The Hopeless Suffering of a Football Fan (Mark 8:27-38)

27 Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"

The geographical setting of this gospel text is important. The key is right there in the name of the city. Perhaps you noticed that the word “Caesar” in the name “Caesarea?” The city is named after the Roman ruler or “Caesar.” The Roman Caesar was a self-described God. A ruler who was not only to be respected and obeyed, but worshiped as well. So here we have Jesus, bringing his motley crew of disciples into a community that worshiped a variety of gods, including the Roman Caesar. Jesus’ first question to his disciples is appropriate: “Who do people say that I am?” Essentially he’s saying, “In a world where so many things are vying for people’s attention, where do I fit in?”

28 And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets."

I would imagine that Jesus is quite pleased with this answer. After all, if people thought of him as a prophet, especially one like John the Baptist or Elijah, that meant that people thought highly of him and were responding to his message. But what really pleases Jesus is that the mass population has not yet determined his true identity; and as we will see in this text, that is how Jesus wants it at this point in his ministry.

29 He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." 30 And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

So here it is, the disciples are ahead of the curve. While everyone else thinks of Jesus as a prophet or messenger of God, the disciples have figured out that he is more than that; he is the Messiah. The word “Messiah” means ‘anointed one.’ The one anointed by God to bring healing, restoration, and salvation to Israel. The Jewish understanding of the Messiah was tied to their history of suffering at the hands of the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Romans. The Messiah would be a person sent by God to usher in a revolution which would overthrow their oppressors, reunite the scattered tribes of Israel, and usher in a period of great wealth and prosperity for the Jewish people. So, you can see why Jesus did not want this information getting out while they were staying in a Roman Caesar-worshipping city.

31 Then 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.

Do you think this description meshes with the description of the Messiah, which I previously mentioned? (pause) This is certainly a new twist on the old idea of a Messiah. Jesus’ makes no mention about overthrowing governments, or acquiring great wealth for their nation, or freeing the Jewish people from their captivity and oppression. Instead he talks about suffering, rejection, and death.

This would be like the coach from your favorite football team saying at his first press conference saying, “Here’s what you can expect from us this season: we’re gonna turn the ball over a lot, we won’t score many touchdowns, a lot of our players will get hurt, and we’ll win one or two games if we’re lucky.”

It is a completely baffling response. Apparently Jesus did not do well in his history or Jewish culture courses, cuz his understanding of the Messiah is way off base.

32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

Now Peter, on the other hand, was the star student in class. He knows exactly what the Messiah is, and he is shocked that Jesus is off base. Peter is enraged because he has hitched his wagon to Jesus’ star; Peter has given up his career and left behind his family, all because he believed Jesus was the Messiah – the one who would make them wealthy and powerful. You can understand how with all the talk about suffering and death, Peter probably did not hear that little part about Jesus raising from the dead after three days.

So, Peter rebuked Jesus. Now from our perspective, it’s probably a little comical to imagine poor little Peter taking it to the almighty Jesus. After all, we have the benefit of hindsight; we know Jesus was right, that the Messiah did have to suffer and die, and that everything would be ok in the end. But we would have probably done the exact same thing if we were in his shoes. And in fact, we all still fall into the same trip that Peter fell into. We are all guilty of occasionally trying to fit Jesus into a nice little box; often passionately arguing with Jesus that our way of doing things would be much different (and much better) than His.

33 But 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."

Ouch. That one probably stung a little. Peter is brought down to reality. Not only are wealth and power out of the picture, but Jesus calls him Satan for even hoping for such things. Peter craved a life of ease and comfort; and for that, Jesus calls him Satan – the evil one, the tempter, the prince of darkness.

34 He 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.

Here Jesus sets the record straight once and for all. The path which Jesus will travel will involve suffering; anyone who wishes to follow him will also encounter suffering in their lives. This is what Jesus means by the phrase “take up their cross.”

In our culture we sometimes overlook the fact that the cross is a symbol of suffering. After all, we can buy crosses made of gold and silver. We can buy crosses with diamonds in them. Churches spend thousands of dollars on crosses to adorn church buildings. And with all the attention given to the beauty of the cross, we forget that it is a symbol of all that we have given up; a symbol of all the suffering that Jesus warns we will encounter in our lives.

Of course, that is not all that the cross symbolizes. The cross also symbolizes the promise that is inherent in our suffering. The promise that our suffering is not in vain; the promise that Jesus is present in our suffering and will carry us through safely to the other side, where victory and salvation reign.

At this point I would like to offer a brief illustration about suffering. For those of you who follow college football, you will understand what I mean when I say that as an Ohio State football fan, I have endured much suffering in the past few years. A fact which I was reminded of once again last night as my favorite team lost yet again to the Trojans of Southern California. The problem with that type of suffering is that there is no hope. Prior to the game, I had no reason to believe, I had no assurance, that my team would win. This is a horrible feeling. God has made no promises about what teams will win every year (which is why I get so angry when I see/hear players praying for God to let them win). The end of my suffering lies in the hands of a bunch of college athletes and coaches.

But God has promised to be with us through the suffering which falls upon us as a result of our faith; and that makes all the difference in the world. God promises to be with us when people try to emotionally or physically harm us because we are followers of Christ. God promises to be with us when our faith leads us to the often scary and overwhelming task of serving the hungry and poor. God promises us salvation as our faith guides us to reject worldly pursuits including wealth, ease, and luxury.

35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Strong words from a passionate Jesus – a Jesus who is simply trying to make sure we understand that authentic discipleship leads to suffering. But it is not suffering in vain. It is a suffering made bearable by the fact that Jesus promises to be with us the whole way, holding our hand, guiding us through the muck, and bringing us to salvation.

Amen.

Worthiness (Mark 7:24-37)

This is one of those “troublesome texts” – a section of scripture which we read and say, “Huh?!?“

After all, this is the text where Jesus utters a racial/sexist/xenophobic slur towards a woman.

The Gentile woman comes to Jesus, pleads for him to cast out her daughter’s demon; and he says “NO!” Well, he doesn’t just say “no,” he says “I will not heal your daughter because you and your daughter are not worthy. After all, you’re a woman, you’re not Jewish, and you’re the wrong ethnicity.” He calls her a dog!

Now, there’s a lot of debate amongst pastors and theologians about what is going on here. The best interpretation that I have come across is that Jesus is saying this tongue-in-cheek; he is using satire to show the absurdity of the Jewish idea of purity and worthiness.

As a Jewish rabbi, Jesus inherited the religious teaching that a person is only eligible to receive the fullness of God’s gifts if that person is born a Jew, is a man, and upholds the law perfectly. But it is clear from the entirety of Christian scripture that Jesus did not believe this.

Jesus’ ministry was never confined to law-abiding Jewish males (in fact, that’s the group with whom he had the most trouble). Jesus had great compassion on the Gentiles and routinely held Gentiles up as examples of true faith.

So, why did Jesus say what he said? Because he knew that this woman would stand up for both herself and her daughter, and provide a powerful example to everyone in the room that she was worthy of God’s grace. This woman was desperately seeking out help for her child! Jesus knew she would not just shy away when presented with the argument “Well, I would help, but you’re not one of us.” By playing along with the traditional Jewish teaching, Jesus was actually demonstrating the absurdity of it.

And now, the “so what?” question. What does it matter to us that Jesus had compassion on this woman and extended her grace and healing, even though his religion told him she was not worthy?

Well, my first reaction is “thank God!” Thank God that the amount of grace we receive is not contingent on our own worthiness. Thank God because not a single person inside or outside of this church has earned the grace God has shown us.

And yet, in spite of our unworthiness, Jesus wants us to stand up for ourselves; Jesus wants us to stand up and claim the grace that has been poured out for us. It is the devil who whispers in our ear, “You are not worthy.” And to this we reply along with the woman, “You’re damn right I’m not worthy, but God wants me to have His grace anyways. If you got a problem with that then take it up with Him!”

We are worthy of grace only because we are unworthy. And this is precisely what should guide our actions in the world. This is precisely what should guide our interaction with others. We have nothing over anyone else. A man is no better than a woman; a young person is not better than an old one; a white person is no better than a black one; a heterosexual is no better than a homosexual.

And yet we are so quick to claim God’s grace but turn and keep it to ourselves. How easy it is to experience God’s grace and instead of sharing it with those in need, we look at them and say, “Gee, I would share God’s grace with you, but clearly you are not worthy. You are nothing but a dog.”

Does God grant us grace just so that we can turn and lord it over people whom we deem are unworthy? Certainly not!

There’s no way to sugar coat the message dripping from today’s scripture. Racism, sexism, elitism, and any other form of hatred for other people are all a slap in Jesus’ face.

May you have the courage to stand up for those who are being oppressed. May you have the courage to quiet your own inner voice which says, “Ugh, I’m so much better than those people!” And may you have the courage to claim God’s grace for your own life, even though people may say you don’t meet all the qualifications. Because, after all, grace is a free gift given to all people, regardless of their culture, sex, education level, or ethnic background.

Amen.