Father Murphy dies due to an old age. Upon entering St. Peter’s gate, there is another man in front, waiting to go into heaven. St. Peter asks the man “What is your name and what did you accomplish during your life?” The man responds “My name is Robert Chan, and I was a mini-bus driver for 14 years.” “Very well,” says St. Peter, “Here is your silk robe and golden scepter, now you may walk in the streets of our Lord.” St. Peter looks at the priest, and asks “What is your name and what did you accomplish?” He responds, “I am Father Murphy, and have devoted the last 62 years to the Lord.” “Very well,” says St. Peter, “Here is your cotton robe and wooden staff, you may enter.” “Wait a minute,” says Murphy, “You gave the mini-bus driver a silk robe and golden scepter, why did I only get a cotton robe and wooden staff?” “Well,” St. Peter replied, “We work on a performance scale, you see while you preached, everyone slept, when he drove, everyone prayed!”
In view of what I just said, I better be careful that you do not all end up in the shampoo position.
To really understand the significance of today’s Gospel reading with all its talk of the cross and of suffering and dying and being raised from the dead you need to know what happened just minutes earlier in the scene.
Jesus had led his disciples to the region of Caesarea Philippi, and there he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They tell him – “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Then he asks them – “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” And Peter answers “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus answers Peter’s statement by saying that Peter is truly blessed – that this confession has been revealed to him by God the Father and then he say to Peter that on him he would build his church – an everlasting church – and to him he would give “the keys of the kingdom of heaven so that whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” And then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
There today’s reading begins – with the words
“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Notice the word that repeated twice in this single verse, the word that Peter reacts so strongly to immediately by taking Jesus aside and attempting to rebuke Jesus by saying “Never Lord! This shall never happen to you.”
I am referring to the word ‘MUST’.
I must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things.
I must be killed and be killed – and on the third day be raised to life.
I think that we can all understand where Peter is at. Many of us here may feel the same today as Peter felt at the time.
To Peter, it makes absolutely no sense that the Messiah, the Son of the Living God must suffer and die.
It makes no sense to Peter that the King over Israel, the one God promised who will arise from the line of David and will rule over David’s kingdom, must suffer many things at the hands of the very people who should be welcoming him with open arms.
It makes no sense to Peter at all that a dear friend – a holy man – a righteous man – a man destined to rule God’ sown people should be speaking of defeat instead of victory – of disgrace instead of honour – of a shameful and early death – instead of a glorious long life – and saying that it MUST be so.
Peter simply did not hear what Jesus is saying – and what he did not hear – he did not want nor wish to accept.
And Jesus condemns that lack of hearing – that lack of accepting – that lack of understanding by saying to Peter:
“Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
And then he continued by telling all the disciples, who have been listening to this conversation between Peter and Jesus:
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself (there is that word again) and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it…”
Have you ever wondered why it is that throughout the Gospels Jesus has been rebuking demons who identify him as the Son of God and warns his disciples not to tell anyone that he is the Christ, the Son of the Living God?
When I first started reading the Bible many, many years ago, I did find it to be very strange. After all, is not our entire faith based on the understanding that Jesus is the Logos, the Word of God made flesh? Is not our faith based on the understanding that he is the promised shoot arising out of the stump of Jesse? That he is the fulfillment of the promises made in the past to Abraham and to Moses, to David and to Jeremiah and to Isaiah and all the prophets?
Is it not the job of the Holy Spirit to reveal this very truth to us, much as Jesus says to Peter at Caesarea Philippi that his is blessed because the Father has revealed it to him?
“Jesus – You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the Living god!” Why is it that we cannot say it? Why can we not tell the whole world – right now – today?”
Well, of course, we all can. But in the Scriptures, the disciples were told not to do so.
The reason for all this secrecy is because the people of the time, the faithful people of God, the hopeful people, who are waiting for the Messiah, would, upon hearing the news, will fail, such as Peter failed, to hear the message of the Messiah.
The message concerning his life – I must suffer. I must be killed and on the third day rise.
As well as the message concerning their lives – If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
We see this symptom today in some churches – this failure to hear what the Messiah is all about, and what the Messiah, the Christ expects of each and every one of his followers.
We see it wherever forgiveness is proclaimed without requiring repentance, where baptism is practiced without requiring that one be a part of the body of Christ, where communion is offered without the need for confession as a church and reconciliation with God, and where wealth and health is promised if you will just believe – rather than the service and sacrifice, the humility and the self-giving that is the sign of our calling, and indeed the necessary sign of our sainthood.
Someone once said: “Jesus promised his disciples three things – they would be entirely fearless, absurdly happy and always in trouble.”
I am sure that is not the kind of message that most people will want to hear.
Trouble we already have plenty of.
What we want is a world without trouble – a world where al our problems are taken away with the snap of the fingers, a world where our enemies are made to vanish, a world of peace and of plenty and of happiness; a world where we and those we love can have everything a person desires.
That is what the Messiah is suppose to do – the Messiah is supposed to make our world better, to bring in the age of peace and plenty with one quick snap of the fingers, and it will be a glorious affair, one with no injury or cost to the good people, one where the enemy will be routed completely and where those who have fought for the King will be honoured in their victory with him and the world will be safe forevermore….
From the moment that Peter and all the other disciples recognized Jesus as the Messiah, fort the time that Jesus began to explain to them that he must suffer and that he must be killed and on the third day rise.
I would love to be able to tell you that this is not the way that things must be.
But I am going to disappoint you, for God’s ways – praise be to God – are not our ways and will never be our ways.
The emblem of our faith is not a crown – but a cross, and the field of battle upon which our Lord wins his victory is not the on the sands of Judah and of Palestine, but in the hearts and minds of men and women just like you and me.
What the Messiah fights against, and that is also we, together fights against, is not an enemy of flesh and blood, but it is the principalities and powers of this world, it is the world’s way of doing things – which was began in this world when the serpent suggested to Eve that she could become like God if she simply reached out her hand and take the fruit that God said she should not eat.
I am not a gardener – but to my limited knowledge of gardening, I do know a few things. The most important of them all is that a flower’s beauty can only be realized by first being planted in the ground, in the form of a see. I also know that in order to fight forest fires on lantau Island, that fighting fire with fire is not of much use when the fire is a very big one and the land is very dry. But rain – the rain we so often complain about in the middle of the summer months, is the most useful weapon against fires.
Evil is not overcome by evil.
A life worth living is not found by clinging to the life we have, and surrounding it with all the toys that we can afford.
A life worth living is found by letting go of ourselves and our very own selfish desires, as well as our own feeble ways of understanding things – and being obedient tot eh Living God who make seeds grow.
Yes, Peter, Jesus must suffer and must die – and yes, it does seem so very wrong for that to happen to him – but listen – did you not also hear him telling you that “and on the third day be raised?”
Or, thinking about the call of Moses which we heard in our first reading of today: Yes, Moses, I want you to leave the comfortable life you have found here in Midian. I know that you are wanted for murder in Egypt. I know that you cannot speak well. I know that you require my help in convincing my people that you have talked to me. I know all that Moses. I AM WHO I AM – the God of your ancestors, I have spoken to you. I know that you do not want to go. But have you not heard what I just said? I have heard my people’s cry – and I am going to lead them out of bondage and bring them to this very mountain to worship, if you but do as I ask.
Or again – Yes, Jenny – I know that I am asking you to go an extra mile when – in an ideal world you should not even have to go the first mile. Yes, I know that Paul and Mary do not deserve your time and your care after all that they have done to hurt themselves and their families. Yes, I know that you have worked hard for what you have and should not have to share it with those who have not worked at all. I know all that you have done and I know that other people should be taking their turn instead of you – but have you not heard?
It is not only about what you are being asked to give up, it is not only about dying to your self – to your idea of what is good and what is not good – it is not only about taking up my cross and doing my will instead of indulging on your own.
It is also about gaining the very thing that you and indeed everyone else needs the most: a life worth living – a life that gives life – a life that is joyful and unafraid – a life which death cannot destroy – a life in which the Kingdom of God draws near and is lived and shared with all.
Yes, I talk about how you need to die to yourself each and every day and to put my will first in your lives, and yes, it is not going to be fun or easy – especially to start with; but think about what is coming and what you will eventually become, or not.
Praise be to Christ our Lord who died so that we might live and who lives that we will never die. Amen.
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