Misunderstandings - a sermon for Evensong on 3rd September 2017

May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Life is full of misunderstandings and in a way, it was a misunderstanding which led me here today, to one of those firsts which which we never think will happen to us the first time we walk, go to school, fall in love, get married, first job and many more. There have been a few for me this year, for example, doing a ministry placement in Tuffley, leading evensong for the first time a few weeks ago, leading morning praise here a month or so ago, preaching sermons two Sundays in a row, which is an interesting challenge, then leading evensong for the first time here, which must feel as surreal for me as it does for you!

There is a couple of firsts related to this and today’s gospel reading. There is a first in Matthew’s gospel and it’s the first time Jesus talks about dying for his faith, the second link is that’s it’s this passage which set on a path to standing here. Back in 2007, the year after we moved to Cam, I was sat in church, at the back, there mainly to support James who had just joined the choir. Jacob was preaching and while I can’t recall the details, I knew that the instruction to take up my cross and follow Jesus was directed to me and that if I gave myself to God, that a life lived in Christ would be overwhelmingly wonderful, and it was overwhelming because it got me here (the heart) and the invisible onion choppers had struck again.

Of course, I had no idea where life as a Christian was going to lead, I joined the choir at St Georges, which led me to sing evensong here, taking me back to memories of singing evensong as a boy from the age of 8 to 18, even then I had no idea it would lead me to standing here, sometimes we just have to be open to where God is taking us.

And all this is because I heard the call to take up the cross and it goes without saying that I misunderstood slightly, because not long afterwards, I bought a small wooden cross which I have worn ever since.

And to be honest, this was a bit of a misunderstanding, much like Peter misunderstands, because we’re not really called to take up physical crosses, although it can be a powerful first step, this is about a whole life change in embracing life as a Christian, to give up an old life where priorities weren’t focussed on God, but instead on money, work, material possessions and even family.

This isn’t to say that loving our families or working hard to support them, isn’t important, but that we need to strive to put Jesus first. No one is saying this is easy either, it can be the work of a lifetime, a lifetime where we get glimpses of knowing Jesus is foremost, then that slips as life takes over. And that’s okay, it’s the striving that’s important.

In the Old Testament some of the language would have been about, ‘fear of the Lord,’ but even this was about revering God above all else. This is all a reflection of Jesus first commandment, to love the lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul. This command about loving God first is perhaps a more positive way to express Jesus message today.

But we can’t hide just how tough Jesus is being here, he’s not sugar-coating the life of faith, yes, the rewards can be great beyond measure, but for many Christians, a life of faith is going to be one of sacrifice, persecution or just to be somehow set apart. For some of the disciples, following Jesus would lead to their own deaths, not something they may have considered when he first bid them follow him three years earlier.

The challenging Jesus here is quite a contrast to what we’ve seen so far in Matthew’s Gospel. A marker is set as we change direction and head towards the cross. For the first time, Jesus clearly tells us, he is going to undergo great suffering and be killed. Not only did Jesus know this, but he had to focus on it and not be distracted.

A messiah who will suffer and be killed, well, this was completely unexpected. Last week, we heard how Peter had, as a good Jew, identified Jesus, saying, “you are son of God the messiah, “and so Peter was expecting that Jesus would be someone who might take on the leadership of Israel, the Romans, the chief priests and elders – he wasn’t expecting Jesus to prophesise his own death, this wasn’t what Peter wanted or expected at all, he had to act to avert disaster.

Peter was on a roller coaster. Last week he had got extra brownie points for acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God, and now he was cast as the villain in devils shoes. From being the rock the church would be built on, he became the stumbling block.

However, Peter spoke for all the disciples. He still speaks for us, because so often, we too have our minds, "set not on divine things but on human things."

In this Peter follows a line of thinking many Christians do today, focussed on our human ideas about what life is, where it starts and where it ends, but Jesus was now approaching a change in his ministry, from miracles, healing and teaching, to one where he would now start the long walk to the cross. He knew he couldn’t be diverted from this path, which made his response to Peter so forceful.

The clue to this broader way of thinking is at the end of the first verse in the reading, “And on the third day be raised.” These short words encompass so much, almost none of which the disciples could comprehend at the time. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were so confused that they almost ignored them, instead only thinking about his suffering and death.

But being raised, this was massive, they weren’t to really understand until after he had gone, but in this, Jesus not only opened the gates to eternal life, he also took our sins with him on the cross, redeeming us all to God the father, so that through faith, we too have a promise of eternal life.

And finally, there is something we can learn from this as well, Jesus was a close friend to the disciples, he wasn’t just their leader and he was about to step out on a path they didn’t understand. 

But nonetheless, while Peter did try to stop him, they did support him, to the end, in their own confused way. Perhaps we can try to remember this sometimes, if we have a friend or family member with a dream, maybe we don’t need to understand the dream, but to just support them while they follow that dream and in supporting them, they may even take us with them part of the way and the dream may become part of our journey too. 

And who are we to stand in the way of a friend like Jesus?

Amen

Readings:  Matthew 16: 21-end       Jeremiah 15:15-21

Preached at Evensong at St Cyr's, Stinchcombe. The first time I ever led and preached at this service.