Sunday Homily - August 30, 2020 - "Wherever He leads, I'll go"

 

Take up Thy Cross and Follow Me Icon

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 15:15-21

Psalm 26:1-8

Romans 12:9-21

Matthew 16:21-28

I.

There is an old hymn in the Baptist hymnal

 that I grew up singing countless times as a kid.

  And the lyrics still stick with me to this day:

   and its first verse and refrain is familiar to you as well:

"'Take up thy cross and follow me,'

 I heard my Master say,

  'I gave my life to ransom thee,

   surrender your all today.'

Wherever He leads, I'll go.

 Wherever He leads, I'll go.

  I'll follow my Christ who loves me so,

   Wherever He leads, I'll go."

Anyone heard that song before?

 Is the tune "Falls Creek" which is the tune of this hymn

  going to stay with you for the rest of the day?

   I know its already in my head!

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I paid very little attention

 to this particular hymn for most of my youth,

  as it was one of those "old person" hymns 

  that was played on the plinky-plonky upright piano

   and not the cool, contemporary scene of modern guitars and drums.

    

As you can tell by where I am today,

 Jesus indeed has saved my soul from such error

  by God's humble servants like as Johann Sebastian Bach,

   so fear not, I have come a long way since 7th grade. 

But this hymn,

 "Wherever He leads, I'll go"

  while being a fairly simple song,

   encompasses one of the most difficult choices 

    that we have to make as Christians:

     to follow Jesus, fully trusting in His grace and love,

      even when Jesus leads us to places we would otherwise rather not be.

I'm sure we all have personal examples of this,

 but there are even easier examples that have affected us all this year.

  

I don't know about you,

 I didn't realize when I was following Jesus into the year 2020

  that we would be in the midst of a global pandemic of COVID-19

   that has, even by conservative estimates, claimed over 832,000 lives globally.

   [c.f. Johns Hopkins University: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html]

2020 also has been a year of profound challenges nationally,

 as well as globally.

  The specter of racial inequality continues to possess the imaginations and systems

   that we have inherited in the U.S.,

    and the consequences of that injustice 

     have manifested in truly heartbreaking and heinous fashion.

      I don't think any of us wanted to find ourselves where we are right now,

       especially as red, yellow, black, and white continue to fear each other

        for any number of reasons. 

But what about our little community here at Trinity Parish Church?

 We also have had a pretty odd year, haven't we?

  Our normal week to week worship of Jesus Christ

   has taken on a completely different flavor,

    not meeting in person for months because of the danger of COVID-19

     and to care for others so that we don't accidentally make them sick.

      I'm so thankful and grateful that we all have been able to keep in contact as best as we can,

       but it is still a hard season of grief, isn't it?

"Wherever He leads, I'll go"

 is not as easy nor as rosy as it sounds.

But then again, friends,

 following Jesus never has meant that it will be easy. 

  

Just ask St. Peter.

II.

Our Gospel lesson today

 is one in which Jesus rebukes one of his own disciples

  using some of the harshest language

   that Jesus ever uses.

    And it is for St. Peter, literally being called "Satan" by Jesus.

But before we get there,

 we need to get a fuller context of one of the stranger juxtapositions

  that we encounter in the Gospel accounts.

Remember that last week,

 our Gospel reading was the passage directly before this one.

  And it just turns out that it is one of the greatest praises that Jesus ever gives to a disciple:

   the extolling of St. Peter when he called Jesus "The Christ, the Son of God."

In other words, Peter was given the right answer

 by Our Father in Heaven:

  a revealed truth

   about He who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life,

    of whom no one can know the Father

     except through him. 

But, guess where Peter finds himself

 only one passage later in our Gospel account?

  Peter finds himself on perhaps the opposite end of the stick

   from where he was before.

And the reason is subtle,

 but extremely important:

  Peter thinks he has a better idea of what God is supposed to do

   than God himself. 

Because after Peter confesses that Jesus is the Son of God,

 to his praise by Jesus,

  then Our Lord begins to show the things that He must accomplish:

   He is to undergo great suffering,

    be betrayed,

     to be crucified,

      but on the third day to be raised from the dead.

Now, Peter, as a Jew, most certainly has a reason for being horrified at this notion.

 After all, commentators on the Bible point out

  that the common perception of the foretold Messiah

   was that he would be a political/military Messiah,

    one that reestablishes Israel,

     born of King David's line,

      and restores the rightful kingship under God's good hand.

If Jesus is betrayed by his own people,

 crucified by Roman execution,

  then all hope of Israel's restoration dies with Jesus.

   And what on earth is Jesus talking about when he says he will be raised?

Peter cannot conceive of a world in which this is the case.

And yet, it is just this exact misconception of Peter's

 that Jesus responds most strongly against:

  "Get behind me, Satan!

   ...you are setting your mind not on heavenly things, but earthly things."

Peter had set his mind on an earthly understanding of salvation:

 liberation by political and military force.

  And yet Jesus has come to show the true way:

   by taking up our cross, our death, our execution,

    and following wherever he leads.

Peter had set his mind on an earthly lineage of Kingdom:

 a kingdom that had a mortal king.

  And yet Jesus has come to show the true way to life:

   and it is in losing his life for Jesus's sake that he finds it.

    The hope that we have for life is not in our saving of ourselves from death:

     it is in following Jesus in his conquering of death itself

      that we rise again to eternal life.

       If we die in a death like his,

        we will be raised in a resurrection like his.

         [c.f. Romans 6:5]

For anything to sway Jesus' focus from the Father's will

 is to be a Tempter,

  to be an Accuser,

   to be like Satan himself.

Rather,

 Jesus shows Peter and the disciples a new way:

"If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

III.

Have you been following Jesus wherever he leads?

 Or, do we set our minds on the earthly ways of thinking

  that lead us away from the revelation of God in Jesus Christ?

Because it is so easy to do,

 with all of what Satan and the world try to offer you

  that may seem so much more secure than following Christ.

We are constantly told to trust in earthly rulers:

 and that is so abundantly clear in the U.S. when we enter into our election seasons.

  "Vote for me, because all the problems will get fixed.

    Don't vote for them, because if you do, the world goes in the toilet."

No. Don't fix your eyes on earthly things, friends.

 Fix your eyes on Jesus,

  take up your cross,

   and follow him. 

    Cast all your anxieties and worries upon him,

     and say, just like the disciples did, 

      "Where else can we go? You have the words of eternal life."

       [c.f. John 6]

And then sings with the old hymn,

 "Wherever he leads, I'll go."

We are dangerously tempted to put our trust in ourselves,

 to be self-sufficient, to live the American dream

  of big houses,

   cool cars,

    and licence to do what we please.

     "No one's going to take away my freedom."

And yet, as St. Augustine would retort,

 "Perfect freedom is serving God."

  And if this is true,

   in service of God,

    the Incarnate Son of God has commanded you, his disciple,

     to take up your cross and follow Him.

      In the service of God, in the service of our neighbor,

       we are called to daily die to ourselves,

        to daily displace ourselves.

         Because to trust only oneself is the sin of Pride,

          and the sin of Pride is indeed to be Satan himself.

No, friends. We cannot let our desire to do as we wish

 destroy our souls and the souls of others.

  Rather, we must follow the only sure and certain way that leads to eternal life,

   Christ Jesus Our Lord.

    And following Jesus requires that we lift up our cross,

     and that "wherever he leads, I'll go."

So what does that look like?

 Well, St. Paul by the Holy Spirit in our Romans passage

  probably says it better than anyone else possibly could:

"Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

[Romans 12:9-21]

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.