Living a Life for Others
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When strangers meet, there is a fairly standard ritual followed as they seek to get acquainted. It begins with the name, of course. Then follow the questions:
Where do you live?
Are you married and do you have a family?
Where are you from?
What is your job?
Where did you go to school?
What do you like to do?
Do you like the Bills? ☺
A stranger turns into an acquaintance and we get a sense of who the other person is when we get some context! And then as the relationship continues there are other that we might learn, like:
The values that shape their decisions and behavior.
Whether they are trustworthy, have integrity and how they treat others—do they treat others with dignity and compassion?
An acquaintance can turn into a friend and maybe into a life long friend—or even framily (this term comes from my daughter’s 4th grade teacher that means friends who become family.)
And as we know—there are always some things we will never know. Even two people who have been together for years will find there are surprises every now and then and new insights to be gained. I learned this on summer vacation as my mother stated “You can be married to a man for 50 years and still learn something new!” She was referring to my father who all of a sudden loves spicy hot foods.
Let’s keep these thoughts about relationships in mind when diving into our text in the gospel of Mark. First, some context. Mark shows us a scene that takes place a bit of time after Jesus and his disciple have begun their relationship with each other. Their relationship has had some time to develop. Jesus begins this moment in their life together by asking them what they have heard people say about him. People obviously have been talking about him, because the disciples have something to report! Then Jesus asks them a critical question: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answers! From what he has come to know of Jesus, from what he has seen Jesus do, for what he has heard Jesus say, he affirms, “You are the Messiah.” We explored this very scene not that long ago-during lent as we journeyed with Peter and Jesus to the cross. He can share that Jesus is the Messiah because of all that Peter has learned thus far.
And on the basis of our relationship with Jesus, on the basis of what we have come to know of him in Scripture and in and through our faith community — and world — we make our own assessment and judgement of who he is. There are many titles we use, or descriptions we can use. We too can call him Christ or Messiah. We can call him Lord, Savior Master, Friend, Teacher, Prophet, Son of God, Redeemer. There are so many other titles!
When Peter exclaims that Jesus is the Messiah, he may have the title right but the wrong understanding of that that title means. When Jesus shares that he will suffer and be rejected and be killed, Peter does not want to hear any of that. He is looking for a Messiah who will establish God’s rule with power and authority and who will bring his followers glory and reward. So, while Peter got the answer right, his understanding is still a bit off.
We can express our understanding of who Jesus is for us in many different ways as we live out our lives; but we need to do this with humility and with an openness to understand that we may not fully understand the title we give to him. What does it mean, really mean, when we call Jesus our Savior? What does it mean for us if we call Jesus the Son of God? What does it mean for us to call Jesus our Messiah?
Jesus tells Peter that he is getting it wrong because he is not setting his mind on divine things but on human things. And to be honest, yes, he is! HE is human. We are human and we all bring with us the human perspective. But Jesus is telling us that we can set our minds on divine things. He has been showing us and modeling that for us. In and through Christ, God enables us to find a way that is different from the way of the world, enables us to discern how life is fulfilled as God intends, enables us to live by values that are not the world’s norm.
Jesus essentially put God’s perspective in front of us today—that the way to find life is to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow him into a life of serving, and giving and sacrificing. Then the hope and promise: “those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”
So, Fairport UMC. Who do you say Jesus is? And what kind of life are we living? Are we living our lives the way Jesus describes? A life that is cross shaped? A life focused on others? I know, this teaching is a hard one. Really hard.
As disciples, our journey is ultimately about becoming more and more like Christ. And we do this through grace. We believe that God’s call to live that kind of Christ-centered life is given to us here and now. This work of God’s grace in us is a sneak preview of heaven that blesses us (and others through us) on our way there. How beautiful is that?
Taking up our cross and losing our life means we will have to change our usual routines. It is no longer business as usual. The life and well-being of “the other” now sets our priorities, guides our decisions, and determines our actions. It’s what we see in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Losing our lives is not the end of life. It wasn’t for was Jesus and it’s not for us. It is, rather, the beginning of a new life, a more authentic life, an Easter life – a life that looks more like Jesus’ life. Who are we living for these days? May we leave this place to show the world who we are really living for.
Amen