25 Feb SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2024
During his lifetime, Jesus was many things to many people, but frequently, he fulfilled the role of teacher or rabbi. And while teaching, he would refer to the past, present, and future to emphasize points of the current lesson. Without a doubt, Jesus was a really good teacher. He knew his students. As needed and for their benefit he would inform his class what to expect in advance. 
His disciples are pupils waiting for things to unfold, waiting to be told what to do, waiting to hear instruction and receive guidance. Their perspective is narrow and limited. Only a teacher sees the big picture. Only they have overarching knowledge of the entire system and goals of the institution. Only they have been involved in selecting course materials from the start, designing the curriculum, determining course outcomes and setting student expectations.
Jesus taught with one goal in mind, the redemption of all. Along the way to the end goal, he healed people and delivered them from demons. His aim all along, was to relieve people of suffering. Think about it. Everything Jesus did and said was aimed at relieving humanity from earthly suffering and eternal pain. So why do so many people believe that suffering comes from God as a form of punishment for sin?
I mean, if sin goes unacknowledged as such or unconfessed, then God might use the consequences of sin to convict a person and lead them to confession or use suffering to teach them a lesson. But more often than not, I find people in the hospital holding strongly to their own convictions, believing either one of two ways: “I didn’t do anything to deserve this; I’ve always tried to do the right thing; so I don’t understand. Why am I suffering like this?”
On the other hand, I meet people who know they’ve sinned and have asked for forgiveness. The fact that they’re still suffering makes them feel unforgiven. After a while, they think, “Haven’t I suffered enough, God? Why are you still punishing me?”
There is fear that the suffering won’t end or ever be enough to atone for their sins and that’s the perfect place to assure them that they are absolutely right. No amount of human suffering can ever atone for sin.
Jesus makes it very clear by teaching those who are willing to listen. The Son of Man must undergo great suffering. He teaches this fact: Not only will he undergo great suffering by being rejected by religious elders, priests, and scribes which will result in him being killed, but that he must undergo great suffering.
He will because he must. Because only his suffering can atone for our sin. Only his suffering can pay the penalty or price, make good, offset, do penance, redeem, balance out, compensate for damages, or make up for our past mistakes.
Getting caught in the belief that God requires suffering from us as atonement for sin is blasphemous. It completely goes against what God has said, shows lack of respect for what God has done, and is the opposite of what we say we believe as Christians: that Jesus’ own precious blood paid the price for our sins.
Getting caught in the belief that God requires suffering from us as atonement for sin is blasphemous.
Of course, it wasn’t just his death, but the fact that after three days he rose. Jesus said all this quite openly. And one of his students, the one who wished to be known as the Teacher’s Pet, who everyone else knew as Peter, took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, to express sharp disapproval and criticism, as if he as a disciple could begin to comprehend what his wise teacher and those in the administration had decided as part of their overarching agenda.
Jesus reminded Peter and therefore us, that we tend to set our mind not on divine things but on human things. He calls the crowd to get their attention along with that of his disciples. He requires all students to take their seats, be quiet and face forward. Then he makes an announcement, saying to them directly, “If any of you want to become my followers, deny yourselves, take up your cross and follow me.”
Ah, now we get a clue as to how people get confused that their own suffering has merit. Jesus tells his followers that to follow him, they must suffer, too. Uh, this religion thing is so confusing. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
Jesus further muddies the water by using salvation terminology, talking about saving or losing one’s life based on our choice of whether to lose our life, aka suffer for his sake and the sake of the gospel, or to gain the world and lose life itself.
Lord, have mercy. Then Jesus says, “For what will it profit a person to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Here is the crux of the gospel and the good news that Jesus brings.
Life is given to us. It is a gift we may choose to forfeit. What I mean by that is that life is something in our possession by default, it is ours to lose. We can give nothing in return for it. Nothing shares its value or equals its worth. There’s no profit in the trading of it because nothing in this world is on par with life as given to us by God himself.
Jesus ends the lesson with passionate words of personal vulnerability, “Those who are ashamed of me and of my words…” Those who don’t wish to identify with me, who wish to reject me just like religious elders, priests and scribes do will add to my suffering and also bring about my death. That’s a sad thought to contemplate. That whenever we do not wish to identify with Jesus or wish to reject him and what he’s said, we add to the great suffering he experiences and the suffering that led to his death.
Secondly, with a tone of righteous judgment, he names the current generation as adulterous and sinful. Jesus identifies all persons sitting before him as greedy, for what else is adultery other than wanting what someone else has and desiring to claim it as one’s own?
There is much at stake in this passage. Jesus admits that it’s possible to hurt God and cause him suffering, that his suffering will be personal in nature, that he will be subjected to what humans will do as they attempt to gain or maintain control, power, and stuff they desire to claim as their possession.
There is one mighty source of consolation for Jesus. The Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. He won’t always be subject to the opinions and behaviors of human beings. He won’t always be vulnerable to their rejection and cruel ways of torture.
Jesus knows he will experience the glory of his Father in the presence of holy angels once he returns to his heavenly home, the realm from whence he came by choice to dwell upon the earth and teach and relieve the world from suffering that was limited to possibly teaching them a lesson, but could never redeem or save their lives.
Who could ever doubt the tender heart of God? How can we not love a God who cares for us and cares whether or not we care for him? There’s no ugly pride or arrogant threat of rejection in what Jesus says. What he says from start to finish is this, “I have chosen to suffer greatly for you. Will you not acknowledge my sacrifice? Will you not identify with me should you find yourself suffering and do it for my sake? Might you willingly glorify God in the presence of others by saying that you are my follower? Might you love as I do, accepting that which you must do, not with resignation, but by choice, remembering that I chose to love and make sacrifices for you from the very beginning of time?”
Even among patients who say they aren’t religious or who tell me that common sense forbids them from subscribing to any organized faith, there is admission to basic truths: that we must identify with each other somehow, so that we understand that our actions affect others, so decency prevails, and everyone feels cared for so they can do their best to manage whatever comes next in life.
Many things are out of our control. What’s always in our control is whether we choose to identify with another person’s suffering, whether we offer them compassion or rejection. Remember that Jesus himself described the major sources of his great suffering: rejection, aka psychological torture, being beaten and nailed to a cross, aka physical torture, and dying as a result of abandonment, aka emotional torture.
All these things came about in the presence of those who once identified themselves as followers, but forgot what being a follower of Jesus entailed.
What is your burden or cross? For many, it’s being a caregiver, taking on the responsibility of caring for others, one or more loved ones who can’t care for themselves, young, old, or differently abled, who depend upon you to think for them, to do for them, to help them carry their burden or cross which involves dependency upon others.
Every patient in the hospital suffers some loss of ability which means that someone else must pick up the slack, think and do for them, do what they cannot, which is the very definition of care since care, like love, cannot be limited to only feelings.
Jesus taught us today that the primary way for people to enter into a godly relationship is by identifying with the suffering of others. To choose, as it were, to go there, to be with them where they are and learn what it’s like to be them. Jesus also made it clear that rejection causes not minor, but major suffering, that rejection or a lack of identifying with the other destroys hope and chances for any ongoing relationship. Rejection leads to hurt feelings, shame, even death.
How will we follow Jesus from here on out? Let’s pray about it. We are in awe of all you sacrifice for our sake, dear Lord. And we cherish the fact that you do not hide your face and do hear our cries. We seek you with praise and humbly aim to serve and follow you. Please keep acting on our behalf. We promise to try and identify with you more and to recognize that everyone deserves compassion as a compliment to the gift of life you’ve given us. We offer ourselves fully, not in trade, but in heartfelt love. In your holy name we pray, Amen.