Mark 8:27-38 A Better Aligned Life
Mark 8: 27-38
A Better Aligned Life
What people say about Jesus is not irrelevant. Mark’s gospel is written to answer two basic questions: “Who is Jesus?” and “How do I relate with Him?” In this passage Jesus leads his close disciples into a conversation straight to the point, one about who He is. And He starts by asking them who their people say He is. You see, our sense of identity, of who we are and who God is, always starts in community. Even when you disagree with a what a community say on someone’s identity, their different opinion forms the one you come to hold.
When I encounter someone who is not a church goer or believer, I make a point of asking them what their opinion of Jesus is. And I find it fascinating that even people from other religions seldom dismiss Him. I have met atheists who have a high opinion of Jesus. “A remarkable man”, “A fine teacher”, “a very influential figure” they would say. Since coming to Canada, I had a few in depth conversations with Muslims and they time and again say: “The greatest prophet”, “The one who will come back to judge” etc. Buddhists view Him as a highly enlightened individual. Hindu’s sees something godly in Him. Even Jews have to admit that He is the most influential Jew that ever lived (and there have been pretty famous ones since!).
If so many people across history, races, genders, ages and ethnicity all have a strong and rather positive view of Jesus, it has at least one important implication. We simply cannot ignore Jesus. A Man that touched so many people across so many divides, is quite simply a man that forces you to answer the second question put to the disciples: “Who do you say I am?”
We are often told not to take someone personally. It is usually the case if that person said something we disliked. When it comes to Jesus, we must take Him personally. If Jesus is who He said He is, it changes everything. If He isn’t who He said is, He is a big liar, the most successful fraudster in history. What many people do with Jesus is to choose middle ground. They say He is not bad but maybe not as awesome as the Bible claims He is. They say He did some amazing things but not all the amazing things Christianity and the Bible claims. You can hear this middle ground stance in what the disciples say the people said about Him. They used their frame of reference, the categories they knew off and gave Jesus a place among the prophets ancient and contemporary. But Jesus does not allow us to take that middle ground. To those with Him He says: You must take me personally. And if you do, I am either over and above all others, “The (singular)” Anointed One… or one of many fraudsters.
Peter makes that leap of faith (and it always requires a leap of faith now matter how much you have read or seen about Jesus) and declares that He is the Christ, God’s anointed King over all. This confession is some sort of point of entry for a life transformed and steered by Jesus. But then in Mark 8 follows a reminder that the real Hero of this is not Peter but Jesus…
Peter wants to tell the Messiah how to be a Messiah. He has a narrative of success and power in mind. It is one everybody knew well and envied. It was the narrative of the Roman Empire, and everybody envied the power and success they had to show. Jesus could not be any harsher with Peter “Get behind me Satan”, he says. In Matthew’s account of Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Anointed One, Jesus praises Him as a channel for the truth of God. Know Jesus identifies Him as the Satan. Why? Because what Peter is doing contradicts what He just confessed about Jesus. If Jesus is the Messiah, He does not need instructions on how to best do it. See Peter’s behaviour contradicted his confession. And the whole purpose of following Jesus was to help Peter bringing his deeds and words in alignment with his confession.
We shouldn’t have too much schadenfreude when we read about Peter acknowledged for his confession in one scene and then rebuked for his words and deeds in the very next. We all have this gap between what we know about Jesus and what we say and do in our lives. Jesus knows that, and when Peter showed how far out his alignment was, Jesus did not send Him on his way. He drew Peter and his other disciples even closer and gave them instructions on how to live a better aligned life. They are as useful as the day Jesus gave them. Let us look at them more closely…let us take Jesus personal!
Deny yourself
I can think of few things Jesus said that shouts so in the face of what modern culture advises us. Everywhere you go you will see adverts that tell you that you are “worth it” and to focus on yourself and your own needs. It sells. People like to hear it’s all about them…even if it is not true.
But maybe because there is also some good in the advice the world give us with the array of self-help books, we should start by saying what these words of Jesus DOESN’T mean. It does not mean we should hate ourselves. That would contradict one of the most important commandments God gave human kind: “Love your neighbor as yourself” Also, it does not mean to not be self aware. As a matter of fact, denying yourself implies that you are self-aware. You cannot deny something if you do not know it. Self-knowledge and self awareness are important. To deny yourself also does not mean that you pretend to be something you are not and kiss authenticity goodbye.
What to deny yourself mean is that you get off the throne. The throne is the symbolic place where the control of your life is seated. It is a seat where the one sitting in it can demand anything at any time. To deny yourself means that you acknowledge that Jesus belongs on that seat in your life. And trust me, before you know it you will find yourself on that throne every now and then so this instruction, like the two others is not a once off, but a daily thing.
You are frustrated about the weather? Get off the throne. You don’t get to control the weather and the weather isn’t supposed to revolve around your dislikes and likes. You feel cheated out of something? Maybe you were and you can mourn it then but maybe you feel cheated by something Jesus on the throne decided would not be right for you. Then you must not mourn it but repent and deny yourself the right to get to decide about it. Are you constantly impatient in traffic? Get off the throne and relax. No major world crises will ensue if you are home ten minutes later.
When we notice an urge to be in control or to look good instead of really being good deep down and really loving the good, the remedy is to deny yourself. You need to watch yourself closely to do this. But it is freeing. It is freeing to realize I don’t always have to have it my way. I cannot always change everything. I have input but God calls the shots. Most people that went down this road, even if it was just for a specific area of their lives, will tell you it turned life into an adventure. When we deny ourselves, we enter a godly adventure.
“Take up His Cross”
Again, what did Jesus not mean by this? He did not mean every true follower would die on a cross with Him. That would disqualify even the twelve. This is why He did not say “a” cross but “his” (or her) cross. In our journey of taking Jesus personally, we soon discover that there are some deeply personal crosses in our lives.
What is a cross? It is a torture device that not only brings pain but also humiliation. Something that sucks life and energy out of you slowly and painfully and humiliatingly. Something that makes you want to give up. We all have such things in our lives. An illness or ailment or disadvantage that makes you feel lonely because so many people around you does not have to deal with it. An undesirable social status like being divorced or single or from a certain ethnic background. A financial burden few has to bear. Why does Jesus say we must engage with it, pick it up and carry it? Because there is no escaping it. The Romans used to tie convicted criminal’s crosses to their body’s. Refusing to carry it would be futile, it will only add to the pain and floggings. It spared one both pain and humiliation to carry it. If we go about expecting this life to be free of personal burdens and obstacles, if we ignore those that we encounter in the hope of someone else taking the responsibility of it off our shoulders, our journey will be much worse.
On Fridays at our church we have a Celebrate Recovery ministry. The people that come to it is exactly the same kind of people that come to church on a Sunday (or that goes to a movie on a Saturday). But there is one thing that I think they mastered probably better than most church goers and movie goers. They own their problems. They are brutally honest with one another about their struggles and not a single person expects the other one to solve their problems or bear their cross, but all are inspired and learn from how each one carries their cross. From the mistakes as well as the successes. Time and again when I sit with them in those circles where people share their struggles, I am humbled and feel God’s presence. “Church does not get more real than this”, I think to myself. I contrast this to some of the people at an absolute low point in their lives outside our church in the mornings. So many of them cry victim and have sad stories about how they got robbed and yes some of them has suffered unspeakable pain that needs to be attended to. But you also have to own your own contribution and take responsibility for your addiction and what it does to you and other people. Some makes it sound if everybody but them has and is the problem. That is no path to healing. We only conquer a cross when we pick it up and carry it.
There is stuff in your life you have to own. There is stuff in your life that isn’t just magically going to disappear. Stuff you need to acknowledge and manage so that it does not let your trip and fall. Stay on it. In all the old (and still in most current) church liturgies there was a time to confess your sins. It was an attempt to create a space in which we pick up our own personal crosses to honor God with our lives. I think it is a good thing.
“And Follow Me”
When you are of the throne, when you are carrying your cross, you don’t walk in circles. There is movement, purpose and destination in your life. One of the things that makes religion so dangerous is stagnation. To be sentimental about the great things of the past, great as they might have been, could be to miss out on where God is leading in a new season.
The constant struggle to stay off the throne and carry our crosses, should make us realize that this journey is quite impossible without staying close to Jesus and letting Him take us forward. You know, those crosses were tied to people’s backs. They could not see them even though their full weight was felt. Jesus says to Peter trying to distract Him from His mission: “Get BEHIND me Satan”. Have you ever noticed how some Christians have either their cross or Satan right in front of them, not behind them? They have endless excuses and complaints. They are forever on the lookout for what is wrong and evil in stead of being on the look out and excited about what is good and godly. Your cross and Satan does not belong in front of you, they belong in your back mirror. Jesus and what He is doing and where He is leading should be full frontal in your view.
Yes, the attacks of evil and your cross weighs you down but if they are behind you and Jesus stays in front of you, they won’t be able to stop you until you have reached your destination.
Close
I have never heard anyone regret following Jesus and I don’t think anybody ever will. Because Jesus is who He said He is. Get of the throne of your life meant for Him. Take up your cross rather than ignoring it or trying to put it on someone else’s shoulders. And stay on the move with Jesus.
He will become to you…personal and precious! And you will find life in Him.
Amen