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Mtr. Miriam Scott

“Godspeed” Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost | September 15, 2024


Peter is at it again. The big mouth just can’t help himself. Rebuking

Jesus? Peter, my man, are you okay? Did they have Kool-Aid back then?


Did ya have to drink it?


We all know people like him, right? The ones who say something wrong,

hurtful, embarrassing, and/or unnecessary at the family event. And then,

after being made aware of their mistake, they don’t apologize, they

double down. As if that could change the facts. Did Peter really think he

was going to change Jesus Christ? The one he just called Messiah. Did

Peter really think he knew better than his teacher? How presumptuous, I

would never!


Hindsight is a beautiful thing, isn’t it? For centuries now, we had the

benefit of hindsight while reading the scriptures. So, when we read

Peter’s blundering comments and misperceptions of Jesus Christ, it’s so

easy to think that we would never make his mistakes. We would never

doubt. We would never be afraid. We would never deny Jesus, let alone

three times? We would never want to be first in God’s affection. We

know better. We would never try to impress Jesus, right?


I fear I am a lot like Peter. I can absolutely relate to him. Like Peter, I

can be too eager to get my theology “just right” and then show it off.

Like Peter, I wish God and the world would know that I am a good

person. Like Peter, when I’m confronted with a new theological insight,

sometimes I’ll put up a good fight first. Yes, I have to admit, there is a

good chance, I might have rebuked Jesus.


Maybe that is why I feel defensive for Peter. Look, he did answer the

question right, didn’t he? “Who do you say that I am?” Answer: “You

are the Messiah.” Correct!! Goldstar! Teacher’s pet! The star student. I

love being the star student… yet somehow Peter still missed the point.

But Jesus and Peter are in agreement here, so what gives? It’s the correct

title. Messiah. The problem is this: Peter is a product of his environment

as are we all. And in Peter’s environment, in his culture and belief

system, the Messiah is somebody like King David, but of course more

powerful. Jesus’ lineage was linked to King David’s for that very reason.


The Messiah Peter and almost every person then was expecting,

possesses the kind of power it takes to conquer the Romans, much in the

same way that David discarded Goliath. This Messiah would then usher

in a new kingdom like King David did. A kingdom with independence,

and sovereign power, and he would rule over a united Israel, once again.

This Messiah may have spiritual blessings but is engaged with earthly

matters. Solving problems, not in a divine, but in a worldly way. This

Messiah is a conqueror of the mortal world. A governing and militaristic

savior. That is the Messiah expected by the culture, the people that Peter

grew up with, the people he called family and friends. This Messiah is

less about God’s kingdom, and more about the people’s kingdom.

Is this vision of Jesus Christ too different from ours? Do we still want

and expect a being of superior worldly powers? More like a superhero

than the Son of man?


Our history shows that even with the benefit of hindsight, we haven’t

been putting Jesus’ lessons into effect very well. Just a few centuries

ago, men still want God to be in charge on earth and in a visible seat of

the utmost earthly power. This turned into several wars known as the

Crusades.


And now? Are we getting it? Or are we just like Peter, still waiting for

Jesus Christ to lay down the law.


Based on what??? Here’s the thing, Peter called Jesus Messiah. Peter’s

authoritative kind of Messiah. But all he has seen Jesus do, is healing

sick and demarginalized people. Jesus is bringing the ones on the fringes

back to community, he’s hanging out with people that haven’t got a lick

of power. Jesus continuously shows a disregard for worldly powers and

their machinations. Jesus builds relationships, not a platform. He

operates completely outside of mainstream. He has not in any way,

shape, or form, shown his disciples in our gospel today any sign that this

might change, and he will go toe-to-toe with the Roman Empire before

long. There is no sign of an army gathering, no sign of Jesus starting to

consolidate power. Jesus shows no signs of being the Messiah everyone

is expecting. So Peter’s assertation that Jesus is the Messiah, is not really

a factual statement on his part. It is a hopeful statement. As they are

getting closer to Jerusalem, Peter’s expectations of Jesus grow.


No wonder then, that when Jesus describes his messianic path as fraught

with danger, humiliation, and pain, and ending in being sacrificed on the

degrading cross, instead of having the power to crucify his enemies, it’s

no wonder poor Peter’s brain short-circuited. This is the complete

opposite of his expectations after all. His human expectations. Peter

rebukes Jesus.


“Get behind me Satan. For you are setting your mind not on divine

things, but on human things.” Jesus rebukes Peter.

That’s harsh. Satan? I set my mind on human things. Most of the time.

I’m human. Like Peter, I need to learn and practice to set my mind on

things divine over things human.


“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take

up their cross and follow me.” These are Jesus’ instructions to Peter, to

his disciples, to the people of Israel, and to us. “If any want to become

my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and

follow me.”


Self-denial and taking up your cross, well don’t threaten me with a good

time! What kind of blessing is this? How saved are we going to feel by

our beloved Messiah when we deny ourselves that dessert and carry the

cross of suffering without even being allowed to complain? Some

salvation this is.


Maybe Jesus is not talking about the suffering that is simply a part of

being alive. Like deadlines, bills, disease, and those annoying neighbors

to your left. And I can’t believe that Jesus would want us to actively

seek out suffering for some ill-conceived martyrdom. He didn’t seek to

die on the cross Himself, he accepted it as the natural consequences of

His divine actions in this broken world. To carry the cross then, means to

accept the consequences from following Jesus Christ. It means putting

God’s priorities above our own self-interest. Setting our mind on things

divine, not human. Even if that means giving up security. Carrying your

cross is to bring the good news to others, so that they can experience

God’s love through Jesus Christ.


Ok, preacher. Great, we’ll carry our cross. But tell us again what’s in it

for us. Self-denial and carrying the cross still doesn’t sound like a good

time, you know. Right you are.


No one likes to suffer. I don’t. Although I recently experienced a kind of

suffering, I willingly chose. And not just me, thousands of people. Most

of you know that I participated in Burning Man. For over a week I

camped in the desert, it was hot and windy. And it was cold and wet.


And believe it or not, a dust storm on a playa in the Nevada desert is

much, much worse than ours here. Burners accept this suffering. I

wondered why, and curiosity will kill me one day probably. So, I went.

On my second day there, we built a geodesic dome, this would be our

chapel. In broiling temperatures. With biting dust in the air. After a few

hours of this, a strange sweaty man visited our camp lugging around a

heavy cooler. His costume was something else... He put down his load,

and with a big smile he handed all of us popsicles. Nothing ever tasted

this good. And I have never seen a cooler costume in my life! No weird

stranger he, but my new best friend!


See, here’s the thing: when we all carry our cross, we carry one another.

When we carry the cross, it carries us. It was my job to help build this

dome as a chapel for all the campers, so I accepted it. That meant I

accepted the sweat, the strained muscles, the bruises, the dust that bores

into your skin, the suffering. It was his job to go around all the camps

and make sure his neighbors are hydrated while building. Lugging

around a heavy cooler. These jobs are not assigned. They need to be

done, and people just start carrying that cross when they see it needs

doing. In this way, everyone did their part, carried their cross, and was in

turn held up by a neighbor doing the same.


When we all carry our cross, we carry one another. And that, that does

sound like a good time. That sounds like God’s kingdom. Not in the

distance, at some unknowable day in time, but right at our fingertips.

Wherever we are in life, when we carry our cross, it carries us into

God’s love.


Like our Messiah says: “If any want to become my followers, let them

deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Amen.

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