September 17 Sermon- Call
to Discipleship
We’re at the
In last Sunday’s gospel, Jesus opened the ears of a deaf man. The significance of that miracle isn’t a
physical healing, but that it pointed to the healing of spiritual deafness, as
Isaiah had prophesied about the Messiah; He will come and save you.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and
the ears of the deaf unstopped.
In the verses immediately before today’s gospel, Jesus healed a blind
man, who then could see clearly, and now we reach a moment of recognition. The disciples’ eyes have been opened, their
ears unstopped, and they have an insight as to who Jesus really is.
He is greater than John the Baptist – and more than the prophets of old
– for Jesus is, as Peter confesses, the promised Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God.
Now that they have begun to
understand, Jesus explains what it will mean for him to be the Messiah – and
for them to be one of his disciples.
The messiah will undergo great suffering and be rejected, killed and
rise on the third day.
Peter and the others are
shocked. Their idea of a Messiah was a
mighty king like David who would liberate
“So Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him” - set him straight
- “Jesus, this should never happen to you.”
But Peter had forgotten he is supposed to follow
and Jesus rebuke was sharp: “Get behind
me Satan”
Satan - the tempter - The temptation to think that God’s
anointed (and his followers)
can avoid
suffering, rejection and death; that God’s rule means power without pain, glory
without humiliation.
Jesus corrects Peter saying
You are seeing things merely from a human point
of view, not from God’s. Mark 8:33
Peter needs a change in perspective – a spiritual renewal of his mind
and attitudes.
So Jesus called the crowd with
his disciples…
Here, at the half-way-point
of the gospel, he invites the disciples to re-enlist – to take the next
step in a
walk with the Lord. He tells them what
will be required if they continue to follow.
If
any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their
cross and follow me.
Mark 8:34
To Peter and the disciples – and us – Jesus says; if you confess me as
Messiah and Lord, then you must learn to act like a disciple, consistently
following in my way – That means obeying his teaching and adopting his attitude
of self denial. A
transcendent perspective that will influence daily behaviors.
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Anyone who intends to come with me must let me lead... Jesus
has to come first – he is the leader.
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Leonard Bernstein, the orchestra conductor, was asked: What is the hardest instrument to play? Without hesitation he replied: “Second
fiddle. I can always get plenty of first
violins, but finding someone to play second violin with enthusiasm is a
problem. Yet if no one plays second, we
have no harmony.”
We’re playing second fiddle to Jesus so we put the will and purposes of
God above our own. We accept his direction and follow His lead.
We discover God’s will for our lives as we search and study God’s
word. So being His disciple means being
a learner - a student who continues to study the Bible and apply it to daily
life.
A disciple is a learner whose
life is guided and shaped by Jesus word.
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If any of you want to be my followers, you must deny
self - put aside selfish ambition…
His words are contrary to
conventional wisdom, popular piety, and natural inclination, for Christ says,
that the way of self denial is the way of self fulfillment...
Don’t look at your life from a
human point of view, but from God’s. Our
human reason should not predominate but rather His divine wisdom preside in all our actions.
At least that’s what we pray, “Thy
will be done”. That’s telling the
Lord “I want your will more than my own will”.
And it is only by accepting
His will - taking up the cross - the way of self-sacrifice that we can
experience the abundant life that He promises.
Jesus says be centered not on your self – not your desires, but on God.
That may mean making some
sacrifices in your life such as spending more of your time studying God’s word
and praying. – It could mean
volunteering in some way to be of service.
His words raise the question:
What important things have we given up for the sake of following Jesus?
Are you willing to sacrifice for Christ and the gospel?
Though its true that it costs to be a
disciple, it’s also true that it costs a lot more not to be one.
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Take up your cross
Some have misunderstood this statement to mean that your cross is a
personal burden life imposes. But
there’s a different biblical phrases for that on-going problem: a “thorn in
the flesh”, or even a “painful messenger from Satan.” - something
you ask God’s help in bearing.
When he spoke these words, Shoulder your cross and follow me, the
image suggested was that of a criminal – or an unfortunate bystander – carrying
the cross to the place of execution. It was
a public display which resulted in ridicule.
So Jesus might be paraphrased “be
willing to publicly display your faith in me and suffer the consequences.”
Do your neighbors - or those
you work with - know that you follow Jesus?
Are we reluctant to display our
faith because we fear what others might think?
Jesus doesn’t want us to
follow Him only when it’s convenient or socially acceptable. He wants you to be his disciple regardless of
how easy or difficult it might seem to be.
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If you want to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and the sake of the gospel, you will find true life.
Mark
8:35
That may sound like a contradiction when you first hear it. Yet, if you truly want to find happiness and
fulfillment, you must call him ‘my Lord’ and really mean it. A surrendered life holds the key to a
fulfilling life.
A paradox expressed by St. Francis
For it is in giving, that we receive;
it is in pardoning, that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying, that we are born to eternal life.
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In the verses immediately before today’s gospel, Jesus laid his hands
on a blind man. Then he was no longer
blind, but he still could not see clearly.
He said he couldn’t tell the difference between men and trees - unless
it moved, then it must be a man. So
Jesus laid his hands on him a second time, and then the man could see clearly.
We have been touched by Jesus so that we have been healed of spiritual
blindness – but we still don’t see clearly.
We’re waiting for another touch from Jesus.
We see, but we are waiting to see clearly.
We believe, but we need help with our unbelief.
We follow Jesus, but our attitudes are often still centered on self.
I believe but I really don’t understand it all –
- and that is OK. That was true of Peter and the other
disciples. He calls us disciples because
we are His students who continue to learn from him.
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In the gospel Jesus calls each of us to again commit to being a
disciple - a learner - Because I must
learn to follow Jesus - a
way that involves self denial in love and service to others.
Where do I start? Mother Teresa
said:
“Do small
things with great love”
and start, “In your own family first”.
“Do small things with great love” for those who are a part of my daily life, so that the
love of Christ might be expressed in my words and actions in your
family - that
the light of Christ might shine
in my life
As you apply Christ’s words in your life --
even when from a human point of view it isn’t logical -- you’ll find that God’s
way is the right way, and then your
faith is strengthened.
No matter where we are in
life’s journey,
our faith can continue to grow and strengthen.
By faith, we believe in more
than we can see, and
with
the eyes of faith we come to
see God working in
our lives.
In faith, we accept
things we can not understand, and with faith our understanding keeps increasing.
In faith, we trust that God’s
way is better than our
way, and we keep
striving to follow His teaching,
for it is the way to have life, and have it
abundantly