he asks the disciples who they say that he is. Peter jumps at the opportunity to answer saying, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God." And Jesus praises him, giving him a new name and promising to build his church on Peter's testimony.  

But then Jesus ruins it for Peter and starts telling them what it means to be the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. That he will suffer and be killed and then be raised from the dead. We have the benefit of knowing the rest of the story so we can be a bit disdainful with Peter. But have a little compassion. Peter isn't ready for a Messiah who comes in order to die and he doesn't understand how that could be God's plan. Imagine the feeling of panic in his stomach as Jesus is saying all this. Peter had a way of understanding what he thought would be the outcome of their movement. And now it turns out that Jesus had a different plan all along.  

But Jesus doesn't stop there. He goes on to tell the disciples that the life they planned in following him will also be marked by the cross. And he didn't mean a pretty, gilded cross with gold and jewels. He meant the wooden cross upon which criminals hung and died a most horrible, painful death. Jesus tells them that his followers will give up their lives, deny themselves, and take up their cross. Anything else is not to set one's mind on divine things.  

Yes, that should put butterflies of panic in Peter's stomach. In fact, that ought to cause a heavy feeling in the pit of the stomach for any of us who think of ourselves as Christ followers. Because Jesus did not come to make you feel comfortable, or warm and fuzzy, or be your personal life coach. Jesus came to redeem the world. And that takes sacrifice, cross carrying, and losing your life for the sake of the world.  

In other words, as commentators on this text have pointed out, what we humans generally want is more of what the world has to offer (David Lose, http://www.davidlose.net/2017/08/pentecost-13-a-can-you-imagine/). More security, more money, a nicer house, cooler clothes, a higher-ranking job, people to listen to and adore us. But Jesus invites us into transformation of life. That means freedom from that stuff that is not actually life-giving and freedom for a life which begets life. A life of hope, compassion and transformation.  

This freedom begins with recognizing that what we have always valued is perhaps not of true, everlasting value. In the case of the congregation I mentioned before they had to let go of being "nice." That is, they had to address the un-Christ-like behaviors happening in the congregation instead of just hoping it would stop or ignoring it all together. They had to sacrifice a desire not to lose anyone from the congregation's membership so that they could open up and be welcoming in the congregation. They had to rid themselves of a fear of not having enough in order to live into a reality of abundance. Maybe those things sound easy, but they weren't.  

God is not a magician who makes this freedom from and freedom for process so easy - like God waves a magic wand and suddenly everything is perfect. We are partners in this work of freedom from and freedom for. 

I think of the sin of racism and how obvious it is now in our country in the wake of the Charlottesville violence. Those who have been freed from being oblivious to systemic racism and bigotry in our country have also been freed for the fight against it. So while it may not be comfortable to stand up against systemic racism, it is to take up ones cross and follow Jesus. Similarly those who have been freed from the sin of homophobia and out right hatred toward LGBTQ persons are freed for standing up against things like the Nashville Statement. (In which conservative Christian authors and co-signers from the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood wrote what they called a "Christian manifesto" on marriage between one man and one woman, and condemned what they call "homosexual immorality and transgenderism" and those who accept those things.) Again those who have been freed from bondage to sin have been freed up for loosing the bonds of hatred and fear and oppression of other people. 

Now, I'll get off my moral high horse here to say that none of this is easy. And as I think about being freed for carrying my cross I still get a bit of a pit in my stomach. Jesus doesn't promise a life of ease and comfort. However Jesus does promise something much, much better. And that is life everlasting. And I don't mean in life everlasting in "some heaven light years away" as the hymn sings (Gather Us In, ELW 532). I mean life everlasting here and now. Life experiencing the kingdom of God here. The reign of God come to earth. God's beloved community, as Dr. King named it, in which as we hear from Paul in the letter to the Romans for this Sunday, The people of God "let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; they love one another with mutual affection and outdo one another in showing honor. They don't lag in zeal. They are ardent in spirit and serve the Lord. They rejoice in hope, are patient in suffering and persevere in prayer. God's people contribute to the needs of the saints and extend hospitality to strangers. They bless those who persecute them, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another and do not repay anyone evil for evil. They strive to live peaceably with all...if their enemies are hungry, they feed them; if they are thirsty, they give them something to drink...They are not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

And they are called God's beloved. 

Jesus invites us just like he invited Peter to imagine a world of beloved community. A world that is different than the world we now live in. And he promises to be with us as we accept the invitation to deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow him. On that walk Jesus is the one who invites, Jesus is the one who accompanies, Jesus is the light at the end of the tunnel as it were. And indeed, even better, Jesus is the one who has made that walk already for our sakes and for the sake of the world. Amen. 

"Be still and know that I am God."

Each Wednesday at 11:00am at the Bishop's office in Lansing, we gather for Eucharist. All and any are welcome to join us (and eat lunch with us after as well). The following is my meditation from this morning on the Psalm for Reformation Day, Psalm 46. It led into a literal time of quiet meditation for those of us gathered together. 

This morning I want to focus on Psalm 46, specifically verse 10 – Be still and know that I am God.

“Be still” can be translated from Hebrew as: “Let go”, “surrender”, “cause yourself to become weak.”

It literally means “Shut up and know that I am God.” Think about the proverbial family road trip with the kids constantly asking, “Are we there yet?  Are we there yet?  Are we there yet?”  The answer, of course, is be still or shut up!

How often do we ask God for everything, but we don’t stop to shut up and be still, let go, or cause ourselves to become weak?  The act of being still and getting quiet becomes more of a challenge in our hectic world. The world asks us to be busy. God asks us to be still so that we can simply be in the presence of God, remembering that God is always with us and within us. Becoming weak is not something we value. We wish to be in control of our lives and our world. In effect, we seek to become our own personal God. But in the act of becoming weak, shutting up, being still, we re-learn that God is God. That we belong to God, not the other way around. That God’s presence is within and round us at all times and in all places.

In the 12-step program Alcoholics Anonymous the 11th step is to learn to be still all the time. To constantly be in a state of surrender to God. Perhaps each of us can take some advice from that program and train ourselves to constantly be in a state of stillness and surrender to God.

This isn’t a passive state, it is an active state of meditation and it takes practice. Today, we will practice together using verse 10 of Psalm 46. I will read it 4 times each time removing part of the verse until we reach simply the word “be.” Each of the 4 times I will follow with instructions for silent meditation.

At the end I will begin singing hymn 616, “Jesus, Remember Me” to bring us out of our meditation. We will sing it several times in succession.

Be still and know that I am God.

Know that God is present. Ask to feel God’s presence.  

Be still and know.

Become aware of God within and around you.

Be still.

Slow your mind. Focus on God.

Be

Sit and bask in the presence of God. 

*I consulted the following websites in preparation for this meditation: http://guidedchristianmeditation.com and http://www.hebrew4christians.com 

Healing and Hope in the Valley of the Shadow of Death - Sermon April 21, 2013

You know this line from Psalm 23 which in the old version went something like, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,”? That line has been running around in my head lately. “Yea though I walk- Yea though WE walk- yeah, here we walk in this valley of the shadow of death…” Death is everywhere this week. Actually, it’ everywhere, every week. But we are privileged enough to not to have to deal with it as regularly as we’ve had to this last week. I don’t have to rehearse the list for you but some include the Boston Marathon bombing, the fertilizer plant explosion in west Texas. Then there was the earthquake in Iran and the one in the Sichuan province in China. Also, the human death by gun violence in the US since the December 14 Newtown, CT school shootings climbed to 3,530[i] and in the month of April around 220 people have been killed in Afghanistan, many of whom were civilians. [ii]

 

So, here we are in the valley of the shadow of death. The valley includes individuals in our community battling physical and mental illness, families struggling with deeply-rooted anger and hurt, friends separated by mistrust, communities disrupted by simple lack of communication, conflict in working relationships, dire lack of basic needs, abuse, neglect, homelessness, joblessness, grief, fear.

And this valley includes the massive flooding in Ionia and Grand Rapids and around Michigan, the rising smog levels especially in Eaton and Ionia counties which leads to higher rates of asthma especially in children not to mention increases the impacts of global climate change[iii] and the fact that still CLEAN water gets harder and harder to find in some parts of the world while other parts are inundated with too much or severely polluted water. 

And so, here we are in the valley of the shadow of death. The shadow stretches across our homes and families, our church and community, our work and our play, our country, our world. The shadow sometimes closes so tightly around us that we cannot see our hands in front of our faces. It sometimes lies so heavily that it constricts our breathing. It sometimes is so thick that it causes us to panic. 

In the valley of the shadow of death, fear seems to be a reasonable reaction. Evil seems to have the upper hand. In the valley of the shadow of death, all the green pastures and the still waters in the world seem to evaporate and leave nothing but more shadow, more despair, more pain. 

And that is when it seems the shadow of death is winning. When we turn to hateful vengeance, death is winning. When we give up hope, death is winning. When we ignore the pain of the world around us, death is winning. When we hoard the love and grace, or the money and resources we have been given, death is winning. When we give up because the work of one person or one community can’t possibly make a difference, death is winning. When we feel entirely alone, death is winning.

……….

I recently joined twitter which is one of these social media programs in which you can express yourself but in 140 characters or less. It is a wonderful timewaster, but it is also a great way to be connected to organizations. In fact I joined so that I could follow the Human Rights Campaign’s coverage of the Supreme Court hearings a few weeks back on marriage equality. In very quick and easy spurts I could follow the updates and be directed to more lengthy articles if I wanted to. 

This week twitter was a flurry of activity from Boston to Texas to Washington DC, to weather updates from across the upper-Midwest. I couldn’t keep up. But for as much of an information overload as it was, I was struck by the goodness that came out too. And this is true not just on twitter but on facebook and the news. Stories of courageous men and women helping out in the aftermath of the bombs. Stories of the medical professionals, the EMTs, the Fire and police departments working overtime to restore reason and safety in the middle of chaos. People across the country were praying for victims and families and the really forgiving were even praying for the bombers. President Obama said in his part of the interfaith prayer service, “You showed us, Boston, that in the face of evil, Americans will lift up what’s good. In the face of cruelty, we will choose compassion. In the face of those who would visit death upon innocents, we will choose to save and to comfort and to heal. We’ll choose friendship. We’ll choose love.”[iv]

 

Of course he has to say that. It’s his job to build us up in the middle of tragedy. But as people of faith we know that our trust is not in a president or a country, no matter how great, nor is it in the goodness of humanity in the face of tragedy. The truth is all of that fades away. 

Our trust is with the One who walks with us in the valley of the shadow of death. Our trust is in the One who restores the waters to stillness and creates the green pastures. Our trust is in the One went down, for three days, into the valley of the shadow of death for us and emerged on the other side, ALIVE. 

The Lord is OUR shepherd, the shepherd of the nations, Revelation tells us, the shepherd of the world. He is with us in tribulation – he is with ALL in tribulation. In him we have the promise of food and water for all. In him our tears are wiped away. In him the earth is restored from scorching sun and drought-weary land.

…………

On this 4^th Sunday of Easter, this Earth Day, this day that the Lord has made, I want to invite us into a time of prayer for healing. You’re welcome to pray for healing for yourself or others, for the earth generally or specific natural needs, for whatever it is that weighs on your heart and needs the attention of the Lord.

You’ll be invited to come forward to be anointed, like Psalm 23 says, and for prayer and laying on of hands.

HEALING

Introduction

P: Our Lord Jesus healed many as a sign of the reign of God come near and sent the disciples to continue this work of healing – with prayer, the laying on of hands, and anointing. In the name of Christ, the great healer and reconciler of the world, we now entrust to God all who are in need of healing.

 

Prayer

P: Living God, through the laying on of hands [and anointing], grant comfort in suffering to all who are in need of healing. When they are afraid, give them courage; when afflicted, give them patience; when dejected, give them hope; and when alone, assure them of the support of your holy people.

Creating God, hear our prayers of healing for the earth and all your good creation. Where there is brokenness, give repair; where there is pollution, give purity; where there is exploitation, give honor; where there is indifference, give care.  May we cherish the earth, our home, and live in harmony with all your holy ones.

Eternal God, amid the turmoil and changes of the world your love is steadfast and your strength never fails. Hear our prayers for this and every nation. Where there is danger, be our guardian; where there is trouble, be our rock of defense; where there is distress, give comfort; where there is war, give peace. Guide our leaders with your wisdom and grant us courage and hope to face the future.

Gather our many prayers into one, Gracious God, through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen

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[i] http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death_tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html

[ii] http://icasualties.org/oef/

[iii] http://www.nrdc.org/health/climate/mi.asp

[iv] http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/president-obamas-remarks-at-boston-interfaith-prayer-service-transcript/2013/04/18/806d15d8-a847-11e2-b029-8fb7e977ef71_story_1.html