August 30, 2020
Revised Common Lectionary
Exodus 3:1-15 or Jeremiah 15:15-21
Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45b or Psalm 26:1-8
Romans 12:9-21
Matthew 16:21-28
Lectionary for Mass (RC)
Jeremiah 20:7-9
Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (2b)
Romans 12:1-2
Matthew 16:21-27
Near the beginning of a five-day retreat for church leaders in which I participated some years ago, we all joined in various activities centering on the invitation to discipleship. George eagerly volunteered to be part of a ritual that was to conclude the day, during which he and several others were welcomed warmly and led into our midst. In a very dramatic gesture, George and the others were signed with the cross on various parts of their bodies as they stood among us, expressing their belonging to Christ and their willingness to follow him.
As we all met together later to reflect on our experience of the ritual, George erupted angrily, sharing that during the previous year he had lost his job and that his marriage had failed. The last thing he expected or needed, he told us, was to have the cross shoved in his face. He had received more than his share of suffering and hardship in the previous months and was looking for comfort—and certainly not for the cross.
As we listen to today’s Gospel reading in the midst of a very difficult year, we might very well relate to George’s response. We see signs of the cross all around us—illness and death, loss of livelihood, the enduring impact of racism, bitter divisions, social unrest, and much more. Is this the message we need? What kind of welcome would include the cross?
The Gospel passage we hear today begins by taking note of a turning point in the ministry of Jesus and in his relationship to the disciples: “From that time on, Jesus began to show is disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Mt 16:21). And who is speaking with Jesus on either side of this turning point? Always quick with a comment or answer, it’s Peter.
Just prior to this verse, as we heard last Sunday, Peter makes a bold declaration of faith to which Jesus responds by designating him “the rock” (16:18). In today’s story, upon hearing the teacher speak of his impending death and resurrection, Peter takes him aside and attempts to put a stop to such talk. Jesus now dubs him “Satan” and a “stumbling block” (16:23). Quite a fall for Peter in the course of just a few verses.
But there’s more. Jesus goes on to show that dying and rising are not only his own destiny, but also at the heart of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (16:24). For George, for Peter, and for all of us who seek to follow Jesus, suffering is included in the welcome packet to the company of disciples.
Jesus doesn’t call us to seek out the cross, because he knows that it’s an unavoidable dimension of human life. Rather, he invites us to embrace it as the path to new life. Pour out your life, Jesus urges us, by loving and serving others. If you are shunned, rejected, or persecuted for fighting racism or advocating for immigrants, embrace your hardship as a share in his suffering, confident that every small act of dying to self, and even death itself, is the gateway to the resurrection: “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (16:25).
George was hardly the first person ever to resist the centrality of the cross. Writing to the Christian community at Corinth, Paul asserted that “we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). Climb over the stumbling block and embrace the foolishness to experience God’s power, wisdom, and fullness of life.
A Hymn for Today: “Where He Leads Me”
Little is known of Salvation Army officer E. W. Blandy, except that he wrote this text as he struggled over the decision to accept a difficult assignment. Paired with a tune by John S. Norris, the hymn expresses with deep emotion the affirmative response of disciples as they hear Christ’s call to take up the cross and follow.
I can hear my Savior calling,
I can hear my Savior calling,
I can hear my Savior calling,
“Take thy cross and follow, follow me.”
Refrain:
Where he leads me I will follow,
Where he leads me I will follow,
Where he leads me I will follow,
I’ll go with him, with him all the way.
I’ll go with him through the garden,
I’ll go with him through the garden,
I’ll go with him through the garden,
I’ll go with him, with him all the way. [Refrain]
I’ll go with him through the judgment,
I’ll go with him through the judgment,
I’ll go with him through the judgment,
I’ll go with him, with him all the way. [Refrain]
He will give me grace and glory,
He will give me grace and glory,
He will give me grace and glory,
And go with me, with me all the way. [Refrain]
Text: E. W. Blandy, c. 1890
Image Credit: Cross and Man, Karen Arnold
“Word and Song: A Lectionary Reflection” is written by the Executive Director of The Hymn Society, Rev. Dr. Mike McMahon. For his full bio, click here and scroll down to the “staff” section.