First Lutheran Church
February 28, 2021 + The Second Sunday in Lent B
Mark 8:31-38. 31[Jesus] 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.32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But 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.”
34He 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. 35For 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. 36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38Those 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.”
“The Fear of Death”
Mark Twain reportedly once said, “It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.” Perhaps that fits today’s gospel, when Jesus “quite openly” and “matter-of-factly” gets straight to the point, “I must suffer, be rejected, and die.” Peter challenges this notion of suffering and death, to which Jesus responds, once again very candidly and without any pretense, “If you want to follow me, you need to deny yourself, and take up a cross.” Once again, “It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.” Jesus makes it very clear; if you want to follow him, if you want to be one of his disciples, if you want to be a Christian, - you will need to “deny” yourself and take up the cross.
Well, I don’t know about you, but that’s not what I wanted to hear this morning. I’ve been there and done that! For almost an entire year now, I have had to deny myself so many things! I’ve given up eating out at restaurants, gathering for parties, visiting with friends, working out at the gym, traveling to exciting places, attending conferences with colleagues, singing with my band, visiting “indoors” with my parents, and worshipping in-person inside this sanctuary. This whole mess started last year in Lent, and now it’s Lent again, - it’s like Lent never ended! I’m really not in the mood to hear what Jesus has to say in this Sunday’s appointed Gospel, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” I’m really not in the mood for Lent!
Yet, those are the words in today’s appointed Gospel. The purple paraments are up, - so for better or worse, - it’s Lent. It’s that season in which we are called to “deny” ourselves, the season in which we “give something up” in the hopes of creating space for new life.
But truth be told, we really need it! We need some new life! So, once again, still in the midst of social distancing, still in the grim shadow of COVID, still in the loss and grief and the loneliness of it all; we turn to embrace and engage the Lenten journey, that paradoxical Lenten truth, “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.” Yes, it’s time to give something up for Lent.
When it comes to “giving something up” for Lent the greatest temptation, to which we all fall victim, is to diminish the traditional spiritual practice. Truth be told, the kinds of things that we usually and typically choose “to give up” don’t really rise to the level of “deny yourself and pick up your cross and follow me.” I usually try “to give up” chocolate, exercise more, or stay away from the evils of Facebook. Sometimes I “give up” time watching TV in the hopes of replacing those hours with something more productive or meaningful. And while all those things are good and beneficial activities, things that I need to do, things that will make me healthier both physically and spiritually; quite honestly, they don’t really qualify as “kingdom things.” I cringe to think that Jesus has invited me to follow him, to seek after the kingdom of God, and my response is, “Sure, I’ll give up my Snickers bar and Facebook!”
I suppose the other response would be to drastically swing the proverbial pendulum all the way in the other direction by practicing “the kind of self-denial that strips life of all pleasure, all embodiment, all celebration, and all joy.” (Debi Thomas) I don’t believe that following Jesus ultimately leads to such austerity or a faith life marked by the strict and unwavering fanaticism of religious fundamentalism. That doesn’t sound right or feel right. Afterall, Jesus gathered up the little children, feasted with sinners, and turned water into wine!
So where does that leave us? How might we faithfully respond to the Lenten call of Jesus to deny our self and pick up the cross? What would a more balanced approach to “giving something up for Lent” look like?
As I pondered this question, did my theological research, and looked more closely at today’s Gospel reading, I began to wonder if Jesus is not really asking us “to give things up” as much as he is inviting us “to give up” one thing in particular - our fear of death. You’ll notice in today’s gospel reading that Jesus gets really “animated” when Peter rebukes him for his passion prediction; his proclamation that he must suffer, be rejected, and be killed. Peter seems to have forgotten the last part of that prediction, “and after three days rise again.” Jesus immediately and sternly rebukes Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” And then he gathers his disciples and the crowd and lets them all know, in no uncertain terms that his mission, his calling to heal all the broken-ness of this world, will result in a deadly conflict with the principalities and powers of this world. Theologian Ira Brent Driggers writes, “(Jesus) commitment to the healing of humanity literally knows no limits. And neither—Easter tells us—does God’s life-giving power.” We are once again reminded both of the nature of the Kingdom of God, and the promise that death does not have the last word, and thus that death is not to be feared when living out the mission of the Kingdom.
So it is, that perhaps, what we are being asked to give up at Lent, is our fear of death. And to be certain, the evidence clearly reveals that we are afraid of death. Social scientists and theologians agree and point to our contemporary western culture’s impulsive need to spend millions of dollars every year on a variety of products and services that help us ignore our mortality. We avoid death by consuming: cosmetics, health gimmicks, beauty supplies, fashion, leisure, electronics, sex, entertainment, real estate, and sports cars just to name a few commodities.
Theologian Debi Thomas expands on the question, “What would (Jesus) say to a culture that glorifies violence but cheapens death? A culture that encourages rugged individualism and “freedom” at the expense of self-giving compassion and empathy? What would he say to my own frightened heart, that priorities self-protection over so much else that matters in this life? What if Jesus’s call is for us to stop clutching at this life so desperately? To step out of the vicious cycles of denial, acquisition, terror, and violence that seek to cheat death, but in fact rob us of the abundant life Jesus comes to give us?”
In the end it is our fear of death that steals life away from us. It is a lifestyle deeply rooted in that fear that consumes us. It is in trying to save and preserve our life, that life it lost. And it is in the letting go of that fear, acknowledging death, that abundant life is found here and now, as well as forever and ever. If the pandemic has taught us anything about life, I hope that we have all come to realize what is really important. It’s not the idolatrous “things” we consume and to which we desperately cling, in hopes that they will somehow give us life; it’s the people and our relationships with each other that really matters. It’s the love we share with each other, and the love that we dare to share with those in real need, that makes us truly alive. It’s the meaning and purpose of love that makes all the difference between truly living and just surviving.
So, as our Lenten journey continues, as we respond to Jesus’ invitation to follow him, let us find a way together to deny, “to give up,” - our fear of death. And in doing so find ourselves clinging solely to our baptismal identity as the beloved children of God, instead of in the things we vainly consume. And being set free from death, may we find ourselves inspired and emboldened to share in the suffering of others, to be present in their pain without the baggage of our own fear, to be fully present as Christ is fully present, with the gift of abundant life. For it is in the letting go of our fear of death that we will be set free to truly love and serve others, set free to walk and live in the way and presence of Jesus.
Beloved of God, be not afraid. We have been united in death with Christ, and we will be raised up to life in Christ; - today, tomorrow, and forever. Amen.