“Are You
Willing?”
Deuteronomy
5:28-33
Mark
8:27-35
For twenty-eight days we have
traveled along on our journey of Lent, each step moving us closer to the great
day of celebration that is approaching.
Some of the steps for you may have been fairly easy, others may have
been more difficult, but all of them have been necessary during this time of Lenton devotion and self-examination.
With twelve days left to go of the season of
Lent, our journey is nearly complete, but the journey we still have left to
travel will not become any easier, in fact, it will become more demanding and
even more dangerous as we move toward the climax of Lent on Maundy Thursday and
Good Friday. From here on out, the road
we travel will go in only one direction, toward the
one object, the one event that looms ominously upon the horizon. But this is the road we must take, the
journey we must walk, for the only way to the empty tomb is through the cross
of Jesus Christ. There can be no other
way, neither for Jesus, nor for us. The
road of discipleship has only one direction – the way of Jesus Christ.
Yet so often,
we would rather go a different way, a way of our own choosing, a way that does
not require us to risk so much, a way that does not
demand so much from us. And so our tendency
is to turn discipleship, commitment, even faithfulness into a kind of self-help
journey where we only want to focus on that which gives us the most
satisfaction, the most prosperity, the most security. And we end up making the gospel something
less, something that on the surface promises emotional well-being and a long
life of prosperity, but in reality has no depth and no power and in the end…no
life at all.
This is not the way of
discipleship, and yet many people think it is.
And so some of our churches soften it in order to make
it friendlier and more inviting by making it less demanding, less insistent,
less costly. In the end, the way
of discipleship becomes only a simple prayer or a simple confession with no
real substance, no real commitment, no real risk. But that is not the way of discipleship,
that is not what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
There comes a time in our own
journey of faith when all of us must answer a crucial question about Jesus, and
it is on this one question that everything else depends. Our answer to this one question will either
move us forward in our relationship with Jesus or move us away. And for Jesus, it is a question of utmost
importance.
Our text today marks a crucial
moment in Mark's gospel, when, for the first time, the shadow of the cross
falls upon Jesus' path. Make no mistake
about it, Jesus knows what is going to happen. He knows he is going to
It's interesting to me that Jesus first asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" After three years of ministry, I'm sure Jesus had a pretty good idea what people thought about him. People had seen his powers and heard his words. People had seen him exorcise demons, heal diseases, and befriend sinners. People knew that Jesus was a man who challenged the social, political, economic and religious leaders of his day, while at the same time loving and caring for the poor and suffering. Everyone had an opinion about him. He evoked admiration and disdain. He was loved by some and hated by others. Some were filled with joy and peace at his sight, others fear and hatred. So, for his disciples to say that some people thought that he was John the Baptist, or Elijah, or a prophet is no great act of faith. But what Jesus really wants to know is if his disciples are able to answer his second question for themselves. He doesn't want to know what others say about him, he wants to know what they say about him.
Only those who belong to Christ
are in a position to say who and what he is.
Only Jesus’ disciples can perceive that he is something new and
unprecedented, and that is why Jesus asks them, "Who do you say that I
am?" And it is to this question,
which all of us must give an answer. No
amount of historical exploration or scholarly knowledge can be a substitute for
our own personal decision as Christ's disciples. The testimonies and confessions of others
cannot free us from answering Jesus' question for ourselves. It is a truly remarkable act of faith that
Peter was able to answer Jesus by saying, "You are the Christ." To confess that Jesus is the Christ is always
an act of faith whenever it is made.
But make no mistake about it,
confessing that Jesus is the Christ has an enormous cost, a cost we must be
willing to accept. Jesus never got
people to follow him under false pretenses.
Jesus never tried to bribe people by the offer of an easy way. He did not offer people comfort, security,
and prestige; he offered them love, grace, peace, liberation, forgiveness, and
everlasting life. And that is why there
is another question Jesus is asking which lingers behind the words on the page,
another question that is being asked of the disciples which is even more
important than their confession of Jesus’ true identity. Simply confessing Jesus is the Christ does
not make one a disciple. No, the way of
discipleship goes beyond a simple confession.
It requires an answer to this critical question: Are you willing?
That is why Jesus rebukes
Peter. Peter did not grasp the
significance of what it means to be a disciple.
Peter, even though he got it right when he said Jesus was the Christ, was
more interested in preserving Jesus life for himself
and the others. Peter was unable to see
the greater drama being acted out by Jesus, the greater work Jesus was doing,
the greater purpose that was being accomplished through Jesus.
Peter is unable to understand that
which Jesus’ knows about his own life – that his life is not his own, that it
belongs to the Father, and that his faithfulness requires that he live it on
his Father’s path rather than one of his own choosing. It is Jesus’ willingness to deny himself and take up his cross, that made him the Christ,
that made him the Savior of the world.
And now he is asking his disciples to do the same. Are you willing to follow me? Are you willing to follow the path I am
walking on? Are you willing to do what I
am going to do? Are you willing to deny
your own life and have it belong completely to the Father? Are you willing to live your life on the
Father’s path rather than one of your own choosing? Are you willing to take up your cross and
follow me?
What Jesus demands is non-other
than a radical re-orientation of our lives and a complete and total commitment
of ourselves to the Father. What Jesus
demands is for us to deny ourselves, to renounce claim to our own lives, to
take up our cross, to risk dying for sake of the gospel, and to follow him, to
truly follow in his footsteps in complete faithfulness and devotion to God’s
purpose for us.
To deny ourselves is to say no to
our self and yes to God. It is saying no
to our own will and yes to God's will.
Your cross is not your wife or your husband or your children. It is neither work nor bills nor
hardships. Your cross is that moment in
your journey of faith when you, too, must answer Jesus' question, "Are you
willing?" It is that moment when
you must make the decision to be Jesus’ disciples or not, whether it be at work or at school, on the golf course or on the PTA,
in your relationships or in your daily encounters with other people. Are you willing to risk yourself and let go
of all those things we want to hold onto, even what we desire most – our
prosperity, our reputation, our comfort, even our life. Are you willing to do the right thing rather
than the safe thing? Are you willing to
be used by God for God’s purposes rather than the purposes of your own
choosing?
Are you willing?
This is the question we must ask
ourselves as we move toward the end of our journey of Lent and on in our
journey of faith. Are you willing? Are you willing to follow Jesus as he goes to