The 16th Sunday After Pentecost, (Proper 17A), Aug. 31, 2008
BCP: Jer. 15:15-21; Psalm26 or 26:1-8; Rom. 12:1-8;Matt. 16:21-27
RCL: Exod. 3:1-15 and Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c; or Jer. 15:15-21 and Psalm 26
or 26:1-8; Rom. 12:9-21; Matt. 16:21-27
Paul Louis Metzger, in his recent book, Consuming Jesus, writes that “Many people come to church to have their needs met, and they will choose the church that best suits their tastes and the needs they perceive. It is often about satisfaction at the least cost.”
Rather a different message is found in today’s gospel: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 16:24-25).
Only those who follow Jesus unconditionally will receive eternal salvation. We don’t come to church to “find ourselves” but to lose ourselves. And that means we have no guarantee that our personal needs will be met by our religion. In fact, there is no promise we will receive any reward that the world values.
Jesus notes, though, that worldly values aren’t worth what people think. What profit do people get “if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?” (Matt. 16:26). It will do us no good to gain wealth and power or even “the whole world” if in the process we lose our souls.
Yet we may still be tempted, as St. Peter was, to set our minds “not on divine things but on human things” (Matt. 16:23). Against St. Paul’s advice, we find ourselves “conformed” to this world instead of “transformed” by a new mental alignment to God’s will (Rom. 12:2). Our choices to conform may not involve any overt denial of Christ; many consumer-oriented churches claim to be truly Christian even as they proceed to serve lattes to toast the religion of success.
Love of the world keeps slipping in. No wonder that Jesus says, “You are a stumbling block to me …” (Matt. 16:23). Alleged commitments to the real world can always distract us from higher issues. Commitment to the corporate team and to the community, even to the parish and the family, can be blocks on which we stumble, causing us to fall away from the spiritual path that Christ calls us to.
Only steadfast devotion to the way of the cross can lift us above human things. Fortunately, however, the lives of great saints like St. Francis have shown that following the way of Christ helps us to meet any “needs” worth meeting. And, in the end, we receive a joy that the world cannot give.
Look It Up
Jesus rightly links what we value with “where our hearts are” (Matt. 6:19-21).
Think About It
What am I willing to give up for Christ’s sake? What do I need to give up?
Next Sunday
The 17th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18A), Sept. 7, 2008
BCP: Ezek. 33:(1-6) 7-11; Psalm119:33-48 or 119:33-40; Rom. 12:9-21; Matt. 18:15-20
RCL: Exod. 12:1-14 and Psalm 149; or Ezek. 33:7-11 and Psalm 119:33-40; Rom.13:8-14; Matt. 18:15-20
