"This Whole Scripture is Scandalous"
Mark 8:27-38
On Thursday at about one O'clock in the afternoon a counselor along with two social workers from the East Ridge School system came to see me at the church.
They looked really nervous and worried.
They came to us because they knew that you all have been working with the children living at the Superior Creek Lodge.
They knew that this church was actively involved in ministry with some of the precious children that they care for and they were concerned about.
The night before half of the Lodge had been condemned and folks were immediately, and without warning forced out of the homes they had lived in, in many cases for years.
And these representatives from the schools were worried.
They were scared to death.
You could see it on their faces.
They cared.
They cared a whole awful lot.
They didn't know what had happened to a number of the children from the Superior Creek Lodge who had not shown up for school that day.
They were worried that they might have been forced to sleep in cars the night before...or in the woods...
They didn't know if they would ever see these precious children again.
So the four of us were talking, worrying, and trying to figure out what to do.
We agreed that these kids needed to be in school.
But how could we keep them in school while their homes were being yanked out from under their feet?
What would become of their already extremely precarious lives.
We had all come to love and adore these rascals.
Just then, Marcy Hall, who perhaps loves them most of all--texted me: All the text said was "They shut down hotel."
I immediately told the ladies.
We were in shock.
What in the world would happen to the kids now?
Immediately, I knew what we had to do...
...we had to open up our church to help house these families with children.
Now, knowing that you must do something and going ahead and doing it are two completely different things.
So, I bit my lip and thought for just a second.
I knew I didn't really have the authority, by myself to say we were turning the church into a temporary shelter.
But then I thought about you all.
"Would you support this decision? Or would I be in BIG trouble?"
Well, I've been bragging on you all week to my colleagues in the ministry about this.
I knew you would support the decision.
I have been working beside you all for over six years.
I have seen you in action.
I have seen your hearts.
I have watched you love on your community.
I have known your humble and non-judgmental attitudes.
We have served the poorest of the poor together.
You have welcomed everyone who has come through these doors--dirty, clean, black, white, poor, middle class, mentally ill, physically disabled--you name it.
Not only have you welcomed these folks; you go way out of your way to try and get them to come and be part of this community of faith.
Everyone is accepted and loved here.
All these things went through my mind in a split second.
Then I turned to the representatives from the schools and said, "We will turn this church into a shelter for the families and children who are losing their homes at the Superior Creek Lodge."
I'd never seen teachers in "professional-work-mode" jump up and down and praise the Lord--but I saw it then.
I saw it on Thursday, September 10, 2015 at 1:31 in the afternoon.
And you folks have exceeded all expectations.
"Who do you say that I am?"
"What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus?"
People have been debating these questions for 2,000 years...
...and the debate continues today on the news...
...in churches...
...within denominations...
...in the political arena...
...between scholars.
"Who is Jesus?"
"What does it mean to follow Him?"
"What is Christianity really about?"
I was riding in the back of a Funeral Home Limo one day on my way to do a graveside memorial.
In the backseat with me was a fine fellow who was talking a mile a minute saying: "The Bible says this and Jesus said that."
If you hadn't known better, you'd of thought he was an expert.
Finally, in good conscience I felt I needed to say something:
"No offense, but nowhere in the Bible does it say that and nowhere in the Bible does Jesus say that."
Apparently, the guy from the Funeral Home, who was up front driving the limo, got a real kick out of that.
He reminds me of that ride every time I see him.
Billions of people claim to believe in the Bible as God's Word.
Billions of people will tell you that Jesus Christ is the Lord of their lives, and that He is the Christ.
But how many of us have ever really read the Bible or even know more than two or three things that Jesus said?
Claiming Jesus is the Christ, but not really knowing much of anything about Jesus helps to feed a lot of really, really bad theology...
...dangerous theology...
...Satanic theology to borrow Jesus' Words from this morning's Gospel Lesson.
Even Peter, one of the people who knew Jesus best, had what Jesus referred to as "Satanic theology" as it pertained to what it means that Jesus is "The Christ."
Like many of us today, Peter got Jesus' title right, but he failed terribly on what that title means.
"Get behind me, Satan," Jesus said to Peter, "You are not thinking God's thoughts but human thoughts."
That's a pretty common mistake when interpreting what Jesus' agenda is.
Some folks think Jesus is a Republican; others believe He is a Democrat.
Others think Jesus is a blond haired, blue eyed American Who believes in capitalism and the American dream.
He probably even drives a Chevy, plays baseball and eats hot dogs.
In all actuality Jesus probably looked more like Osama Bin Laden than your typical all-American middle class Caucasian.
And as far as the American dream goes?
"All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.
All who want to save their lives will lose them.
But all who lose their lives because of me and because of the good news will save them.
Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives?"
This entire passage of Scripture is absolutely scandalous!!!
A friend stopped to talk to a colleague and I at Wally's restaurant the other day.
He said, "People don't have any idea what it means to be Christian.
I'll see folks in church praising God and so forth...
...then we go out to eat and they start talking about how they wish someone would shoot the President!"
Jesus asked, "Who do people say that I am?"
Then He looked good and long at His followers and asked: "And what about you? Who do you say that I am?"
I think we answer that question, not so much with our lips, as we do with our lives.
When we see another person in need, what do our actions or non-actions say about "Who Jesus is" to us?
When confronted with the decision to judge and condemn or offer kindness and mercy--Who do we say Jesus is?
When we spend our money on ourselves in wasteful and selfish ways--
Who do we say Jesus is?
When we withhold our tithe--Who do we say Jesus is?
When we sneer and gossip about our neighbor--Who do we say Jesus is?
When given the choice to sleep-in or come to church--Who do we say Jesus is?
When deciding whether to serve in humility or demand to be served by others--Who do we say Jesus is?
In our Gospel Lesson for this morning it says, "After calling the crowd together with his disciples, Jesus said to them, 'All who come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.
All who want to save their lives will lose them.
But all who lose their lives because of me and because of the good news will save them.'"
For Jesus, the secret of life is giving it away.
And a follower of Christ is someone who gives their lives for the sake of others.
From the very beginning of Christianity, it has been clearly understood that these teachings are the fundamentals of what it means to be Christian.
But it's tempting for me to dilute these teachings of Jesus...and turn them into some kind of advice for living a more disciplined life or for putting up with life when bad things happen.
After-all, we all have crosses to bear, do we not?
But try as I might, the literary and historical context of what Jesus is saying doesn't support my desire for a "softer gospel."
To deny oneself really means that we remove ourselves and our own desires from consideration.
And taking up our cross, does not mean just accepting life's burdens.
Taking up our cross means that we are prepared to put our very lives on the line for the sake of Jesus Christ, the Gospel and all that is good and right.
We are called to be like Christ in this life, and to share His fate.
We are also called to recognize that this is where true life is found.
For in dying with Christ, we are raised to life.
And in Christ we become new creations--the old things are gone, behold! The new has come.
One man writes: "When I was a kid in the mid-50s, Parker Brothers came out with a game for church families like ours.
It was called 'Going to Jerusalem.'
Your playing piece wasn't a top hat or Scottie dog, like in the 'worldly' game of Monopoly.
In 'Going to Jerusalem,' you got to be a real disciple.
You were represented by a little plastic man with a robe, a beard, some sandals, and a staff.
In order to move across the board, you looked up answers to questions in the little black New Testament provided with the game.
I remember that you always started in Bethlehem, and you made stops at the Mount of Olives, Bethsaida, Capernaum, the stormy sea, Nazareth, and Bethany.
If you rolled the dice well, you went all the way to a triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
But you never got to the Crucifixion or Resurrection.
There were no demons or angry Pharisees.
You only made your way through the nice stories.
It was a safe adventure, perfectly suited for a Christian family on a Sunday afternoon walk with Jesus.
It never occurred to me, while leaning over the card table jiggling the dice in my hand, that traveling with Jesus wasn't meant for plastic disciples who looked up verses in a little black Bible.
If you're going to walk with Jesus as his disciple in this world, you may need to change your perspective.
After all, Jesus said, 'Take up your cross, and follow me.'"
Do any of us have a faith in Christ which leaves the Cross out of the equation?
Has our Jesus been cleaned up and homogenized?
Is He like a plastic figure on a board game?
Or, or, or is He dangerous, scandalous, loving, exciting, wholly giving, and merciful unto death?
Is He so in love with humankind that He will go all the way, all the way, all the way to the Cross...?
I want to follow the real Jesus.
I want to be like Jesus, not like some fake, plastic boring Jesus.
I want to love dangerously.
I want to live life to the full.
I want to care till it hurts.
I want to put my faith into action even if it means I lose every earthly pleasure.
I want this.
Will I go for it?
Will you?
