Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God the Father and our
Lord Jesus Christ,
A Christian once remarked to me that
apart from our Lord, the gospel writers always gave St. Peter the best lines to
speak, so we’ll begin this morning’s reflections with Peter. In the passage
just before this morning’s gospel reading, he spoke for the other disciples and
said that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. How pleased the Savior must have been to hear
this confession of faith. But then Peter
said something that greatly displeased the Lord. He heard what Jesus said about his suffering,
rejection, and death, and he was distressed.
Jesus’ prediction of his resurrection, you see, had not registered in
Peter’s mind. He heard only the bad
news, so he said that such terrible things shouldn’t happen to the Son of God. Jesus knew, however, that his future included
a cross of suffering and that anyone who tried to keep him from it would be
tempting him the way Satan tempted him in the wilderness. He needed to break the influence of Peter’s
well-intentioned concern. Suffering
comes before glory. We sow in tears and
reap in joy. This is a rule of earthly
life that was especially true for our Lord.
We don’t accomplish anything worthwhile without discipline, sacrifice,
and hardship. Athletes train; students
stick to their books; mothers and fathers – and grandparents – make sacrifices
every day. Jesus gave up his earthly
life so that the whole world may know God.
He needed to
speak sharply to Peter, then, but he didn’t hold Peter’s lapse against
him. He lifted him up, instead, and
strengthened him to carry his own cross.
It’s human nature to say that a person who offends us once will do so
again and so it may be best to break off relations. Jesus works by a different principle. He wanted Peter to be the best man he could
be, so he forgave him. He introduced
Peter and the other disciples to one of the secrets of worthwhile living. People who want meaningful lives accept
burdens. If we want to accomplish something
like finding a new place to live or raising a family, we pay attention to that
and give up other things, as interesting and tempting as they may be. We carry our crosses. A full life includes sacrifice and
self-denial.
Crosses are
not pleasant or easy. They challenge
us. We hardly ever get to choose the
ones that we’ll carry. Our crosses are
imposed from outside us. “If I have to
give up that month in Hawaii to help my neighbor who is ill,” we might say,
“then I won’t by myself anymore.” Or:
“I’ll lose my good nature if I have to go out of the house and deal with people
who are impossible to get along with.”
We learn from Jesus’ example, however, that crosses bring rewards and
that blessings come from self-denial.
Our flesh may rebel, but the Holy Spirit that lives within us
strengthens us to walk along the rocky road that leads to satisfaction.
When we
Christians speak about carrying crosses, we often refer to something very
specific, not just any hardship, but the burdens we bear because we’re
Christians – first, the penalties the unbelieving world may put upon us, which
are very severe in certain countries, and even difficult in Canada as
materialism and misuse of freedom capture so many minds. We carry a cross when for Jesus’ sake we deny
ourselves pleasures and privileges that are available nowadays in
abundance. In the second place, we carry
a cross when we recognize our shortcomings and feel sorry for our sins. This is a daily reality for us, because our
consciences are very active. We feel
grief when the Holy Spirit convinces us of our sins, and we may wonder at low
moments if we have made a mess of our lives.
We know how Peter must have felt when the Lord called him Satan.
As Jesus
forgave his apostles, though, he also pardons us. No matter how weak our flesh or grave our
offenses may be, the blood of Christ washes us clean and strengthens us. The Savior is infinitely forgiving. He encourages us never to give up the hope of
abundant, godly living. He doesn’t give
up on us. He empowers us to deny
ourselves for the sake of the best.
Along with
the blessing of forgiveness, he confers a new status upon us. We’re ordinary people, of course, but at the
same time our Christian faith means that we are the Heavenly Father’s adopted
daughters and sons. The Lord assures us
of his fatherly goodness. He promised
Jacob that he would be with him and watch over him. He promised never to leave him. The Father’s love for his people is much
greater than the love of an earthly father, and so we trust that the crosses he
gives us – whether concern for others or the stress of living in a secular
culture or awareness if sin – will not be too heavy for us to carry. We don’t lose sight of the better life he has
prepared for us, because his fatherly hand strengthens us to persevere.
Together
with forgiveness and a new status, the Savior also transforms us. He renews our minds. Paul wrote in Romans: “Do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may
discern the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.” God’s Spirit fine tunes us so that we focus
on Jesus instead of the things of the world that momentarily catch our
attention. We direct our wills and our
desires toward Christ in whom we find riches beyond riches.
A sports
psychologist once said that he works to build up the self-esteem of the
athletes who come to him by getting them to change the kinds of thoughts they
think. Most people have a high number of
thoughts every hour. A surprising number
of thoughts for many people are negative, and many of these negative thoughts
are directed at themselves, such thoughts as, “Oh, I’m not going to do well
today,” or “I can’t cope” or “I guess I’ll never reach the goal I set for myself.” The psychologist said that he trains athletes
to turn such thoughts around and to say instead, “I’m going to do my best,” or
“I’ll make a bit of progress today” or “I’m going to stretch myself this week.” He said that this discipline produces remarkable
results. If we think well of ourselves,
we have a good chance of doing well. But
thoughts can create self-fulfilling prophecies.
It’s easy to
imagine adapting these guidelines to fit a Christian pattern. Suppose that instead of surrendering to negative
thoughts when we meet a stressful situation, we train ourselves to say: “The
Spirit is working on me. I’ll be able to
cope.” Or: “God is guiding me to renew
my mind.” Or: “The Lord will help me to
bear up under these burdens.” Then the
rocky road will smooth out and we won’t lose our pictures of the better life
our Heavenly Father is creating for us.
To strive for better understanding of our Lord’s promise to transform
would make a good exercise. We’d do well
to remember every time we catch a hurtful thought flying in our own direction
to say this: “I am forgiven, a child of God; his power to transform is renewing
me. His cross is reshaping me.” If we think this sort of thing, we proclaim
Jesus’ victory over the devil to ourselves and we are strengthened to bear the
weight of our own crosses. We become
confident that the fruits of salvation are planted deep in our minds and
hearts.
Progress in
devotion to our Lord isn’t always obvious, of course. There are times when faith is deeply hidden,
as God is hidden from our sight, periods when joy seems far removed from
us. Such wintry moments don’t corrupt
our minds, thank God. We remember that
we are forgiven, that we are God’s beloved children, and that his transforming
power is at work on us. He gives us the
valleys through which we pass so that we may receive from him – and only from
him – the faith to keep on going. He
steadies us so that we don’t drop our crosses, because then we are most like
Christ, who teaches us how to take the difficult but rewarding road, the way of
self-denial and sacrifice that leads to victory and ever-lasting joy.
Now, from
what I’ve seen, I suspect that St. Peter’s people don’t shrink from carrying
crosses. I’m sure you often make
sacrifices for the good of others, resist temptation with God’s help, patiently
endure the roadblocks that secular society puts in your way, and repent of your
sins. Though rewards can be hidden and
delayed, I believe that you take to heart Jesus’ admonition to deny ourselves and
to pass by earthly glitter.
What a
witness you make to your neighbors. You
show them that life is more than work and fun, providing material things and
building comfortable nests. You set
examples by following the cross that leads to victory. As you live under the
cross in sacrifice, self-denial, and joy, you show your n neighbors that there
is a better way than the way of the world.
Some will pay attention and seek God along with you.
The whole
Christian church is passing through a time of humbling just now. As always, the kingdom lives under the cross,
and the cross ultimately comes from God.
He chastens his people for a purpose, to purify us so that we will turn
to him in faith. He teaches the church
today the same lesson the Savior taught Peter, that God’s people don’t find
their fulfillment in comfort and security of life. We don’t live for our stomachs or our bank
accounts. Nor do we think the church
needs to be powerful and glamorous. We
are people of the cross, whom the Lord encourages and nourishes in his special
way. We know a lot about what it means
to carry a cross. The point is that the
Lord carries us. He will keep on strengthening us and helping us to
endure. Peter missed the message about
Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Thanks
to God, we do not make the same mistake.
We keep on going; we don’t give up.
A very great day is coming and we’ll be part of it. The Lord will return. He will claim us and all believers. When that day comes, the crosses of the
present day will look like nothing. In
Jesus’ Name we give thanks. AMEN.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your
hearts and minds in the knowledge of Christ Jesus. AMEN.
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