You’ve heard of Operation Desert Storm, the code name for the U.S. invasion of Iraq back in 1991but do you know anything about Operation Moolah? It was a genuine military operation in the early ‘50’s aimed at enticing North Korean pilots to defect during the Korean War. It was called Operation Moolah because the first pilot to defect with his Soviet-built MiG-15 fighter plane would be offered $100,000 – a lot of moolah, or money in those days.
If you were to look up the names of other military operations, you would notice that most somehow describe the mission’s objective or the mode in which the mission was to be carried out. Desert Storm, for example, was called that because the U.S. military was intent on whipping up a storm as it raced across the Iraqi desert to capture Baghdad, the capital city.
In our sermon text today Jesus defines the divine mission for both himself, the Christ, and for us, Christians. Had he given the mission an operational name it would have been the “Cross.” The Apostle Peter, however, objected to this. He felt that the divine mission should instead be called something less frightening like Operation Couch. But it is the cross, and not the couch, that defines the divine mission for Christ and Christians. Those who don’t accept this are allies of Satan and will lose their life for eternity. Am I exaggerating? Let’s find out.
In our Gospel Lesson last Sunday we heard how Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was. Do you remember Peter’s wonderful answer? He said: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” (Matthew 16:16) Jesus must have beamed – the way a mother does when for the first time her baby says, “Mommy.” For this rock-like confession Jesus gave Simon, as he was formerly known, the nickname “Cephas” or “Peter” which means “rock.” But in today’s Gospel Lesson the Savior called Peter, “Satan” and told him to get out of his sight! What happened? While Peter had a divine understanding of Jesus’ identity, his grasp of Jesus’ mission was diabolical.
It all derailed when Jesus told his disciples clearly for the first time that “he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Matthew 16:21b). What? Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God suffer and be killed in Jerusalem? Oh, that couldn’t be God’s plan. Yet when Peter expressed as much to Jesus whom he had taken aside as if he was a little kid who needed a talking to, Jesus whirled on “Rocky” and retorted: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” (Matthew 16:23).
Cephas was now a Satan? Wasn’t Jesus overreacting? Hadn’t Peter meant well by insisting that Jesus didn’t have to suffer and die? He may have meant well but Peter had inadvertently lobbed at Jesus one of the temptations Satan himself had used in the wilderness after Jesus’ baptism. At that time Satan had told Jesus that if he wanted to receive glory and honor from all the nations, he didn’t have to bloody himself on the cross. He could just bow down to him instead. Satan was offering Jesus a crown without the cross. But Jesus knew that there would be no crown for us if he did not endure the cross.
“You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men,” Jesus told Peter. That’s still true of those who are offended by the cross of Jesus and think that a suffering savior is overkill. Why, “Just be good!” Isn’t that enough to gain entrance into heaven? Did you notice, however, that Jesus equated “the things of men” with the thoughts of Satan? Whenever someone thinks that he just needs to follow the Golden Rule and “do unto others as he would have them do unto him,” these seemingly pious thoughts cause great delight in hell. You see, Satan’s goal is not to make this world a living hell where murderers and child molesters roam the streets uncontested. He’s quite content to have a world full of law-abiding citizens who mow the lawn for the shut-in down the street and who return dropped $20 bills instead of pocketing them as long as these people think that by doing these good acts they don’t need the cross of Christ.
But telling Jesus that he didn’t need to suffer and die would be like telling your insurance company that it doesn’t need to pay for the damage you did to your car. Well if the insurance company isn’t going to pay, then who is? Someone has to if your car is going to get fixed. Likewise if Jesus hadn’t died on the cross, we would still be on the hook for our sins. Ditch the cross and leave us sinners to fend for ourselves? Aren’t you glad Jesus put Peter in his place? Aren’t you glad that Jesus understood well that the divine mission outlined for him was defined by the cross and not the couch?
The cross, however, doesn’t just define Jesus’ divine mission; it defines the divine mission for all Christians. Jesus put it this way: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26a)
Jesus’ cross was made out of wood but what does your cross look like? Christians often list things like migraines, loneliness, a learning disability, unemployment, family problems, a bad back… While these are challenges that God allows into our lives, they are not the cross Jesus speaks about here. Look carefully again at his words. How does Jesus say a Christian takes up his cross? By denying himself and following him (Matthew 16:24). Here’s what that looks like. When little sister wants to play Polly Pockets but you want to color, you deny yourself, that is, you say “no” to what YOU want to do and say “yes” to what your little sister wants. In this way you follow Jesus because, like him, you are putting others first and understand that your goal in life is to serve, not to be served.
Here’s another example. When your spouse wants to eat Italian but you would prefer Chinese, you deny yourself when you defer to your spouse’s choice, not because you have to but because you are delighted that God has given you such an easy way to show love to your spouse! You also deny yourself and carry the cross when you stop your friends at school from going on to say how much they like you better than that other kid. Sure, you would love to hear them go on and on but that kind of talk simply stokes your sinful pride. That’s not denying yourself and following Jesus.
Oh but this is so hard to do! Of course it is. That’s why Jesus compares it to carrying a cross and not to lounging on a couch! Denying ourselves is hard because by nature every breath we take is in the hope of accomplishing our will. Take babies for example. They don’t learn how to talk so they can complement Mom on how she looks. They learn how to talk so they can communicate more efficiently their needs and get what they want whether food, companionship, or even just a clean diaper (Daniel Deutschlander). This self-centeredness doesn’t end when a baby becomes a toddler. If anything, it gets worse. Ever hear of the “terrible twos”? And as we grow older we simply get better at hiding our self-centeredness and our desire for comfort and ease but we’re still always thinking: “If only I had…then I would be happy.” It never works out that way though does it? As soon as we upgrade to the smart phone we think we need a smarter one. As soon as we manage to stretch a high definition television screen across a wall in our house, we start wishing we had a better sound system. But Jesus solemnly warned: “whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:25, 26a)
The cross, not the couch! That’s our divine mission. Deny your desire to accumulate more and more stuff and ignore your longing to get your way. Instead lose yourself in Jesus. That’s not as scary as it sounds. You do it all the time when you board an airplane. You “lose yourself” in the belly of that plane when you entrust its controls to the trained pilot. Sure, it might be fun to fly that plane yourself but it would also be a sure way to ruin your life and the lives of others. Likewise if you want to save your life, then lose it in Jesus. Entrust your life to him whose every word, every thought, and every deed was never for his comfort and convenience but for the benefit of others...and still is. That’s why we can deny ourselves and say “no” to our wants and desires. Jesus knows what we need and he will provide it. Spend your time and energy serving him now as you put others first. Carrying the cross is not optional. If we refuse our cross, we’re also despising his cross as we’d be claiming that Jesus’ suffering and death makes no difference to us.
Peter must have been astonished when Jesus called him Satan. But had he really listened to Jesus he would have known that while the cross defined Jesus’ divine mission, it wasn’t the end. Jesus also plainly taught his disciples that after he was killed he would rise again three days later. Neither is the cross the end for us. Those who continue to put others first motivated and empowered by Jesus’ forgiving love will one day find that the cross has given way to the crown – a crown of everlasting happiness when Jesus raises us from the dead to be free forever from our sins and their painful consequences. But before the crown comes the cross. Bear it. Every day. It’s worth it. Amen.
