September 17, 2006
Proper 19 ~ Mark 8:27-38
All throughout the land on Monday morning, bells tolled. Slowly, marking each of the four events of September 11th, slowly marking the finality of the deaths that day, slowly marking the reality of that day.
Robert D. McFadden wrote in The New York Times, the next day under the headline "Nation Marks Lives Lost and Signs of Healing":
Once more the leaden bells tolled in mourning, loved ones recited the names of the dead at ground zero, and a wounded but resilient America paused yesterday to remember the calamitous day when terrorist explosions rumbled like summer thunder and people fell from the sky.There was no escaping the truth, the reality of that day as the bells tolled.
You can almost hear the bell toll as Jesus spoke his truth, his reality against the messianic hopes and dreams of the people.
The Son of Man must suffer. (The bell tolls)Peter confesses Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ. But it all goes terribly wrong. Not even Peter, the most devoted disciple can believe it. He pulls Jesus away to tell him it cannot be so. “There is supposed to be a warrior king, a second David, and a mighty revolutionary army, and the world order will be over thrown. It cannot be the way you say.”
And be rejected. (The bell tolls)
And be killed. (The bell tolls)
And then rise again. (The bell tolls)
It’s not like you think. (The bell tolls)
You don’t understand. (The bell tolls)
This is the way. (The bell tolls)
This is the way that will change the world. (The bell tolls)
This is probably not the last time that a follower of Jesus thinks he has perfect understanding of the life, ministry and way of Jesus. Indeed Christian history and the Christian Church and even this cathedral is peopled with those who have thought we had a clear vision of how God wanted things to be or go.
Bishop Mark Dyer tells the story of his paying for a friend’s dinner. The friend, instead of a simple thank you for the gift, said. “Well I’ll get it next time.” Mark asks, what response can there be to the gift of Jesus on the cross for the redemption of the world? Will it be, “Well Jesus, I’ll get it next time.” The Cost of Messiahship was great. Jesus says the cost of discipleship can be great as well.
It is true that the bell tolls for thee and me. Disciples follow the way of the master. Indeed, since the earliest days of the followers of Jesus following his death and resurrection, we have been called “The Way.”
Peter attempted to pull Jesus away, off the way, out of the way to distract him from the way all in an attempt to save the friend and master he loved so much. But Jesus says to him and to us, “This is the way of the Messiah and this is the way of the disciple, to follow me.”
William Willimon gives this example.*
“The doctor spared few words. "Your baby is afflicted with Down’s Syndrome, mongoloidism. I had expected this, but things were too far along before I could say for sure."Disciples follow the Master.
"Is the baby healthy?" she asked.
"That’s what I wanted to discuss with you," the doctor said. "The baby is healthy -- except for the problem. However, it does have a slight, rather common respiratory ailment. My advice is that you let me take it off the respirator -- that might solve things. At least, it’s a possibility."
"It’s not a possibility for us," they said together.
"I know how you feel," responded the doctor. "But you need to think about what you’re doing. You already have two beautiful kids. Statistics show that people who keep these babies risk a higher incidence of marital stress and family problems. Is it fair to do this to the children you already have? Is it right to bring this suffering into your family?"
At the mention of "suffering" I saw her face brighten, as if the doctor were finally making sense.
"Suffering?" she said quietly. "We appreciate your concern, but we’re Christians. God suffered for us, and we will try to suffer for the baby, if we must."
"Pastor, I hope you can do something with them," the doctor whispered to me outside their door as he continued his rounds.
Two days later, the doctor and I watched the couple leave the hospital. They walked slowly, carrying a small bundle; but it seemed a heavy burden to us, a weight on their shoulders. We felt as if we could hear them dragging, clanking it down the front steps of the hospital, moving slowly but deliberately into a cold, gray March morning.
"It will be too much for them," the doctor said. "You ought to have talked them out of it. You should have helped them to understand."
But as they left, I noticed a curious look on their faces; they looked as if the burden were not too heavy at all, as if it were a privilege and a sign. They seemed borne up, as if on another’s shoulders, being carried toward some high place the doctor and I would not be going, following a way we did not understand.”
Do you remember the song from “Paint Your Wagon”, the 1951 musical by Lerner and Loewe?
Where am I goin'?All we can know is that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and Life itself. All we can do is to follow him to have the best chance to save our life, the life of those we love, and maybe even the life of the world.
I don't know.
Where am I headin'?
I ain't certain.
All I know Is
I am on my way.
When will I be there?
I don't know.
When will I get there?
I ain't certain.
All that I know Is
I am on my way.
* William Willimon, The Christian Century, March 2, 1983, pp. 173-174
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