A man from the U.S. was on his first trip to Australia. He summoned a taxi at the airport. He was shocked when the taxi driver asked him in a strong Australian accent, “Did you come here to die?”
This was unexpected and disturbing a cabbie asking him, “Did you come here to die?”
What kind of ride was he in for? The man wondered. He said, “Excuse me?”
The cabbie elaborated, “Did you come here to die, or yester-die?”
In today’s Gospel lesson Jesus is breaking it to his disciples that he has come to die and he’s not speaking with an Australian accent. It’s one of the most famous passages in the Word. Jesus and his disciples are in the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi when Jesus asks them, “Who do people say I am?”
They reply, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asks. “Who do you say I am?”
Of course it was Peter who answered, “You are the Messiah.”
And Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. Then Jesus began to teach them that he must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. This was horrifying to his disciples, as you might expect. They loved Jesus. He was not only their teacher, but he was their best friend. It was Peter, of course, who began to rebuke Jesus for even mentioning the possibility of dying. I can hear him now, “Don’t say things like that, Master, it’s discouraging to hear you talk like that.”
Then Jesus turned and looked Peter in the eye and said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Then Jesus called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
This passage ought to make us a bit uncomfortable. Jesus came to die to die for us. That is how much he loves us. In the words of writer Max Lucado, “Nails didn’t hold God to a cross. Love did.”
Several years ago, the Red Cross in a small Oklahoma town posted signs all over town containing these words:
I gave my blood Christ gave his.
I gave a pint He gave all.
The needle is small, sharp
The nails were large, dull.
The table soft, restful
The cross rough, painful.
The nurses kind, gentle
The soldiers cruel, mean.
The crowd applauds my sacrifice.
“They that passed by reviled him.”
Mine is for O Positive.
His for positively all.
Mine, at best, will prolong a life for a while.
His, without doubt, can save all forever. (1)
Jesus died for us. What do we do in response to such love? The truth is, most of us could answer . . . not much.
There was an article in the news sometime back about a teacher’s aide in Pennsylvania who had been suspended without pay for a year. It seems that she had worn a necklace with a cross on it to work. She knew that she was violating school policies when she wore the cross. She had been warned twice before. Still, this seems to be a little overkill to most of us suspension for a year without pay.
What disturbs me far more, however, than a teacher wearing a cross to class in defiance of a school policy, is that so many people wear crosses that have no significance to them. They wear them as a mere decoration. It’s one thing to wear a cross as a declaration; depending on the circumstances we might even salute that. It is another to wear it as a decoration. What does it mean to us when we wear a cross? Does it mean that we are willing to die for him as he died for us? For some, it may, but probably not for most. It would be interesting to interview people on the street. What does wearing a cross mean to you? Is it the same thing to wear a cross as it is to bear a cross?
Even in church we don’t talk about the cross as much as we once did. It’s a hard sell in our society to ask anyone to sacrifice even Christians.
There was a marketing report in the Wall Street Journal that was quite revealing. It had to do with how thick pew cushions are becoming in America. Church suppliers note that 50 years ago there was virtually no market for pew cushions. None! People in churches sat on hard benches. But today 50% of their orders are about softening the seats of people in church. It has become a market share commanding hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
According to some of the pastors and church leaders weighing in on the subject, soft pews are an essential part of church life today. “Let’s face it,” says one, “soft seats are more inviting.” Another says, “It’s hard enough to find comfort in the world and church should be comfortable.” And one more said, “I love the Lord, but there is absolutely no reason to hurt for an hour while doing so!” (2)
And I agree. I don’t believe that a hard pew ever saved anybody. Still, cushioned pews might be a metaphor for what is happening to us in the church today. The idea of taking up a cross and following Jesus has been practically banished from our thoughts. Finding personal fulfillment and satisfaction has taken its place. In December we bemoan the fact that many people seem to be taking Christ out of Christmas. What we really need to be concerned about is the growing tendency throughout the entire Christian year to take the cross out of Christian living. Christ died for us. He died because he loved us so much. What have we given him in return?
University of Wisconsin historian Thomas Reeves is really put off by the state of religious belief and service in our land today. “Christianity in modern America,” he writes “is, in large part, innocuous. It tends to be easy, upbeat, convenient, and compatible. It does not require self-sacrifice, discipline, humility . . . There is little guilt and no punishment, and the payoff in heaven is virtually certain.” (3) Is he wrong?
Pastor Ed Markquart, a Lutheran pastor in Seattle, Washington tells about an encounter he had once with a pastor named Richard Wurmbrand. Some of you will recognize that name. Wurmbrand, who died in 2001, was a Christian minister of Jewish descent in Romania who suffered years of imprisonment and torture under the communists because of his faith.
Some years ago Markquart and some members of his church went to the Holy Land together. While there they took a cruise on a ship following the journeys of the Apostle Paul. One of the passengers on that cruise was Richard Wurmbrand.
One night Markquart and his wife found themselves sitting with Wurmbrand at an evening dinner table. Much to his surprise, Markquart found Wurmbrand to be witty, charming and intelligent as he told delightful stories at the table.
He was delightful until at the end of the dinner, when he learned over to Orlie, a layman from Markquart’s church who was also making the trip, and asked him, “Is that pastor over there (referring to Markquart) a good pastor?”
Markquart says it bothered him that Orlie paused before his answer. Finally, Orlie answered, “Yes.”
Wurmbrand asked another question, “Why is he a good pastor?”
Orlie responded, “Well, he makes good sermons.”
Then, says Markquart, Wurmbrand looked right at him and asked Orlie, “Yes, but does he make good disciples?”
“In that moment,” says Markquart, “there was a pause, a flash of embarrassment, and a little dagger went into my soul. He didn’t say it but he could have said that the purpose of the church is not to make good sermons or good music or good youth programs or good sanctuaries, but the purpose of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, does he make disciples?
“In that moment,” Markquart continues, “Wurmbrand was the angel of the Lord to me . . . The purpose of God for all pastors and in all sermons is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. People who love Jesus Christ, who follow Jesus Christ, who call Jesus Christ their Lord. That is what we are all called to be: to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Not make church members. Not make Sunday schools. Not make buildings. These can all become ends in themselves. We are to make disciples of Jesus Christ. That is what it is all about.” (4)
Richard Wurmbrand was right. Ed Markquart is right. This is why I have the privilege to stand before you each week. It is not to entertain you. It is to encourage you to walk in the steps of the Master; to help you be better disciples of Jesus Christ.
Discipleship is about self-denial. Jesus turned to his disciples and to the crowd around them and said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
Many beautiful stories came out of the tragedy of the fall of the twin towers of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001 stories of sacrifice and heroism. None is more impressive than the story of Ron Fazio of Closter, New Jersey.
Fazio was Vice President of a company with offices on the 99th floor of Tower Two. When the plane slammed into Tower One, Ron Fazio made one of the best decisions of his life. He ordered his employees to evacuate the building. Even though the South Tower where their offices were had not been hit by the second plane, he insisted that employees get away from the windows, leave their desks and get out of the building. He stood there and held the door, yelling for everyone to hurry, and held the door open until everyone from his company had started down the stairs. They all made it down. So did he. But he remained outside Tower Two, helping others out of the building, talking on his cell phone. The last anyone saw of him, he was giving his cell phone to someone else, after which the tower collapsed and no one ever heard from Ron Fazio again.
Ron’s wife Janet and their kids have started a foundation to honor their father’s heroism. It’s called “Hold the Door for Others, Inc.” In son Rob’s words, “My Dad was a quiet, humble man who died after holding the door open for others. As a family, we’re trying to do the same thing, to help people move through the pain so they can begin to dream again.” (5)
That’s the difference between wearing a cross and bearing a cross the willingness to give your life for others. Please understand. I’m not against wearing crosses. I’m against wearing them if you have never thought through the sacrifice represented by that cross. In a sense it represents Jesus holding the door open so that we can walk through to life. Discipleship is about self-denial.
Discipleship begins when you acknowledge Jesus as your Savior and Lord. It is so sad that so many Christians view a decision for Christ as the end of the journey. Now they’re accepted. Now they can confidently say they will be able to walk through Heaven’s door. Friends, the day you acknowledge that Christ is your Savior is only the day you begin the journey of faith. At that moment begins the process of remaking you in Christ’s image.
Steve Brown tells the story about a British soldier during World War I who lost heart for the battle and in fear decided to desert and run away. As he left the field and headed for what he thought was the coast so he could catch a boat back to England the skies turned very dark. It was so dark that he became hopelessly lost.
In the darkness he came across what he thought was a signpost. It was so dark that he could not make out the top of the signpost so he started to climb up the post so he could read it. As he reached the top of the pole, he found himself looking squarely in the face of Jesus Christ! He realized that rather than running into a signpost, he had climbed a roadside crucifix! Suddenly this encounter with the crucifix reminded him of the one who had died for him, the Lord who had endured, who had never turned back!
The next morning he made his way back to the trenches. After staring into the face of Christ he got a second wind of strength to endure! (6) Have you ever stared into the face of Jesus? It will change your life if you have. We need to stare into the face of Jesus so that we might see the kind of person we can yet become.
Most of you probably remember Tom Landry, the longtime head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Landry spent three decades in professional football. Before that he flew 30 combat missions for the U.S. Air Force in World War II and starred for the University of Texas football team. A man of physical strength and courage, Landry experienced many successes in athletics. Yet he once wrote, “I had a difficult time finding a purpose for my life. Football was my whole life it was my religion. I slept it. I ate it, and I talked it.”
Landry was an all-pro football player for many years before becoming a coach. He played in several Pro Bowl games and had a celebrated career as a player. But something was missing in his life. A friend met Landry on the street and invited him to a Wednesday morning Bible study. Tom was hesitant. He reasoned, “I don’t need it.” Since childhood, he had attended Sunday School and church services regularly. He felt he was morally sound. But he agreed to go to this Bible study because this man was a good friend. In the Bible study Landry learned about the challenge of following Jesus Christ and it changed his life. Says Landry, “When Jesus became real to me . . . I found real happiness and the most satisfying purpose for living.” (7)
Have you found God’s purpose for your life? Have you acknowledged Christ as your Savior? Are you opening doors for others? “Whoever wants to be my disciple,” said the Master, “must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
1. Dr. Mickey Anders, http://www.mickeyanders.com/Sermons/Sermon20040801.html.
2. Ronnie Adams, http://www.metrobaptistchurchnyc.org/reflections/where.pdf.
3. Douglas Harding, http://www.hickorytech.net/~sibumc/Sermons/pe16b06sep24sermon.pdf.
4. http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_a_go_go_go.htm.
5. Dale Lykins, http://www.jacksoncumc.org/worship/3_os_openingdoors.htm.
6. Source Unknown. Cited by Rev. Dennis Markquart, http://www.nnedaog.org/sermons/sernofr5.htm.
7. Copyright 2006, James D. Kegel. Used by permission. http://www.lectionary.org/Sermons/Kegel/OT/Isaiah_06.1-8_Leader.htm.