Gospel
THE HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO MARK
Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. Then he 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. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But 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." He 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. 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. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those 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."
MARK 8:27-38
Sermon: The Rev. Dr. Maryann Amor
A Jesus-centered Christianity can seem illogical because it calls for extreme self-sacrificial love — to the point of being almost absurd. It requires us to be absurdly gracious, hospitable, kind, patient, peaceful, self-controlled, and giving. And following Jesus in this way is hard. Serving others humbly, defending the powerless, fighting for the oppressed, and radically loving the world around you is not for the faint of heart. It rarely leads to the rewards our society prizes — fame, fortune, influence, and power — which might explain why so many Christians place their trust and hope in things other than Jesus.
I found this quote in an article titled “Have We Forgotten the Point of Christianity?” I found this article after googling "what is the point of Christianity?" and this question came to my mind because of our Gospel today.
Our Gospel challenges us to think about what Christianity is truly about, who is Jesus and what does it mean to follow him. In the passage, Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They answer: Elijah, John the Baptist, and eventually, the Messiah. For early Jews, the Messiah was expected to deliver them from Roman oppression — the Romans were cruel and taxed the people heavily, so they desperately wanted to be saved from living under their rule. When the disciples call Jesus the Messiah, they reveal that they see him as a powerful political leader coming to save them from the Romans.
But Jesus responds by calling himself the Son of Man, identifying himself as a human being who would die and rise again. He is not the political figure they expect but he is the opposite, his mission is about offering salvation through death not power.
Peter, upset by this, rebukes Jesus because he wants him to be the triumphant Messiah, not some dying son of man. Jesus, in turn, rebukes Peter, saying he is thinking of human things, not divine things. Peter, like other Jews, wanted political power, freedom from oppressors, and success — but Jesus isn’t offering any of these. Instead, Jesus calls his followers to something radically different: to deny themselves, reject worldly desires, take up their crosses, and follow him.
For much of its history, the church has seen Jesus’ call to take up the cross and deny ourselves as a call to embrace suffering, as though Christianity is about enduring hardship and pain for Jesus, that this is what God requires of us. But this interpretation can be harmful for our mental and physical well-being and isn’t true to the text.
While the cross was an instrument of suffering and death, it was also a symbol of humiliation, used by the Romans to execute criminals in the most shameful way. So, when Jesus tells us to carry the cross and deny ourselves, it’s not about seeking suffering…but it is about taking on the things the world deems to be shameful or weak — and in doing this, we follow Jesus. This is the point of Christianity.
In our world, we are often bombarded with the message that we need more in our lives, because we aren’t good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, happy enough, successful enough. But what if we reject these messages and embrace something the world finds absurd, silly? What if we take upon ourselves the belief, as countercultural as it is, that we are already deeply loved and worthy in God’s eyes and don’t have to change a thing? That every person, each one of us here right now, no matter our ethnic background, ability, gender, sexual orientation, social status, is fully loved and accepted by God? Instead of chasing the world’s standards of success, fortune, and fame we are called to deny these false things and embrace, carry, take upon ourselves, the truth that our identity is defined by being God’s children, not by what we achieve or possess…that our identity is defined by knowing that we are so truly loved by God, and God accepts us exactly as we are.
And when this is the cross that we carry into the world, we will be following Jesus and living his call. When we love everyone to the absolute extreme, when we don’t expect anyone to change themselves to find our acceptance…we model God’s love to others. We spread God’s love when we approach those around us with what the world would say are absurd amounts of grace, hospitality, kindness, patience, peacefulness, self-control, and generosity. We will spread God’s love when we humbly serve others, defend the powerless, fight for the oppressed.
Can we resist the pull of the world and take up this cross that Jesus sets before us? Can we deny the life the world wants us to embrace, that we often run after because we believe it will make everything better, and instead follow Jesus’ more difficult path? Can we accept God’s gifts and share them with those around us, even when doing this goes against what the world values?
Today’s Gospel is about the point of Christianity, the call to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. This is not a call to embrace suffering for Jesus, but it is a call to hold in our hearts and minds an important truth… although the world sends us all these destructive messages that we need more and are not good enough, we must choose instead to take another way forward. We carry a cross, which might look ridiculous, shameful, silly to the world, when we hold in our hearts the truth that we are so deeply loved by God, perfect in God’s eyes exactly as we are. And when we choose not to seek after all the worldly gains of fame, fortune, and prestige, but instead embrace our true identity as beloved children of God, we live what Jesus shows us…we live a welcoming, affirming, loving life, where all find their place and might see themselves as God’s beloved children too.
Amen.
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