Way of the cross: cost of Discipleship

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

Friends in Christ, what a privilege it is to share the word of God with you today. I give thanks to God, that we still have freedom to gather in churches in this country. We are not denied of the opportunities, to listen to God’s word, and follow Christ. Let us not forget, past year, for a while, we were denied access to gatherings (including church gathering), due to restrictions brought on by pandemic. To survive pandemic, we had to deny quite a few things. Now that story seems to be behind us, vaccines are here! The promise of light at the end of the tunnel, gives us strength to keep going even if we had to deny certain things for now. Walking from uncertainty to certainty through the promise, has become our journey these days. As we come to receive God’s Word today, let us focus on promises God, so that, we can keep the journey going, even if that journey entails a certain denial. Our meditation is based on Mark 8: 34-35, Jesus said:

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.”

Let us pray:

Gracious Father, thank you for the word of Jesus, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life.’ Help us to cling to these words of Jesus, sanctify us today in truth, for your Word is truth, Amen.

Friends in Christ, during the time of Jesus, there was a popular saying, people said: something like, ‘there will be no more misery when Messiah comes.’ That saying captured ‘the picture’, ‘the image’ people had of their Messiah. People interpreted this picture this way: when Messiah comes, he would redeem them from the tyranny of Roman rule. The Messiah’s act is to save/win their redemption just like Moses redeemed their ancestors from the land of Egypt. This was their picture of Messiah! Naturally then, by the time of Jesus, people grew anxious, and tad bit worried waiting for their Messiah. I guess they thought, Messiah would probably show up any minute, with a mighty army, defeat Romans, and win back freedom and future for them. This was their picture, their idea, their version of reality (constructed by people) as they awaited redemption.

Sometimes, don’t we act like them make up pictures of our own life? Maybe create an expectation of what our life should look like with God on our side? Sometimes, we grow impatient wanting answers from God saying, why aren’t things happening for me? Why isn’t my situation getting any better with you in my life? As a Christian you might have asked yourself, why am I so much in pain and suffering? How come loneliness, or problems in health or relationships still a reality of my life? If God is with me, how come I have no money, like the fellow who just won lottery ticket in Mackay recently? Do you wonder sometimes? (not just about pure economics of your life), but life in general and where your journey is taking you?

I think, from young to old, we all have an image or a version of what our life should be like. We project such life based on our dreams, desires, and demands. With God on our side, some of us hope to be successful, rich and be happy, as if God’s presence is all about that! We want God to serve us, just like Santa Claus serves us. Such God might appeal to our senses because Santa God gives me what I want. The danger in this picture is that: ‘I have a version of God’, ‘I have created an image of God’, ‘the God of the Bible better stick with me!’ The cancel culture around us, advocates such notions, alleviating ‘self’ above all things. If you do not like something, ‘cancel it’ is the message of the world.

The Word of God warns us against creating such pictures. As demonstrated in the Garden of Eden, ‘self’ above God’s Word was the problem from the very beginning. Simon Peter was no exception, he had a picture perfect version of what God’s presence in his life might mean for him. When Jesus spoke of his betrayal, death and resurrection, contrary to the image Peter had in his mind, he wouldn’t want to hear it. Peter rebuked Jesus, because that is no way a God should save this world! In Peter’s head, there was much better version that Jesus should aspire for and must consider!

Peter thought, Jesus should focus on displaying his power, like the time he turned water into wine, or fed five thousand with two fish and five loaves, or healed a blind man, etc. Peter had glorious ideas about Jesus, perhaps, taking care of the pest, called Roman Government (back then) should be the agenda of the Messiah! After all, Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah, and as the people said: ‘there will be no more misery when Messiah comes.’ But the problem was, Jesus did not come into the world to chase glory. Jesus did not became human to defeat people, he came to defeat sin. Sinners Christ embraced, but sin he despised. To embrace sinners, there was a cost involved, Jesus had to give up his life.

Peter did not understand this, so he outright rejected any ideas of Jesus suffering, crucifixion, and death. Peter wanted, Jesus to live, perhaps gain people, win a momentum for Israel and defeat Romans. According to Peter, glory must be the priority for the Messiah, not death! Death of Jesus would mean end of their crowd gathering causes. The way of crucifixion was not appealing enough, to the world which prefer its champions, warriors, or fighters. A cape wearing, high flying superheros with incredible strength to take down any enemy sound much cooler than a guy on a cross! So, Peter’s advice comes with no cost option, sparing Jesus public humiliation and embarrassment.

On the other hand, the way of God comes with a cost! Jesus knew of this, and spoke of the cost. To Abraham, the cost was, he must deny himself, leave his father’s house, his home, his country and go to the land God was showing him (Genesis 12: 1). Or as we heard, Abraham must deny the reality of his own life in order to follow God. For example, even though he and his wife far passed child bearing years, he must trust in God to stand by his covenant. Denying the safety, security, and relationships at his father’s home, Abraham, picked up a journey towards Promised Land, any journey has its risks: wild animals, dakoits, unfamiliar weather conditions to endure, etc. Each step towards Promised Land must have left a footprint of what was left behind – Abraham’s life as he wanted it. How can any journey progress without taking footsteps? Each step forward costs something. Denial, is the cost of a journey in progress.

In our world the pursuit is chasing things, not losing things. Resonating with Peter, we rather spend our time chasing those things that give us happiness, success, and fulfilment. Glory sounds much more attractive to our ears than suffering and pain, don’t it? I mean, who really chases things like pain, suffering and death? No one!

Veith Jr, a lay Lutheran theologian, and the author of the book ‘Spirituality of the cross’ said this about our human longings:

‘we want success, victories, and happiness. We will be attracted to any religion that can promise us such things. We want complete and understandable answers, evidence of tangible spiritual power, all conveyed by an impressive, well-run, and effective institution. Instead, God gives us the cross.’

Cross is the stumbling block for many for this very reason. No wonder Satan wants to attack God’s doing. Making Peter its spokesman, Satan wanted to tempt Jesus, just like it wanted to back in the desert. Jesus knowing what the devil was up to rebuked it, saying, Peter set your mind on things of God but not on things of man. Denial to ‘self’ (with its dreams, desires and demands), marks the journey of discipleship.

Jesus doesn’t just say this, but shows us what true denial looks like. The crucifix, you see in central location of this space, proclaims the message of Jesus denying himself for you and me. Remember Jesus prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane? “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26: 39). There is the obedience of Christ! Philippians 2: 6-8 reminds us Christ, ‘who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing….being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!’

Jesus calls his followers to follow his example. Our Lord said: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.”

I love that little word, ‘if’, it makes this call, exclusive to those who want to follow Christ. In life too, changing loyalties is a slow but intentional commitment that sometimes even comes with a cost – carrying a cross. But ‘if we want to follow’ then we must carry the cross. For example, when I moved from NSW to Queensland, I was required by law to change my car registration plates, ‘if’ I were to continue to stay in Queensland. Each time people move, we all must deny old to fit into a new home. In the case of changing plates, ‘if I were to stay’ then, there is a cost, I must deny NSW plates and put on the Queensland plates. Likewise, the great challenge for us, Christians, is to deny loyalties to ‘self’ or any pictures we may have created in our head, instead, follow Christ.

Those things that gets us away from following God, we must put them away. You know better than I do about those things in your life that takes up your time and attention. Today, repent to follow Christ. Remember your baptism? Your baptism signifies death to your old sinful self, and rising of the new self, Christ has paid the cost for your new life. Romans 6: 3-5 says: ‘do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.’ Did you hear that? Because Christ is risen, there is a promise of new life for you as well.

The promise of new life, energises us to put to death those things that take us away from Christ. In repentance, we lose life in waters of baptism, so that Christ can rise a new child in us. Given your baptism, your identity has been changed forever, like Abram and Sarai. God’s covenant with them, made a new version of them, they had change of names, a new identity was bestowed upon them with promises. When God saw them in light of this new identity, he saw them as new people, with new potential and new life. Likewise, because of our baptism, God sees us in a new light of the righteousness he offered to us through waters of baptism (Romans 4: 13-25).

In Jesus we receive much more, even death loses its power against the hope of resurrection. Because your Lord remained victorious you will too one day! But until then, go about in this world taking up your crosses, not counting the cost, certainly not turning to self. Even in the midst of ridicule and persecution of this world, keeping finding life in Christ (the means of grace).

I would like to finish with this analogy. If you were inside a cockpit of an airplane just before lift-off, you might hear a captain or a co-pilot call out, ‘V1’, which means ‘point of no return.’ As the airplane accelerates toward the end of the runway, the pilot must decide if the plane is moving fast enough for a safe take-off? This speed must be determined pre-flight based on several factors, including the air pressure, temperature, speed of the wind, and weight of the aircraft. The pilot holds the throttle as the plane approaches the V1 speed so that the take-off can be aborted if something goes wrong. However, after V1 the plane must take off (Mike Silva, Would you Like Fries with that? Word: 2006).

As followers of Christ, we also have a V1 commitment – which is taking up our cross and following Christ. Once we have placed our faith in Christ alone, we have reached the point of no return. We need to adjust our sights in times of trials and temptations (deny ourselves if need be), apply full throttle of faith, and take off by the power of the gospel so that we could be nearer to God our Saviour.

To such blessed life, may the Spirit of God lead you, wrapping you with the peace of God that surpasses all understanding and guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.