“Embracing Sacrifice”

Mark 8:27-30, 34-38

Mark 8:29, 34: He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

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.”

[prayer]

Some paraphrased thoughts from the biblical scholar and commentator William Barclay. Number One: Into the budget of every Christian’s life there must be written the possibility of loss. Number Two: God gives us gifts to spend not keep. Number Three: Jesus came not to make things easy but to make people great.

A few minutes ago we heard our newest member promise to turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as her Lord and Savior, and then to be Christ’s faithful disciple. A few moments ago, as part of this morning’s affirmation of faith, we all reaffirmed those same promises. In essence we proclaimed what Peter asserted that long ago day near Caesarea Philippi: “You are the Messiah [the Christ].”

It is important to note where Jesus and his disciples were geographically that day. They were in the heart of pagan territory. The history of that place was one of opposition to God. This was place where people had bowed down before the ancient Canaanite deities. This is where the Greek gods were worshiped. They were standing in a place named Caesarea, an explicit acknowledgment that Rome’s rule was sovereign and absolute, and an implicit reminder that Caesar was himself worshiped as a god.

Peter was taking a big chance. He was saying that Jesus the Christ was the true King of all the earth, including Caesarea Philippi, and that as the incarnation of YHWH, he was the sole God of the universe. Jesus not Caesar was the ultimate ruler of all that is. Obedience to him came first – before Caesar, before the mighty Roman Empire, before all the idols associated with that place. There was one God and King: Jesus the Christ.

That’s pretty radical stuff. Over the centuries men, women, and children have suffered financial ruin, social ostracism, prison, torture, and death for affirming those words spoken by Peter. The possible loss that was written into the budgets of their lives became a reality. They paid the price of discipleship. They carried the cross of persecution. Nothing, not even life itself, could deter them in their walk with Jesus. They followed, quite literally, in his footsteps.

They could have claimed that this was more than they had bargained for, that this wasn’t what they had signed on for. But it was exactly what Jesus had promised. Quoting from The Message: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self.”

Jesus had also spoken some words about not being ashamed of him and his Gospel. When push came to shove those persecuted saints of the past and present were more concerned with pleasing God than they were placating culture. They were been embarrassed to be known as Christians. They were neither apologetic nor half-hearted disciples. In saying yes to Jesus by way of their professions of faith and baptisms they had also said yes to whatever came their way because of those professions. They didn’t run away from sacrifice; they embraced it.

Some questions: What sacrifices has Jesus called us to embrace in the here and now of 21^st Century America? What possible loss needs to be written into the budgets of our lives? When push comes to shove, are we willing to affirm, by way of our words and actions, that Jesus is the Christ? Are we willing to say and do what is pleasing to God instead of whatever it takes to placate culture? Are we willing to take the stand that Peter took in Acts 5 when he said, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

I truly hope so, because Jesus also spoke these words, “Those who are ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Reject him now; be rejected by him later.

Let’s pray that we’re never forced to choose dying for Jesus over living for culture’s approval. Let’s pray that such persecution never befalls us in our lifetimes. But as we pray, let us remember that we have promised to pick up our crosses, whatever forms they might take. Let us remember to write into the budgets of our lives the possibility of loss.

Meanwhile, how do we honor our professions of faith and baptisms? By being the best disciples that we can be. By being faithful stewards of all our gifts. What might that involve? First of all, following Jesus. Following Jesus demands the very best of who and what we are. Following Jesus means using our God-given gifts to their fullest in ways that glorify God, promote the cause of Christ, build up our brothers and sisters in the Lord, and serve the needs of humanity. Following Jesus means being faithful missionaries and evangelists. All this demands a faithful accounting of our time, talents, and resources.

This accounting is about much more than tithing, pledges, and all that other budgetary stuff upon which we sometimes get too hung up. It’s about more than how many hours we spend teaching Sunday school, singing in the choir, attending meetings, baking casseroles, or mixing Kool-Ade. It’s about more than just showing up every time the church door opens. All those things are important; they are extremely important. But they’re only part of what it means to faithfully follow Jesus and practice Christian stewardship.

We must account for everything that God has given us – everything that we have and everything that we are. For example: the money we put in the offering plate is only a fraction of our financial resources. What are we doing with the rest of it? How do we spend it? Where do we put it? How do we earn it? What’s our attitude toward it? Are we overly wasteful with it? Are we overly stingy?

The same or similar questions must be asked about our time and talents, about our bodies, about our minds, about life itself. How do we treat God’s gifts? Do we take them for granted? Do we misuse them? Are we careless with them? Are we selfish with them, using them only for our own benefit? Do we share who and what we are with others? Do we share who and what we are with God?

The ultimate stewardship question is this: what are we willing to spend of ourselves in order to pick up whatever it is that may be our cross? Of what are we willing to let go for Jesus? What parts of us need to die in order for us to really live? What unhealthy little pieces of our souls need to be amputated in order for us to be God’s holy and healthy people? What comes between Jesus and ourselves? What is there that could inhibit our willingness to take up the cross?

Fear? Envy? Selfishness? Some old grudge? Some hurtful memory? An unhealthy dependence on a person, a job, a lifestyle, a chemical, or a behavior? Is it lust? Or dishonesty? Or greed? Is it pride? Or prejudice? Or tradition? Is it one of those “I’ve-always-done-it-this-way” sort of things? Of what can’t we let go for Jesus? What are we unwilling to sacrifice in order to be faithful disciples, stewards, missionaries, or evangelists? What necessary losses are we unwilling to write into the budgets of our lives?

This sermon concludes my brief series on financial stewardship. Once again I have discovered that it is impossible to preach about financial stewardship in isolation from all the other stewardship issues. But once again I have been reminded that preaching about stewardship without ever talking about money is impossible. Our money is a gift from God. We are accountable to him for it, and that is a reality we cannot ignore. I can’t avoid preaching about it. Not listening to, hearing, comprehending, and internalizing the realities of financial stewardship puts us all in spiritual jeopordy.

Faithful financial stewardship isn’t easy. It isn’t supposed to be. Adopting and living out a Christian attitude toward money is counter-cultural. That’s a difficult thing to do in this cultural sea in which we swim. But Jesus never promised easy. He spoke of the possibilities of crosses, death, and sacrifice. He asked those who follow him to be willing to embrace sacrifice not run away from it.

A final question: in terms of financial stewardship what sacrifice is Jesus calling you to embrace today? Amen.