First Reading: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. 2And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” 3Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, 4“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 5No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 6I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.”
15God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
Psalm: Psalm 22:23-31
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord. (Ps. 22:27)
23You who fear the Lord, give praise! All you of Jacob’s line, give glory.
Stand in awe of the Lord, all you offspring of Israel.
24For the Lord does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither is the Lord’s face hidden from them;
but when they cry out, the Lord hears them.
25From you comes my praise in the great assembly;
I will perform my vows in the sight of those who fear the Lord.
26The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
Let those who seek the Lord give praise! May your hearts live forever!
27All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
all the families of nations shall bow before God.
28For dominion belongs to the Lord,
who rules over the nations.
29Indeed, all who sleep in the earth shall bow down in worship; all who go down to the dust, though they be dead, shall kneel before the Lord.
30Their descendants shall serve the Lord,
whom they shall proclaim to generations to come.
31They shall proclaim God’s deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying to them, “The Lord has acted!”
Second Reading: Romans 4:13-25
13The promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
16For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” 19He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 23Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, 24but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
Gospel: Mark 8:31-38
31[Jesus] 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.32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But 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.”
34He 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. 35For 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. 36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38Those 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.”
CHILDREN’S SERMON: one of the many popular spin off TV shows from American Idol is the show “The Voice.” People audition and the panel votes on whether they think the person could be mentored to become their better selves. Think for a moment, Who mentored you to become your better self and what was the secret. Share with the person next to you.
Let us pray. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Sermon
Today is the second Sunday in Lent. Two weeks ago we stood on the Mountain of Transfiguration with Peter, who put his foot in his mouth suggesting three churches be built, and he was told by the Voice from the cloud, “Listen to my Son!” The “voice” was not our US television series featuring Reba McEntire who sang recently for the SuperBowl. The “voice” was the voice of God the Father. During Lent we try to tune out all the static in our minds, all those other voices, and listen more carefully to Jesus speaking to us. Sometimes it is hard. Today we stand with Peter again as Jesus teaches his followers on his journey to Jerusalem. Again Peter puts his foot in his mouth. Sigh. Lord, help us to listen today.
31[Jesus] began to teach them
Jesus is trying to tell his disciples and us about the mind set we need to be able to handle the future. He starts by foretelling his future, our past. Jesus tells what will happen when they get to Jerusalem where he will suffer, will be rejected, will be killed and will resurrect. We may argue about the reality and implications of the resurrection. We’ll talk about that in Easter but all three of the major world religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam agree that Jesus was a historical person who was at least worthy of being called one of the great prophets. The test of a prophet was whether what he said came true. It did happen as Jesus foretold. But Peter and friends are still sorting out in their thinking before the events took place. Perhaps you, like Peter, have questions as you listen. God’s word about dealing with your future just don’t seem right.
The path to greatness does not appeal to modern people who avoid suffering and rejection and death. That sounds like a path to martyrdom. Jesus in the text is foretelling his future and we who sit in the future know that indeed his predictions came true but his followers did not. Our mentors coach us on how to succeed as we see a future calling to us but we must accept their perceptions on how it will unfold.
Peter did not like what he heard and pulled Jesus aside and rebuked Jesus. It sounds a bit like going to the doctor and being told you have cancer and need surgery. Your friends might ask us if you got a second opinion. Perhaps they ask if you have tried this or that new fangled remedy. We are conditioned to question advice that does not sound right. Another example that touches my life right now is the ease with which people scam on the internet. A friend in a different country asked me for help to get money to her friend facing a medical trauma. I know the problems of transferring money internationally and didn’t stop to think. I am now poorer and wiser. A friend of my kids is applying to work for the USPost Office and bemoaning all the hoops she has to jump through. At times like this we often hear that little voice on our shoulder moaning that someone like Jesus who healed the sick, walked on water and raised the dead will not really have to suffer and die. That doesn’t make sense. Our heroes are winners, not losers. That voice appeals to our desire to be winners too. Our text today says that the path forward may not be health, wealth and prosperity. Peter objects and often so do we.
We want the miracle, a strong God. When we have times of suffering and rejection, Satan is also there trying to convince us that God has forgotten us and does not love us. The truth is though that life often involves suffering, rejection and death. The lie we must reject is that God does not see us, does not care, and does not walk with us at all times. The mentor usually speaks the truth but we must choose to believe and obey.
Lent is a time when our stubborn self-centeredness and our survival drives are tested. Are we listening? Suffering, rejection and death are part of life and do not mean that God does not care, does not understand, nor has God forgotten us. We may not be winning “The Voice” competition, winning free mentoring on how to be more successful but we must listen to the voice of God who went through all that we will face. We may never sing with Reba McEntire. Can we receive the times of success and blessing with gratitude and can we receive the times of trials knowing God is walking with us?
“let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Jesus opens our text today giving the followers the facts of what they are going to face. Next Jesus challenges their wills. Knowing and doing are two different things. I just happened to watch a charming Netflix chick flick – “Fall for Figaro.” A more rounded figured female, not our stereotypical leading lady, walks away from her successful funds management job much to the distress of her boyfriend, to embrace her dream of becoming an opera singer. The quick path to fame is to win a singing context, not unsimilar to “The Voice” that will result in an opera contract. She hires an unconventional tutor who also has a male student. For one year she follows all the advice and works hard. He wins the contest and she looses. Back with her boyfriend she laments. The lesson she learned was that there is no quick way to success and she needs to keep working at her dream. He frumps and three years later we flash forward to her singing opposite the man who won. She made the decision to work for the dream and leave the unsupportive boyfriend. Cute.
Jesus talks about suffering, rejection, and death but then promises resurrection. None of that made sense to Peter and certainly does not appeal to us because we do not know really what resurrection means. Our will is challenged when Jesus says we must deny ourselves and follow him. I can hear that other “voice” whispering in my ear that denial of self means lose of self, erasing of good life as I know it, and condemnation to long hours of misery trying to please a demanding a God who wants us to be holy. Satan immediately paraphrases “denial of self” into a power struggle that I loose when fighting with the God of the universe rather than a partnership with a mentor who is bringing out the best in me. My will wants that quick win and the fame and glory that we imagine goes with it. Jesus speaks the truth. Submitting to Jesus is a continual battle with my will that wants to do it my way and finds it hard to accept his help. My will struggles to humble itself and walk with God.
Jesus ends this piece of truth with a very serious question, “36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” Ouch. Are we listening? As we consider our choices today, are we considering the eternal consequences. Our wills are focused on now. Jesus encourages us to take the long view and focus on eternity. How does this advice apply? It slows my roll as I ponder the “insta-solutions” to life’s choices that are offered by our culture today. Whether it be insta-cart so I can eat while I watch the SuperBowl, instant weight loss programs, or instant solutions to the pain of life, Jesus challenges us that we must deny the demands of the instant for the rewards of the eternal.
38Those who are ashamed of me…
Our text now jumps from the facts of how history will unfold to how that unfolding will confront our wills as we walk into that future and then he jumps to our emotional response, being ashamed or embarrassed about being Christians. I suspect that if God were to reveal to us that in ten years we were going to be diagnosed with cancer, like Peter we might pull Jesus aside and explain that the better plan would be for us to die in our bed and definitely without pain and suffering for we have tried to live according to his will. We don’t understand how resurrection works but we have seen people die and if given a chance to voice our opinion, we would vote for the quick painless death. If told about our approaching death by cancer, our emotional attitude would be dampened too. No one looks forward to pain, not even going to the dentist. The Message translates this verse,
38 “If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I’m leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you’ll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels.”
The word “embarrassed” grabs at our minds. The evil voice whispers doubt into our ears, “Jesus does not want his followers to be ashamed but proud, right?”
The Internet dictionary defines “ashamed” as being embarrassed, feeling guilty, remorseful, regretful or apologetic. Jesus seems to be saying that we can be confident as we face into the future because God will be confident of his love for us when we face him in eternity. As the contestants go out on stage and face the judges, they are often asked what they will do if they win. I don’t think I have ever heard a contestant apologize for being in the competition and often there is deep gratitude for the opportunity to share their talent and their cause on a world stage. They are not ashamed. They are nervous, yes, but they are hopeful that being chosen will be a great honor.
We are not applying to compete on some TV show, to be chosen for mentoring and fame. We are chosen by THE Voice that spoke from heaven and we listen today to him. The future may look imposing but the end of the story is resurrection. The future confronts our wills and we will have to submit to him as he walks with us. We will stand one day before “The Voice” who will not be ashamed of us but will welcome us into eternity. We can be confident that whatever awaits us tomorrow and that challenges, that challenge will be buffered by God’s love that guides, protects and intercedes for our lives. We need not be ashamed. Whew! That’s better than singing with Reba at the SuperBowl.
Let the people of God say, ‘AMEN!”