Sermon from Sunday 30 August

 

Reading(s): Romans 12:9-21 and Matthew 16:21-28. This sermon was given by Sally Kerson at St Mark and All Saints.

How many times have we felt that what we have said has been misunderstood, especially when we thought we were trying to help a situation? I know it has happened to me many a times, mainly, but not always, it’s because I am not as articulate in trying to convey my thoughts into words as I would like to be. Or times when we have perhaps been in another country and tried to communicate something and found people looking at us blankly not having a clue as to what we are trying to say - and there is an embarrassed silence. Our English phrases and even our sense of humour have over the years baffled our Singaporean Chinese daughter in law, and sometimes we need to give an explanation. Although I have to say she has caught on to the English sense of humour quite well! But the other day when we were talking over zoom she was very confused when we said we were going to the ‘tip’ and looked at her husband in a way that said, what are your parents on about? My son explained that a ‘tip’ is where we take our unwanted goods mainly for recycling. Surprisingly in Singapore they still have someone going around ringing a bell and collecting old household goods. In such a modern place we have images of ‘Steptoe and Son!’ Colonial habits of when Singapore was a British colony seem in some respects continued.

In the Gospel reading Jesus starts to explain to his disciples about the need for him to go to Jerusalem, to suffer and to die. Peter - impetuous, hot-headed disciple Peter - seems not to have listened to all that Jesus said; he ignored the crucial final phrase of that sentence ‘and on the third day be raised’ when he rushed into his passionate objection: “God forbid it Lord. This must never happen to you." I have tremendous sympathy for Peter because he was obviously giving a normal reaction to those shocking words; would we have replied the same? However, Jesus’s reply was very stern, after all he had just called Peter the rock - the person who was to be the foundation of the church - and now he was suddenly becoming a stumbling block, someone who was to get in the way of furthering the kingdom of God on earth. There also seems to be a play on words here, Jesus had previously contrasted Peter as a rock, but he seems to now be a stumbling block a rocky obstacle in his path. The transition from faithful, insightful disciple to one who defies him was alarmingly swift. And herein lies the cautionary tale for us all, and particularly as a parish who thinks we know what we want and need to thrive. Because when a new Vicar is appointed, hopefully we will not be a stumbling block to change especially if we misinterpret the reasons why certain things are suggested. Rather we should help a new Vicar to become a stepping stone to an adventurous and different future for the parish, even if, God forbid we don’t agree with every suggestion. We should not be like Peter, who though he had a good idea of what following Jesus should look like, he was at that point of his ministry grounded in the things of this world, not the things of God’s kingdom.

Sometimes our limited view prevents us from seeing the bigger picture of God’s grace extended to all people, not just the ones we approve of and suit our way of life! “If any want to become my followers," Jesus says, “let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." If denying ourselves is unpopular these days, then how about taking up our cross? And what does that even mean? Let me get a little more specific about what it means to take up our cross. And I want to do this by taking a quick look at our Second Reading, from Paul’s Letter to the Romans because this reading offers us some specific suggestions on what it might mean to take up our cross. Here are three of them. “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer." If the cross we are being asked to take up is an involuntary one, this verse might just speak to us. Can we find a way to rejoice in hope, despite our suffering? Can we be patient in your suffering? Can we persevere in our prayers?

The second example from this reading is the very next verse,  “Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers." Maybe our life is going very smoothly right now, but we have a nagging sense that we are being called to do more. Maybe that means giving more to the needs of the world, even if it hampers our lifestyle? There is no end to the needs in our world these days. That might be our cross right now – to contribute to the needs of others either in our neighbourhood or further away. And, as a third example, consider verse “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all." Could this be our cross? And isn’t this more challenging than ever in the world we live in when so many people are selfish, and cause upset to others? What might it mean for us to decide to live peaceably with all? Can we disagree with someone and still live peaceably with them?

If there is one thing that I have learned over the years, it is that not all crosses we take up are taken on voluntary, sometimes a cross is placed on our shoulders that we did not ask for. Tasks, for example, that we know will be difficult, but that we choose to do anyway, because we believe that God wants us to do them. The cross that we are asked to take up as a young person is very different from the cross that we are asked to take up as an older person. As a young person, our cross might mean standing up for what we believe, even when it’s unpopular. It might mean saying no to friends, even when it threatens our friendship. As we continue to age, new crosses present themselves. Giving up independence, as we are no longer able to drive. Learning to humble ourselves and rely on others for help.  And, again, these crosses are not always voluntary. I believe that part of what it means to follow Christ, is to accept them gracefully, and humbly, and courageously. And often when we do this, we will be telling the world much more about what we believe than any words that we might say. And here’s the tension – we don’t always see how our actions and words, based on that limited view, impact others. We can’t see the hurt we cause or the doors we close. We can’t see how not bearing our own cross makes another’s cross heavier. So, these are just a few examples of what our cross might look like right now. There are obviously many more. The truth is that I don’t know what cross each one of you are being asked to bear right now. But I do know that there is a cross that is yours and no one else’s. There was a cross that was only for Jesus. There was a cross that was only for his first disciples. There is a cross that is only for me. And there is a cross that is only for you. And if we want to follow Christ, we must take it up. Take up our cross not just today but every day and trust that God will help us to bear it with patience and fortitude.