But with a mom who is a pastor and a dad who is working on a political campaign we NEVER avoid these two subjects. Then the two kids had a little fun wondering what their life would be life if they had two parents who had nothing to do with religion or politics. I think it had something to do with Kurt being a plumber and me having a flower shop.
We talk about religion and politics at our house a whole lot of the time. Our values drive our passion about both. Which is why today’s scripture is so important to me. You see Jesus tells his disciples that his work is ultimately going to get him into so much trouble with the religious and political authorities and that will lead to his death. The stakes are high. He asks them if they are really prepared to go with him down that road. You see, today’s scripture is not about the peace and happiness we receive when we decide to follow Jesus, it’s about the sacrifice he demands of us. This thing we call discipleship has two sides.
It reminds me of a saying we had when I was in seminary. Our job as pastors is this: to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. Sometimes you are both the afflicted and the comfortable, aren’t you? And after 22 years in ministry, I have to say that pithy little description of ministry isn’t a bad description. So some weeks my job is to comfort you and some weeks my job is to afflict you. I spend quite a bit of time and energy giving comfort to people during times and seasons of affliction; through sorrow and challenges in life. On the other hand, as a pastor who takes seriously the call to follow Jesus, I find myself often in a position to challenge the comfortable status quo.
I speak the truth to those with the power, who are usually those who are more comfortable. I also challenge all of us who are blessed to give up what we have and be generous so that those who have less can be comforted. I challenge us to be sacrificial, to live simply so that others may simply live.
You may remember that last week’s message was on healing. We heard a story about a woman who was bold to ask for healing for her daughter. I asked you to think about what affliction you have. What demon or habit you have that you suffer with, that you want God to take away. We prayed and asked God to release us from our suffering. I asked you to be bold and ask God for help wit this. Because I believe the God wants to take away our burdens.
Well then look what happens, just one chapter later (Mark 8:27-38 from The Message for those following along on the internet), Jesus is talking to his disciples and says this: Don’t run from suffering, take up your cross, embrace it.
Why would he say this? Because when we follow Jesus it is not all sweetness and light, right? There is some sacrifice required. Anyone ready to sneak out the back door yet? Jesus went to the cross for our sake. And so, if we are in this movement with him, there will be some sacrifice required of us too.
I believe this is where politics comes in. Now I am not a political scientist, but I believe one definition of politics has to do with who gets what and how they get it and who decides how they get it. (I’m sure my husband will correct me later. And from Kurt, pretty close for a woman who doesn’t have a degree in political science with an emphasis on Campaign and Interest Group Management. Politics is who gets what, when. )
Jesus says that when we follow him we have to let him lead and this is his way:
“Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?”
We know from reading other stories, that Jesus talked a great deal about those who have much, sharing with those who don’t have so much. Some might call that socialism or taxation, I just call it, following Jesus. He says right in this scripture that if we try to get everything we want, we will lose ourselves. Has that ever happened to you. We will lose our souls. I want to tell you a simple story about some teen agers discovering that.
I want to take you back in time. I was a young pastor in my first church as a youth minister in Cincinnati. It’s around 1992. I am one of the staff on the West Ohio Conference Youth Ministry trip to New York City. We are taking Juniors and Seniors in high school to visit the General Board of Global Ministries in New York and to visit mission sites in New York so they can see the United Methodist Church in action.
One morning when we have a break, I take a couple of the girls to a department store shopping. One of them wanted to buy a prom dress. It was really exciting to think that she can go home to small town Ohio with a prom dress from New York City. She tries on a beautiful pink dress. It is perfect for her, and she buys it. She is so happy.
Later that afternoon we go to Harlem and we work in a soup kitchen. We have to ride on the subway to get there. We get off at the wrong stop and so we have to hike across Harlem to get to the right place. We got to the church, and we get our instructions. Some of the kids serve food to the people at the tables while other kids work in the kitchen. We look at the faces of the men, women and children who come into this soup kitchen for a meal. They looked tired. The director of the place meets with us and tells us how many hundreds of people they feed each week, and how much money they need to do their work. She tells us how many people they can feed with such a small amount of money because they go to a food bank to get the money. But it is still hard to make ends meet.
We go back to our hotel. We travel in family groups because it is easier to travel in groups. When we meet back at our hotel, in a meeting room for our debrief session for the night, we find out that one of the groups had to wait in the train station. There was a delay because there was a knife fight in the train station.
When it comes times to do our evening devotional and sharing, one of the boys stands up and says this:
“I came here this week, with a wad full of money in my pocket.” And he reaches into his pocket and throws his money on the floor in the center of the room. He says: “I know most of you did too. We came here with money to buy souvenirs and clothes and other stuff. But now that I have seen how some people live, I can’t do it. I can’t keep this money for myself. I want to give my spending money to one of the projects we have visited and I challenge the rest of you to do the same.”
And one by one I watched as those teen-agers started emptying their pockets and talking about how the week had changed their lives. They became disciples of Jesus that week. Their lives were transformed. They learned about sacrifice. Most of these kids lived really comfortable lives. They had NO affliction in their lives. But they saw pain that week in NYC. They saw Jesus, and they will never be the same.
You see, one day, Jesus asked his disciples, “Do you really know what it means to follow me?”He said, “They are going to kill me. My life is one that ends in suffering and death, but then I will rise. Today, It’s time to choose your path,” And then he said, “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, take up your cross, 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.”
So how do we follow Jesus? How do we follow? How do we embrace suffering and go to the cross with Jesus in 2012? I believe we engage in the political process. We are coming up on an election day in November. I am not going to tell you who to vote for. That is not my place as your pastor. But I am going to tell you to be an informed citizen and vote. And I am going tell you to be engaged in the political process.
Jesus spoke the truth to power, he spoke the truth to the Government. It got him into trouble. He did it anyway. He would have broken all those rules of polite conversation about not discussing religion and politics for fear of offending someone. Why would we not talk about those things that are most important to us? I don’t get that. The end of this scripture is the best part:
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.”
Well, if you put it that way.
I believe God would want us to choose our candidates and then work for them. If your candidate is working for your values give hope to the oppressed, to feed the hungry and give a voice to the voiceless, then why would we not shout from the rooftops, instead of not making waves?
There are other ways to sacrifice and follow Jesus too. We can direct our resources to help those who are in need. Many of us live pretty comfortable lives compared to the rest of the World.; some of us are struggling in this economy compared to the rest of America . Jesus challenges us to share our resources of time and money to help those who are afflicted with poverty. Next Sunday we are taking an offering to help the Seagate Foodbank. There are hungry people right here in Toledo who need our help. Yes, it demands sacrifice on our part. Toledo Area Ministries is asking every member of every congregation to give $1 to this offering. I am asking you to sacrifice and give more.
We can do this. The Seagate Food Bank needs that money. There are hungry people that need that food here in Toledo. There are people here at the Village who are getting that food. And we’re going to help with this.
Perhaps you are hearing God calling you to do something new in your life to serve in a way that is sacrificial. If so, I encourage you to pay attention to that voice speaking to you. It probably will not go away. It will get stronger. I would be happy to meet with you to talk more about it. Pay attention to that voice if you are hearing it.
Jesus’ question is clear. Are we really ready to follow him and do we really understand what that means? This is not an easy road. It means other people may think we have made a wrong choice. Following Jesus means sacrifice of some personal comfort so that others will have what they need. Other people have made sacrifices in their lives to get you where you are. It’s not easy. But let’s do it anyway. Because we know, in our hearts, it’s the choice we want to make.
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