The Upload
Posted on Aug 29, 2014 by
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray you had a blessed couple of weeks.
Jill and I really enjoyed our vacation last week. It was fun visiting our daughter and son-in-law in Austin, and it was fun going over to Port Aransas on the Gulf coast to just relax on the beach. We did whatever we wanted and we didn’t have to worry about a schedule. It was very relaxing.
This week, as I have gotten back into the swing of things, I realized that, although I got to do whatever I wanted on vacation, most of life is not like that, and we discover how true that is when we read our Gospel text for this coming Sunday, Matthew 16:21-28. Last week, we heard Peter proclaim Jesus was the Messiah, and everything seemed wonderful, but it didn’t last long. No, just as everything seemed to be going the way Peter and the disciples wanted it, Jesus began to tell them that “he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (16:21). Upon hearing this, Peter responds by saying, That can’t be, that is not how the Messiah is to be treated, or more precisely, That is not the Messiah we want to follow. The disciples only wanted to know about the good stuff; they wanted no bad stuff.
When Jill and I returned from our vacation this past weekend, we had guests when we got there, our son, daughter-in-law, and our two grandchildren. You see, they will be living with us for several months while they build a new home, and I have noticed something this week about both my grandchildren. At mealtime, both of them only like to eat food they recognize and know they like, and are hesitant to try new things.
This is exactly how the disciples reacted to the description of the Messiah that Jesus offered them, and it is usually how we respond to Jesus, as well. We love the teachings of Jesus that speak about everyone being fed, or everyone being forgiven, especially when we realize that we are part of those promises. But we don’t like the parts about carrying the cross and standing against the culture of the day when things get uncomfortable. And when we say “no” to carrying our cross because we don’t like it, like Jesus said to Peter Jesus says to us, “Get behind me Satan, you are a stumbling block to me…”
As Christians, there are many things we are called to do that make us feel uncomfortable, such as walking with the poor, the oppressed, the sick, the lonely. Life can’t always be fun and easy, though; in fact, much of life is not fun and is very difficult, not because God has made it hard, but because so often we fail to live as God has called us to live. We fail to love as Christ loved, and we fail to live as Christ lived.
As our text says this week, we are all called to carry our cross this week, not so that we can suffer, but so that we can follow Christ and bring about God’s justice.
Have a blessed week!
Shalom,
Pastor Dave