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Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
June 24, 2007
Delivered by Reverend Sandra Stayner
Zechariah 12:8-10; 13:1
Galatians 3:23-29
Luke 9:18-24
One of the wonderful things about summer is the change of pace it allows most of us. Especially now the younger kids are out of school, and older kids are back from college. People sit out on their stoops in the evening watching couples walk up and down the street. Kids on their bikes are racing up and down in the cool of the evening and lemonade stands are popping up along the roadside in the heat of the day, and the carts at the golf course will all be snapped up if you don't get there early enough. It's time to start thinking about vacation plans. Kids have taken off their back packs and school uniforms - men have loosened their ties, ready to take off their business suits and don a pair of shorts, and women are ready to shed their tights and high shoes as they make ready to head for the beach or perhaps to the mountains of Maine or Vermont.
It was perhaps a time not unlike this time of the year when Jesus left the crowds who thronged to hear him speak and headed out into the hills with his disciples, so they could spend some quiet time together praying and chatting, away from the pressures of ministering to the masses. Alone in a quiet place Jesus says to his disciples, "What are people saying about me? Who do they think I am?" At first, the disciples who can never quite figure out what Jesus is up to seem a little flustered by his question. Perhaps there is a little pause before they all jump in on top of each other with different ideas about what they have heard about their master. Jesus listen for awhile before asking a perhaps more important question - "But who do you say I am?"
It seems obvious to me that the question, addressed to the disciples is a question we might ask of ourselves today, so I put that question to you. "Who do you say Jesus is?" Perhaps you are like the many people who believe that Jesus is a prophet, someone who helps us live a more moral life, or the miracle worker slash magician we pray to when we are sick or in trouble. Perhaps you would rather jump on the bandwagon with Peter and say, "but Jesus, we are only here on this bright sunny day because we know that you are the Messiah!" If you do consider yourselves in that camp you might want to prepare yourselves for the next statement Jesus makes. It is the moment he introduces the subject of his passion, death and resurrection to his followers, those who call himself his disciples. Perhaps it is after prayer, conversation with his Father that the weight of his calling becomes clear as the truth dawns slowly that the Messiah must be prepared to suffer and even die in order for the reign of God's kingdom to begin - a time of justice and mercy and freedom for all people.
And we who call ourselves his disciples must be prepared to follow in his steps. "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." The disciples who gathered around him that day couldn't possibly have known that the suffering and death he was predicting would come about by his death on a cross, because that event was still in the future. But we know. So it is those of us who read the gospel in the light of the crucifixion who are asked to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily.
But what on earth does that mean? How do we interpret that in our lives today? The cross is an instrument of death and torture, but something that is done daily is obviously not calling for martyrdom but perhaps... some kind of sacrificial living. A cross that is voluntarily picked up is obviously not referring to difficulties we encounter in life like an unhappy marriage, sickness, poor grades at school or a failed business transaction, even though these are often talked about as crosses we have to bear. Of course, these and all other human hurts and failings are held within the compassionate love of Christ, for he reached out to heal the suffering and the sick - but they are not the crosses to which Jesus is referring. A life that can truly be called cross bearing is a life that has been completely turned over to the service of God to the point of self denial. The person who is living a cross bearing life is a person who is willing to reach out with compassion to heal the hurts of the world even though in the process that person experiences pain or suffering that could otherwise have been avoided. And we can all bring to mind people like Mother Theresa, or Martin King Junior or Dorothy Day who so obviously gave their lives to the pursuit of justice for the sake of God.s kingdom of love.
But do we - Elizabeth and John, Avril and Frank, Kim and Justin, those of us who come to church faithfully Sunday by Sunday perceive our call to pick up our cross daily for the sake of Christ? If we honestly believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the one who was sent by God then we must be ready to answer the call that is unpacked in the promises we make whenever we participate in the baptism of a new Christian. "Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself? Will you strive for justice and peace and respect the dignity of every human being?"
I remember a story that is passed on from generation to generation at my seminary, Berkeley Div. School at Yale. During the 70's there was a student who became passionately with the struggle for justice and civil rights breaking out in Southern cities. His faith and his passion for justice came together as God led him to join with the many freedom marchers and bus riders of that time. During one of these marches as he walked beside so many others longing for justice he was shot and killed. Although he never returned to our seminary at Berkeley his name has lived on ever since as his story is passed on from seminarian to seminarian. He was one who followed God's call to him to take up his cross and follow Christ.
I doubt very much that any of us will be asked to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of Christ. But I am sure that we will all be invited to draw so close to those who are suffering unjustly that we will experience the pain of the suffering of others as we attempt to bring justice to an unjust world. And we don't have to look very far from home to see people who are longing to experience God's love in their lives - children who are moved from one foster home to another because they have been taken away from their parents for their protection, the families of prisoners who suffer so much when a family member is incarcerated and they have to make long bus journeys once a week or month to visit their loved one in jail, families of soldiers fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq, struggling to make ends meet while one parent is at war, now trying to make a new life with a father who has returned disabled and unable to work, an elderly man alone and afraid in a nursing home, dearly missing the companionship of his wife who died last year. How will we respond to the call to deny ourselves just a little, in order to bring Christ's compassionate love to even one of our hurting brothers and sisters?
As you take off your work clothes and spend time vacationing with your family and friends, find some time to pray, as Jesus did. And when you have time for self reflection, ask yourself the question, "Who are you? Who do people say you are?" Perhaps after you have listed the things you do, the titles you hold, the degrees you have earned, and the family to which you belong, you will find the answer to be quite simply, "a child of God." Have the courage then to ask God what it would mean for you to move more passionately into the calling to take up your cross, and deny yourself and the things you feel you need just a little every day, in order to help bring Christ's compassion and justice to those who cannot find it for themselves. My prayer is that the people of St. Peter's will not be like the crowds who thought of Jesus as a prophet or miracle worker but will take the challenge Gene Robinson threw out to his people when he asked them to "figure out what's worth risking your life for and do it." It's an adventure not to be missed!
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