March 16 Sermon on Matthew, Chapters 26 & 27: Our Lord’s Passion Provokes Varying Responses

Peter doesn’t come off very well in today’s gospel.  On Thursday evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “All of you will run away.” Peter blurted out, “Even though the rest of these losers desert you, I’ve got your back.  I’m behind you all the way.”

After Jesus was arrested, Peter was behind Jesus – far, far behind Jesus.  As the soldiers took Jesus away, all the disciples fled into the darkness.  Peter followed Jesus at a safe distance.  He ends up, in the middle of the night, in the courtyard of the high priest’s house.

Inside the high priest interrogates Jesus.  And Jesus tells the assembled group that he is the Messiah, the Son of God and Son of Man of whom the prophets spoke.  He is faithful to his calling and mission.

In the courtyard, a servant girl interrogates Peter.  You also were with the Galilean.  And Peter replies, Woman, I don’t know what you are talking about.

Peter, the one whom Jesus had nicknamed “Rock”, the one who had been with Jesus from the beginning, had heard all his teaching, Peter says to her, Woman I didn’t even know him.

It was Peter’s final exam in discipleship – in witnessing – and he flunked.  In the parallel scene, at his cross examination, Jesus passed his exam with flying colors.

We come to church to say our prayers, sing our hymns and affirm our faith.  But then we go out.  And out there is the real test.  And the faith we have tried to keep private is forced to go public.  And, like Peter, we may sing a different song.

A man who grew up in the church started to drift away in college, and stopped going to church long before he received his doctorate in economics.  But years later, he returned to the church. 

Why? As an international economist, he had made visit to an academic conference in the former Soviet Union.  In the course of a casual conversation with a Soviet colleague, who was a Communist, she asked, “Do you believe in God?” He said that he did. 

Then she asked, “What difference does that make in your life?  I don’t believe, but if I did it would probably complicate my life.  What difference does God make in your life?” There was a long silence.  He couldn’t think on anything to say – not a single thing that was different because of his faith.

A little while after that he started going to church again, because he realized that after he left church his faith had just withered and shrunk.  He realized he was missing something in his life.

His faith had been challenged by a chance encounter with a Communist, an unbeliever.  Peter’s fidelity had been challenged by a chance encounter with a servant girl.  Both failed the test, and yet that was not the end of the story.  

Both were pointed in the right direction – and eventually ended up with a stronger faith.  Our faith is strengthened when we have to explain ourselves – even if initially we can’t find the right words.

Maybe this week a colleague might test your faith – especially if you work up the nerve to invite them to Walk Through Jerusalem or Easter services.  Or maybe it will just be a chance encounter, like Peter’s conversation with that servant, that will test your faith.  We will you tell them you know Jesus?

One of the reasons we sing and pray, affirming our faith each Sunday, is the hope that if you get enough practice doing that in the safe confines of your dear church, you will be able to do it in your everyday life.

Peter and the other ten who disappeared into the night are not the only disciples in today’s gospel.  After the trial before the Roman governor, where Jesus is condemned to death, he was led through the streets to the place of crucifixion.  Like the other two prisoners, Christ carried a heavy wooden cross but he stumbled under its weight.

In the little crowd, there was a man named Simon, from the city of Cyrene in Africa.  He had recently arrived in Jerusalem and heard all the talk about the prophet named Jesus, whom many thought to be the promised Messiah.  But now this Jesus had been condemned to death.  Simon wanted to see this Jesus before he died, so he had joined that on-lookers – even pushed his way to the front row.

He saw Jesus stumble – the Roman soldiers were annoyed, Jesus’ weakness was slowing things down.  Simon was staring at Jesus – for a moment their eyes met – Could this suffering man be God’s messiah?

The soldiers saw him looking at Jesus - could he be one of them?  One grabbed him.  In a moment Simon from Africa became the first to literally deny self, take up his cross and follow Jesus.

From that day, Simon never stopped following Jesus.  And he told his two sons, Alexander and Rufus about Jesus – and eventually they became leaders in the early church.

Then there were the faithful women – Mary Magdalene, Salome, and the other women from Galilee – following Jesus to Calvary, and then remaining at the foot of the cross, as Jesus suffered and died.

In the gospel we meet disciples like those of every age.  Some like Andrew, James and John fall away for a time.  Or like Peter, try to faithfully follow – and then fail the test.

But others like Mary Magdalene and the women remain faithful to the end.

We even have others, like Simon of Cyrene and the Roman centurion, who come to faith on that day – who are moved by the suffering Messiah

Someone wrote: “I could never believe in God if it were not for the cross.  My Lord is the crucified and risen Christ.  In the real world of pain and loss, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?  How could one follow a Lord who was only distant and serene, remote and detached from the agonies of the world?

“I look to the cross and in my imagination see the lonely, suffering Jesus, nails in his hands and a crown of thrones.  He is intolerably thirsty and finally dies in God-forsaken darkness.  He laid aside his immunity to pain and entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death.  He suffered for us that He might suffer with us.”

We confess that Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.  He descended into hell.

Jesus descended into hell – into solidarity with those who have lost their way from God. That Jesus would descend even to hell to reach out is an affirmation that there is no place to which you can descend that Jesus will not descend to reach you.  

On the cross Jesus demonstrate that there are absolutely no limits that he will not go to in order to get us, find us – to save us and bring us home.  That means, no matter how dark and difficult life gets, Christ is there.  

No matter what you do to remove yourself from the loving reach of God, you cannot do anything that will utterly, irretrievably remove you from God.  Even at the bottom of the abyss, there is God’s loving reach.  Because Christ is there, so is the love of God.

Lord Jesus, You reached toward us, suffered for us and suffer with us, stand beside us and share our lot, and finally bear our death. Be with us during our trials and when we are tested.  Forgive us when we fail the tests that are put before us. Strengthen our faith and preserve us in our witness to you before the world. Give us some of your serenity and strength when we are tested.

Amen