1 SERMON FOR THE II SUNDAY OF LENT MARK 8:27-38 ST. PAUL S. Pastor Curt Schneider

Transcription

1 1 SERMON FOR THE II SUNDAY OF LENT MARK 8:27-38 ST. PAUL S. Mark 8: 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? 28 And they answered him, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets. 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. 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. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 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. 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. 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. Grace to you and peace from God the Father and from the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen First, disclaimer: The sermon title in the bulletin is from Pastor Sandberg s work this past week. Maybe you are one of the persons who has to force yourself to come to worship during Lent. Or maybe you know someone who find an excuse not to come to worship at all during Lent but has never really explained to you why that is so. These persons, I think, have understood Lent in the most profound way. For many, the Lenten emphasis on sin and unworthiness, the message about suffering as redemptive hits a deep and painful chord. The words and images bring back powerful times when they were abused or bullied. Times they were told of their Christian duty to be silent as Jesus was silent. I mean, isn t there enough suffering going on in the world already? Christian beheaded? Children forced into slavery? Inner city violence that is just seen as

2 2 SERMON FOR THE II SUNDAY OF LENT MARK 8:27-38 ST. PAUL S. the way thing are. Bullying of girls and boys who don t fit the male or female ideal of feminist or masculinity. Verbal and physical violence at the heart of our humor and our so called entertainment. Retribution and revenge for truth-tellers. Threats and violence in drug cartels and gangs. I mean, it s so vast that we hardly know where to start. It s not hard for us to conclude that the world works by violence. Jesus said, what will it benefit a person to gain the whole world and lose one s soul? To be violent is to gain the whole world; who cares about losing one s soul anymore? And, Lent, that pain and suffering eventually lead to good, in God s mysterious plan. God is majestic and has things under control so if things are bad, just wait till all is blessed and good. The chief priests, the scribes and elders will tell you, this is how things work. Shut up and go along with it. At a pastors monthly meeting some years ago, women from the area abuse shelter had been invited to share their stories. It was Lent. The pastors gathered upstairs for a Lenten devotion and communion. The women did not attend that worship. They sat in the basement until worship was over. Clearly, when the women sat down in front of this crowd, they were clearly nervous. The counsellor who was with them cleared that up right away. She addressed the way Lent had been used by their abusers. All of these women come from church-going families, church-going husbands. Some have gone to their pastors seeking help and were told of a spouse s duty to be obedient and to suffer as a sign of love. They ve been told to bear their cross or risk eternal damnation. They ve heard Bible verses reminding them of God s ways in the world in which suffering is for a yet-unseen greater good.

3 3 SERMON FOR THE II SUNDAY OF LENT MARK 8:27-38 ST. PAUL S. Shame. I have done something wrong to deserve this. Victims to believe the narrative that because of their unworthiness, there would be relief and no forgiveness. Pastors began to squirm. She went on, no other time is that more emphasized in your pulpits than in Lent. You tell everyone to be more Jesus-like. To dutifully bear their cross. Have you ever thought about how these women hear that? Just think of our hymns: In the cross of Christ I glory. A lamb goes uncomplaining forth. Or about the old rugged cross: its shame and reproach gladly bear. Their shame, misery and entrapment leads to the reward, the resurrection and eternal life. What is at stake here? What is at stake is whether the creator of the universe is too glorious to care or too unwilling to be part of a broken down world. That s what Peter thinks. Lord, we will never allow you to suffer indignity. We will never allow you to be shamed. Your family is already ashamed of you, Jesus. Peter is thinking about himself. That he eventually will be shamed by his trust in Jesus. Peter starts with a powerful God, one who pulls the strings, above all must make everyone feel unworthy and unholy and unworthy. Gods cannot, must not show weakness, or openness, or risk in relationship. Jesus willingness to suffer brings to light things hidden from the foundation of the world. In their shame, Adam and Eve hide. Shame needs secrecy, it lurks deep in our guts, in our hearts, in our memories. Jesus must bring shame to light. He does that, not by lecturing or preaching about it. He exposes ways that shame and pain work. He is on the side of the innocent and vulnerable. This is all public. He sides with those who are told to be silent. In his suffering, we see how evil the socalled good people really are. And we see how little ordinary lives really count.

4 4 SERMON FOR THE II SUNDAY OF LENT MARK 8:27-38 ST. PAUL S. This is the deep lent, not glorifying suffering, but exposing the powers of darkness for what they are. The suffering of Jesus reveals the true nature of evil that it masks itself behind the most righteous, the most judgmental; that it appeals to our need to sacrifice someone for our comfort and happiness. That the good of the whole requires that some live and some die. Jesus says that the son of man must be rejected and killed. So what s new? Thehistory of Messiah s is strewn with their bodies, the Roman Empire felt no burden to its conscience to putting thousands upon thousands to deaths on the cross. Crucifixion was not just a terrible death, it was the ultimate shaming--- public nakedness, insults, abandonment. Yet, it seems like Jesus was one with all of them, past and future. In the resurrection of the shamed, God to create something that did not exist. On the third day rise again. The resurrection is the gift of liberation, to those chained by shame and fear and guilt. The resurrection is the gift of dignity and worth to all who have lost it. The resurrection is God s commitment to those who walk step by step into scary freedom. As our second lesson today proclaimed: He who made things to be that were not. The shamed Jesus calls us to bring shame to light, to expose things hidden since the foundation of the world. If any would follow me,l et them deny themselves. Let them give up control of others. Let them wear the sandals of someone despised and hated. Let them give up their meal for the hungry and their clothing to the naked. Let them open their warm rooms to the homeless. And let them give their reputation to the nothings. And their affection to the friendless. Deny yourself. Quit talking about yourself and instead hear the story of the abused and

5 5 SERMON FOR THE II SUNDAY OF LENT MARK 8:27-38 ST. PAUL S. bullied as your story. That s what it means to deny oneself. Not earning points for heaven but living Lent as ones feed by the suffering and risen Jesus. The story of Alvin Rogness. 1. Late, longtime president of Luther Seminary 2. First call: small town, only church, full of learning and answers. 3. Unchurched couple lost their only son in a car crash. People told him, whether members or not, we expect you to help them. 4. Rogness went to the house on a summer evening, peered through the screen door and saw them sitting there. They knew him. 5. He sat down and wondered what to say. What to do to bring hope and healing. His prayers for that were not answered. 6. Twilight turned to night. Rogness said nothing. Simply stood, shook parents hands and went out the screen door, sure that he was a failure, ashamed that he had failed his first test of ministry. 7. Funeral. Burial. Luncheon. The parents sought him out to thank him, several weeks late. Their two-week silence just confirmed for him what a bad job he had done. Thanked him.. But not for the words at the funeral, not for the kindness of church members, not for anything that he did right. They thanked him for being silent. No words were deep enough, loving enough to connect with their loss.only the silence, only the vulnerability. Rogness story is our story of Lent. Not to have answers. But to be genuinely there where there is shame, blame and suffering, to take the risk of bringing the hidden secrets to light, and to walk with one another in hope. Amen.