Outline

2. Amen
3. Children’s Time

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2. Theme

3. Comments

The Missionary Picnics

When Tim describes the Lutheran missionary picnic each summer in Como Lake Park in St. Paul, MN that his family went to it goes something like this:

Attending were just us 11 kids, 2 parents, and between 20 to 30 other smaller families. Everyone brought their own plates, cups, silverware, food to share in pots, water melon to cut, and drinks. For our family the drink was always 2 or 3 A&W root beer in 1 gallon glass jugs, which we poured into cups held in one hand, by holding the jug with your other index finger in the round handle just big enough for one finger, flipping the jug around to support the body of the jug in the crook of your elbow.

There were prayers and singing, and always lots of stories to share of the missionaries still in the field, and from missionaries on furlough, and families like ours having returned years ago.

Afterwards we collected all the garbage (there wasn’t that much since there were no disposable dishes or silverware or cups), and all us kids were sent with small bags around the whole area to pick up garbage, leaving it cleaner than when we arrived.

This in Como Park, along the lake, with the picnic tables under tin roofs, plenty of garbage cans for clean up, washrooms sufficient, the golf course across road, and the fair grounds and the zoo a bit further away through the tree covered residential areas.

Jesus and the disciples go into the wilderness. To be alone. No picnic tables. No facilities. No golf course. No houses nearby. No zoo, no fairgrounds.

But 5000 men and more women and children arrive. Jesus went to be alone to grieve John’s death at the hands of Herod. Yet Jesus has compassion on the huge crowd. Jesus heals their illnesses. (In Mark Jesus teaches them. In Luke Jesus does both!)

Then the disciples note that the people are hungry. Their solution is to have Jesus send them to the nearest towns. Let the imperial economy deal with them.

Jesus, instead, puts the 12 disciples to work. Handing out meagre rations that are plenty! And afterwards collecting up 12 baskets of leftovers, one for each disciple. Lots of work handing out food to 5000 men and more women and children! Imagine that for us today! If we can?

The other feast

Herod, in Matthew just before today’s gospel, holds a feast to celebrate his own birthday. What a difference!

Herod fears the crowd (v. 5) and what his guests might think of him if he goes back on his word (v. 9). Jesus has compassion and cares for the crowd (v. 14), even though they had interrupted his desire to be alone, probably to grieve the death of John (13a).

Herod is tricked into putting John to death (v. 10). Jesus provides life by curing the sick (v. 14) and feeding the hungry (v. 19).

Boring (Matthew, New Interpreters Bible) states that these two stories are a “contrast between the two kingdoms” [p. 323]. Carter (Matthew and the Margins) goes further and states:

“Jesus’ act attacks the injustice of the sinful imperial system which ensures that the urban elite are well fed at the expense of the poor (Aristides, Roman Oration 11; Tacitus, Ann 2.33; 3.53-54). Jesus enacts an alternative system marked by compassion, sufficiency and shared resources.” [p. 305]

Stoffregen Matthew 14.13-21 Proper 13 – Year A at http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/matt14x13.htm

What do we need today?

If the sick need curing, and the hungry need feeding; what do the disciples need?

Apparently they need to get to work meeting the needs of others.

So what do we need today?

What kind of picnics are we participating in today?

Do we share everything with whoever shows up (even if we wanted to be alone and nearly 10,000 people show up!)?

Or

Do we send the strangers away to the food bank, the soup kitchens, the grocery stores to fend for themselves?

The needs of the world’s 8 billion people are more than for one picnic in the wildernesses we find ourselves in. As always conflicts and wars create huge crowds needing nearly everything to survive. Natural disasters, like floods, fires, smoke (don’t we know that lately), earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, drought, and new kinds of storms that we first hear of (Derechos (pronounced like “deh-REY-chos”) are fast-moving bands of thunderstorms with destructive winds.) … all with climate change getting worse and more frequent.

So what do we need today?

To feel sorry for ourselves? There’s certainly enough opportunity for that. Just don’t breathe too deeply!

More air purifiers? More air tight homes? More masks? More portable clean air tanks, regulators, and masks? More fire resistant homes and buildings? More tornado resistant homes and buildings? More, More, More?

Or … Well what does Jesus send us out with to share with others?

What do others need?

We’ve got the Good News? But is that what the people need?

Cause, as Brian Stoffregen points out, “You don’t throw a drowning person a sandwich no matter how good the sandwich is.”

quote from the course Witnesses for Christ

To turn it further, ‘You don’t teach people what to believe, when their homes are destroyed. Or when they’ve run for their lives and ended up in Canada (or are trying desperately to get a visa to get to come to Canada!) Or when the flood waters, earthquakes, droughts, war, or other climate change storms have wiped out their homes, their villages, their livelihoods. Or when they have leprosy (it’s on the rise again), or malaria (it’s back in North America, or some other destructive untreatable disease. Or when they are lonely, or depressed, or lost.’

For news to be truly good, it has to meet some need of the hearer/receiver.

What do we have here and now to put in our sandwiches that we share with others? That we eat for lunch at our private picnics at our own dinner tables? Will it feed them? Does it feed our spirits so we are bold enough to share God’s generous bounty of which we are stewards?

Variety of interpretations of the ‘feeding 5000’ miracle:

We have a variety of ways that we have understood this miracle story.

1. The first is the most obvious: Jesus miraculous makes the five loaves and the two fish replicate themselves so that as soon as the disciples hand out part of them, what is taken is replaced with more bread and fish. There’s no mention of watermelon and root beer, but while Jesus was at it, why is there no mention of something to drink and a little treat for dessert. Maybe a simple statement that even a rather plain bit to eat is enough.
2. The second is more interesting: Jesus has the disciples share the blessed food. While they share what they have, the people are shamed into sharing what they have.
3. A variation of this shaming meets us right between the eyes, or rather between our abundance and our hands: Jesus does not shame us into sharing, but rather takes away our fears of having nothing if we share what we have. As the people (and also us) see that if we pull out what little we have it will not be stolen from us. We will not be left to starve or be the ones in desperate need. If there is plenty, sharing is possible for us humans who by our nature work to preserve our own means of living another day, another week, another year, maybe even another decade.
4. There are other variations on a theme: this is not really a crowd of 5000 that gathered, but rather that story grew out of a real event of the disciples with Jesus going out into the wilderness and surviving on a little bit of food there.
5. The last understanding stands on it’s own or as part of any of the other understandings: this is really a story about the Eucharist and how celebrated by us, Jesus always provides us enough to meet every hunger in us and in all those who come to us.

Common among all the interpretations is that Jesus provides what the people need. That is the result of the miracle, no matter how we choose to understand this story. Jesus provides through every miracle what the people need.

Stoffregen sums up the difference for us: “Sometimes, for divine miracles to occur, disciples [that’s us] may have to do a lot of work. Perhaps that is a difference between disciples and the crowds. While all received the benefit of the miracle; the disciples were asked to work and work hard to make it happen — and then to clean up the mess — each had one of the twelve baskets to fill up.”

“Frequently the image of the church as a ‘hospital for sinners’ is used. That is a good corrective to the impression that it is a “club for saints.” However, as a ‘hospital for sinners,’ in order for the church to do its ‘healing’ ministry, it will need dedicated, committed, and trained workers and volunteers, just like a hospital needs doctors, nurses, administrators, dieticians, housekeepers, volunteers, etc. ”

“Divine miracles can require a lot of human work.”

1. Prayers of Intercession

The prayers are prepared locally for each occasion. The following examples may be adapted or used as appropriate.

Confident that God receives our joys and concerns, let us offer our prayers for the church, those in need, and all of creation.

A brief silence.

You gather your church together by the Holy Spirit. Inspire all the baptized to proclaim your abundant love throughout the world. Guide us in the mission of the gospel through words and deed. Hear us, O God.

Your mercy is great.

You cherish your creation, from the smallest microbe to the largest mountain. Protect fragile ecosystems, send favourable weather, supply food and water to nourish creatures, and raise us up to care for all you have created. Hear us, O God.

Your mercy is great.

You desire peace and justice in the world. Instill within all political leaders your desire, support the work of international peace organizations, and provide relief for those in war-torn areas (especially). Hear us, O God.

Your mercy is great.

You comfort those who are hurting. Accompany those who are alone, heal those who are sick, provide for all who hunger or thirst, console the bereaved, bring joy to the sorrowful, and attend to all who call on you (especially).Hear us, O God.

Your mercy is great.

You place us within communities for mutual support and love. Reveal yourself to us in worship fellowship, and ministry with our neighbours. Provide for feeding ministries and food banks in our area, that we share your abundance with all who hunger. Hear us, O God.

Your mercy is great.

Here other intercessions may be offered.

You have place before us examples of faithful living, who have witnessed to your promises throughout time and space. Rouse us by their lives of service and dedication to be your hands and feet in this worlds. Hear us, O God.

Your mercy is great.

Into your hands, O God, we commend all for whom we pray, in the name of the one who reconciled all creation to himself, Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Amen.

3. Readings

Jeremiah 15:15-21

Psalm 26:1-8 (3)

Romans 12:9-21

Matthew 16:21-28

1. First Reading: Jeremiah 15:15-21

O Lord, you know;

remember me and visit me,

and bring down retribution for me on my persecutors.

In your forbearance do not take me away;

know that on your account I suffer insult.

Your words were found, and I ate them,

and your words became to me a joy

and the delight of my heart;

for I am called by your name,

O Lord, God of hosts.

I did not sit in the company of merrymakers,

nor did I rejoice;

under the weight of your hand I sat alone,

for you had filled me with indignation.

Why is my pain unceasing,

my wound incurable,

refusing to be healed?

Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook,

like waters that fail.

Therefore, thus says the Lord:

If you turn back, I will take you back,

and you shall stand before me.

If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,

you shall serve as my mouth.

It is they who will turn to you,

not you who will turn to them.

And I will make you to this people

a fortified wall of bronze;

they will fight against you,

but they shall not prevail over you,

for I am with you

to save you and deliver you,

says the Lord.

I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,

and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless

1. TL OT Comments

1. K OT Comments

Psalm 26:1-8 (3)

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x

^x

Plea for Justice and Declaration of Righteousness

Of David.

Vindicate me, O Lord,

for I have walked in my integrity,

and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.

Prove me, O Lord, and try me;

test my heart and mind.

For your steadfast love is before my eyes,

and I walk in faithfulness to you.

I do not sit with the worthless,

nor do I consort with hypocrites;

I hate the company of evildoers,

and will not sit with the wicked.

I wash my hands in innocence,

and go around your altar, O Lord,

singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,

and telling all your wondrous deeds.

O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,

and the place where your glory abides.

1. TL Psalm Comments

1. K Psalm Comments

Second Reading: Romans 12:9-21

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Marks of the True Christian

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

1. TL NT Comments

1. K NT Comments

1. Gospel: Matthew 16:21-28
2. Gospel Acclamation
3. Alleluia. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes | of our hearts, so that we may know the hope to which | God has called us. Alleluia. (Eph. 1:17, 18)

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

1. From that time on, Jesus began to show his 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. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’

The Cross and Self-Denial

1. Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
2. ‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’

1. TL Gospel Comments

1. K Gospel Comments

Prayer of the Day (ELCA Lectionary)

O God, we thank you for your Son, who chose the path of suffering for the sake of the world. Humble us by his example, point us to the path of obedience, and give us strength to follow your commands, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.Amen

1. S&S

4. Stories

There is nothing more dangerous

There is nothing more dangerous than a person who thinks with their whole heart that they are good.

T thoughts: & lc

Margaret Atwood and many others: old is lonely

problem with getting old is all your friends die & if you don’t make younger friends you end up alone

no death = more suffering

no death, = greater suffering, no evolution & adapting to changes

Making life real, with love = sacrifice

without real love, nothing is real

humans, like Psalmist, try endless variations on earning God’s love, all doomed, like Peter’s objection to Jesus’ suffering & death, going to Jerusalem & cross

love, real love always includes suffering & loss, taking up cross & sacrificing for others

Magic of the Magi

Xmas story of Magic of the Magi, each sacrificing own treasure to give happiness to other, fulfill other’s treasure

If I Didn’t Have Your Love

Leonard Cohen

If the sun would lose its light

And we lived an endless night

And there was nothing left that you could feel

That’s how it would be

What my life would seem to me

If I didn’t have your love to make it real

If the stars were all unpinned

And a cold and bitter wind

Swallowed up the world without a trace

Ah, well that’s where I would be

What my life would seem to me

If I couldn’t lift the veil and see your face

And if no leaves were on the tree

And no water in the sea

And the break of day had nothing to reveal

That’s how broken I would be

What my life would seem to me

If I didn’t have your love to make it real

If the sun would lose its light

And we lived in an endless night

And there was nothing left that you could feel

If the sea were sand alone

And the flowers made of stone

And no one that you hurt could ever heal

Well that’s how broken I would be

What my life would seem to me

If I didn’t have your love to make it real

Kstories

Sept 3, 2023 Pentecost 14 Stories and Quotes

Jesus messes up your life – or you can do it worse

At a Lutheran Youth Gathering in Seattle Washington, referring to this gospel passage, Youth Ministry leader, Mike Yackonelli said, “Follow Jesus and he will mess up your life.” Then, he also pointed out that the alternative is to “Not follow Jesus and you will mess up your life, yourself.” (I have the book – hopefully not in storage somewhere)

Late husband, devil in the back seat

A young husband arrives home late from work one day – much later than the time it normally would have taken him to walk the five blocks from the bus stop. His wife asks him how his day went. He says all has gone well. Her curiosity wins out. “What kept you late?” she asks.

With sparkling eyes, her husband tells her. “When I changed buses, I saw a new vehicle in the car dealer’s lot. I heard a little voice on my shoulder telling me, ‘Go take a good look.’ So I did.”

She jumps in, “So you missed your bus for that?”

“Well …”, he continues, “I walked all the way around the car, looked under the hood, read the information sheet and looked at the dealers tag. Then I heard that small voice say, ‘Get in. Sit in the drivers seat. Get a feel for it. See what it looks like from the inside.’” So I did. And then I heard the small voice from the dashboard, “ This is a fabulous car! You look good sitting in that driver’s seat.”

The wife broke in, “Well did you tell that little voice, “Get behind me Satan?”

“Yes I did’” the husband answered. “And then I heard the small voice from the back seat say, ‘You look good from behind too.’ So I drove that car home … for us.” (original Flip Wilson, mod TL1995)

Oh God, you know it all – this is shtako time for me, again or is it still

I love the way this portion of scripture begins: “O Lord, you know”. Jeremiah was called to be a prophet at a very young age and now he has been a prophet for sometime. This isn’t the first time he has taken his troubles to God, giving it up to the Lord, nor will it be the last. Nor does Jeremiah believe that God is unaware of his discouragement. This is not an information sharing session. Jeremiah needs to unload his pain, his anger, and his bone-deep weariness – on the only one who can understand. Jeremiah needs to talk frankly and intimately to God about it.

O Lord, you know;… (kas 1995)

C.S. Lewis

hoping there will be enough left over for meself

C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, is right when he says, “We are hoping all the time that when all the demands have been met, the poor natural self will still have some chance, & so have time to get on with its own life & do what it likes. In fact, we are very like an honest man paying his taxes. He pays them all right, but he does hope that there will be enough leftover to live one. . .

God Meant for the Full Treatment, No eggs fly

It is the difference between paint, which is merely laid on the surface, & a dye or stain which soaks right through . . . (God) meant us for the full treatment. It is hard; but the sort of compromise we are all hankering after is harder – in fact, it is impossible. It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad. . . ” (BOOK IV Chapter 8)

Working Preacher

Commentary on Matthew 16:21-28

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Richard Ward

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• The gospel now recalls some teachings that the disciples will find hard to swallow. Peter’s confession that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the Living God” elicits Jesus’ blessing. Now a stern warning from Jesus echoes in their ears, “don’t tell anyone that I’m the Messiah!” Why? Because Jesus is about to shatter their image of what this Messiah was sent to do. What Jesus “begins” here in verse 21 is a deconstruction of the disciples’ messianic expectations. He tells them that death—not glory—will be shadowing them all the way to Jerusalem where there will be a final confrontation. Lest they forget, he will remind them again (Matthew 17:22-23). What’s ahead is not a throne, but a cross. There won’t be an army of zealots ready to make Jesus their king, there will only be a mocking mob calling for his death. 

This is just too much for Peter. His first act as leader-in-waiting for the Jesus movement is to say “no” to Jesus. Saying “no” to the way of Jesus will become a habit for the Church. Too often when Jesus says “Cross!” the church votes “Crown!” In the background of this scene is the time Jesus spent in the wilderness when he said, “No” to the temptation to imperial power. “All the kingdoms of this world and all their splendor” were his for the taking (Matthew 4:8) if Jesus would just bow down, not to God’s way but to Satan’s. Now in this scene with Peter pulling Jesus aside to “counsel” him, Jesus thinks, “I’ve been through this before!” and responds with such force that Peter has to step back. He actually calls Peter “Satan”! 

One is reminded of a scene in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov.¹ An important part of that novel is the section “The Grand Inquisitor,” a kind of parable told by Ivan, one of the brothers. It takes place at the height of the Inquisition and Jesus has returned to Earth to the Italian city of Seville. He is arrested by the leaders of the Inquisition as he is performing miracles and is sentenced to be burnt to death the next day. The Grand Inquisitor himself visits Jesus in his cell as he awaits execution. He explains to Jesus why the Church voted “yes” to imperial power. “The Church no longer needs you” he says. “You were wrong to refuse the power to feed the poor, perform a miraculous leap from the Temple, and grab rulership over the world. We picked up where you left off and improved on what you started. In fact we corrected your mistake. Yes, it was necessary to use the devil’s principles to do so but we do it in the name of God. What you don’t understand,” says the Inquisitor, “is that humanity cannot handle the free will you gave them. We gave them what they really need, security from want.” 

Jesus doesn’t respond except to listen in silence throughout the interrogation. When the Inquisitor’s diatribe is finally spent, Jesus silently kisses him on his “bloodless, aged lips.” The Inquisitor is startled by this gesture and is even moved by it perhaps, but is not converted. He does, however, let Jesus go with a warning: do not return again.  

The parable of the Grand Inquisitor brings into bold relief the stark differences between the ways of Crown and Cross to usher in God’s realm. Because the Church says no to Jesus’ way far too often, we need, like the disciples, to be reminded of the differences. Cross-bearing is for “losers” in societies like ours. The “winners” are those who know how to master the game of life and have the goods to prove it. One of those goods might even be a gilded cross hanging around the neck to be displayed to admirers at church services! Winners might explain that the cross represents something that Jesus did for them. The text explains that cross-bearing is what disciples are called to do in Jesus’ name. 

What does self-denial really mean? Frankly, the text from Matthew is pretty vague. Left as an abstraction, it becomes wide open to misinterpretation. What it certainly does not mean is to remain in an abusive situation and valorize it as one’s “cross to bear.” It does not mean hiding out from life’s joys and blessings and responsibilities, enclosing oneself in self-righteousness, and calling that “self-sacrifice.” It does not mean becoming one of life’s doormats and playing some victim card. 

What it does mean is explained better in another of today’s readings from the lectionary. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 12 and verses 9-21,  he offers a long list of virtues that characterize cross-bearing in the best sense of the term. The list is punctuated with actions and attitudes that make life meaningful: genuine love for others, tenacious goodness and perseverance even as evil encroaches, patience in suffering, blessing even those who persecute, cultivating empathy and rejecting opportunities for retribution and so much more. The list bubbles over with divine energy. 

Cross-bearing does mean for some what it meant for Jesus: the price is paid for in blood. History’s road continues to pass by scenes of martyrdom in Jesus’ name. For most of us, cross-bearing means serving others with compassion. All cross bearers are God’s allies; they often set aside their own agendas for personal advancement in favor of meeting human need. They hold, by their witness, keys to a kingdom, though not one of human design. Embedded in this ironic view of authentic human existence is a promise. Those who have imprisoned themselves in  service to one’s Self have their own reward. Those who have carried crosses of compassionate service to others have not only gained a meaningful life, but have also caught a glimpse of God’s eternal realm.

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Notes:

1. F. Dostoyevski. The Brothers Karamazov. New York: Vintage Books (1950)

Brian

Brian P. Stoffregen Exegetical Notes at

Matthew 16.21-28
Proper 17 – Year A

Other texts: 

• Jeremiah 15-15-21
• Psalm 26-1-8
• Romans 12-9-21

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INTRODUCTION

A question that I have been asked, and probably every minister has been asked is, “Why did you want to be a pastor?” A clergy friend answers that question first by talking about the benefits of the job. It is a good, secure job. The pay isn’t too bad. The church usually provides a nice house or a tax-free housing-allowance. The church pays into a pension fund. [It probably isn’t appropriate to list all the negatives of our profession in answer to that question.] Secondly, he asks a return question, which is a more important one, “Why would anybody want to be a Christian? Denying yourself. Carrying your cross. Following Jesus. Why would anyone want to do that?”

Our text is about the difficult task of following Jesus. Why do we do it? Why do we encourage others to do it?

A few years ago I was at a continuing education workshop and a speaker noted that throughout the books of Acts, the believers are persecuted and even killed — and yet, the church continued to grow! Why would anyone want to be a Christian? Why would anyone want to be part of a group that was being persecuted, jailed, and killed? What was/is it about the Christians that would make others want to join them — even with the threat of suffering? What is (or should be) so attractive about Christians that others are willing to share in those benefits in spite of the difficulties?

I was recently with some pastors and we were joking about names of churches. Someone suggested, “Community Church of Suffering.” Would that name attract many people?

FOLLOWING THE LEADER

Following the leader is a popular children’s game. The “game” gets quite complicated if the leader goes where the followers don’t want to go – crossing a narrow beam over a high crevice, running across a busy street, squeezing through the entrance to a dark cave — or when it means going to Jerusalem, to suffer much, to be killed, and to be raised.

The “game” gets quite complicated if the followers can’t actually see the leader. Suppose the leader disappears into a tall cornfield or into a dark cave. How do we “play follow the leader” when the leader is unseen? Where is Jesus leading us now? Where is Jesus leading our congregations now?

I would guess that in a game where the leader can’t be seen, our attention centers on the voice. Hearing where it is coming from. Listening attentively to what is being said.

THE FIRST PASSION PREDICTION (// Mk 8:31-33; Lk 9:22)

<<SYNOPTIC DIFFERENCES>>

There are a few significant differences between Matthew and Mark. I assume that Matthew had a copy of Mark, so such changes are intentional.

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• Mk: Jesus began to teach (didasko)
• Mt: Jesus began to show (deiknumi)

Jesus is often pictured as a teacher in Mt, e.g., the Sermon on the Mount. Perhaps there is no difference between the words, but “showing” might imply that he was showing them from the Hebrew scriptures why he must (dei) die. In 26:54 Jesus says: “But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must (dei) happen in this way?”

We might ask ourselves, “How do we show what we believe?” Do we want our pastors and Sunday school staff to “teach” the faith or to “show” their students the faith?

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• Mk: not stated
• Mt: “go into Jerusalem”

I’m not sure about this addition. “Jerusalem” prior to this point was not a negative place (3:5; 4:25), except the opposition to and fear of Jesus in Jerusalem that was introduced at his birth with King Herod seeking to kill the child (2:1, 3; 5:35?). Shortly before this, Scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus from Jerusalem (15:1) who ask him about the tradition of the elders, but “Jerusalem” isn’t portrayed in a negative light.

However, Carter (Matthew and the Margins) makes this point: “He must suffer in Jerusalem because the center is always threatened by the margins and the empire strikes back at those who expose its injustice and promote an alternative empire. His suffering is the inevitable consequence of this collision course with the political, socioeconomic, and religious elite” [p 341].

I wonder if many of our church fights are over the same thing. The “religious elite” (the “old-time members”?) are threatened by the ideas and enthusiasm of the newer members and they fight back.

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• Mk: “be rejected”
• Mt: not stated

Mt seems to soften the “rejection” of Jesus by the Jewish people. Many did accept him as the Messiah (and were part of Matthew’s community).

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• Mk: “after three days”
• Mt: “on the third day”

Mt’s counting is a little more accurate. I wonder why the disciples didn’t remember this. They do not expect a resurrected Jesus. Are we more eager to hear the “bad news” than the “good news”?

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• Mk: “he was speaking this word plainly”
• Mt: not stated

In Mt, the disciples often understand what Jesus was saying in contrast to Mk where they seldom understand. See Mt 16:12 in contrast to Mk 8:17, 21; cf. Mt 13:51; Mk 6:52.

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• Mk: not stated
• Mt: “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.”

Mt adds the words of Peter’s “rebuke”. The first word in Greek, hileos, occurs only elsewhere in He 8:12 (quoted from Jer. 31:34) “I will be merciful…”. Literally, Peter could be offering a prayer, “May God be merciful to you, Lord; this will not happen to you.” Being merciful would imply that God prevents bad things from happening, thus the translation, “God forbid it” in NRSV. The CEV has: “God would never let this happen to you.” Peter presumes to know God’s will. Jesus makes it clear that Peter is mistaken.

The word for “rebuke” (epitimao) is used of Jesus commanding wind and waves (8:26) and demons (17:18). What Jesus says, happens. It is also used of Jesus commanding or warning people to be silent about his identity (12:16; 16:20 — note that this is only two verses before Peter’s rebuking). In these verses what Jesus says, may or may not happen.

Three times this word is used of the actions other people: Peter rebukes Jesus (16:22); the disciples rebuke those who were bringing little children (19:13); and the crowd rebukes the two blind men who shouted after Jesus (20:31). In all three cases, the rebukers are criticized by Jesus for their actions. This may be a warning to us about “rebuking” others and assuming that we know what God wants.

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• Mk: “and seeing his disciple, he rebuked him.”
• Mt: not stated

Mt continually presents Peter (and the disciples) in a more positive light than Mk. Jesus does not rebuke Peter. Perhaps Matthew’s reason for including the “prayer” of Peter was to show that what Peter said was not blasphemous, but a prayer that most of us would have wished in that situation.

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• Mk: not stated
• Mt: “you are a stumbling block to me”

This may be a (humorous) contrast with Peter the rock on which Jesus will build the church who has now become a rock that Jesus trips over — or at least a rock that makes the going difficult. The “rock” becomes a “block” (or can we say that Peter is both at the same time — like we are?)

I’m not sure of the relationship with Mt’s other uses of skandalon (“stumbling block”). In 13:41 the angels will come and weed out all skandalon and evil doers. In 18:7 the word is used three times and receives the “Woe” of Jesus. Jesus does not like skandalon. However, would we think that trying to keep Jesus from an early death is such a bad thing — worthy of expulsion from the kingdom? (cf. 5:29-30) What might this imply about those church members who always seem to be undermining our ministry? Whom we really would prefer they found another church home — or die — and make our lives easier?

<<SYNOPTIC HARMONY>>

Some comments about a couple of terms which are the same in Mt & Mk.

“Go behind me, Satan” uses the same words as Jesus’ rebuke during the temptation in 4:10: “Go! Satan!” [I’ll say more about the phrase “behind me” in the next section.] However, this connection indicates that Peter here, like Satan in the temptation story, is trying to lead Jesus away from the suffering and death on the cross.

Why is it that after none of the passion predictions do the disciples catch the positive promise that on the third day he will be raised? They do not expect to see a risen Jesus after the crucifixion. Note also the passive verbs: “be killed” and “be raised”. Both were events outside of Jesus’ control. They are what others will do to him.

“setting your mind on” (phroneo) has an emphasis on the underlying disposition or attitude. Jesus’ harsh critique of Peter involves more than just the few words spoken on this occasion, but his inner attitude, his disposition — or we might even say, his very nature. Even after the revelation from God, Peter still hasn’t got the proper picture. He needs an “attitude adjustment”. He is seeing with “human eyes” rather than through the will and eyes of God. Although, as “human beings,” is it possible for us not to see with “human eyes?” Is it possible for us not to have our minds set on human things? Could this be an indication of our original sin — something that we are unable to change by our own powers?

Time could be spent brainstorming about the differences between our culture’s (the human) and God’s underlying disposition about life. How much of our natural thinking or attitudes and criteria for success can make us stumbling blocks to the divine mission and ministry of the church?

Eugene Boring (Matthew, New Interpreter’s Bible) gives this reflection:

Peter’s objection can be understood as either a wrong idea of messiahship or personal love for Jesus, or both. Since Matthew has Jesus respond in terms of the meaning of discipleship, always for Matthew inseparable from one’s understanding of messiahship, it is better to see Peter’s response as theological rather than merely personal. [p. 349]

For a different perspective, Wangerin in The Book of God, novelizes these verses from Peter’s point of view, as follows:

He [Jesus] said, “Things are going to change now.” He heaved a sigh. We all were moving with him now toward the little spring of water. He said, “I have to go to Jerusalem. When I get there, I will suffer many things form the elders and the chief priests and the scribes. I’m telling you now so that you need not be surprised when it happens. It will happen.”

Jesus knelt down by the spring, cold from the earth. He made a cup of his hands and scooped water. Just before he started to drink, he said, “I will be killed in Jerusalem, and on the third day be raised –“

I spoke again. I said the most natural thing there was to say.

Well, my feelings were so hurt by Jesus’ words. Be killed? Was this the gloomy thing he’d been thinking about all the time?

I grabbed his wrist and shouted, “No!” The water splashed from his hands. “No, God won’t allow it!” I cried.

On account of my feelings, I was gripping him with all my strength. But he started to pry my fingers from his wrist. He had terrible power in his hands.

I blustered on. Surely he knew that I was arguing out of love for him! “O Lord,” I said, “this can never happen to you!”

After Jesus criticizes Peter, Wangerin emphasizes (with italics in the original) these thoughts in Peter:

“No, but I do care for the things of God! And I love you, Lord Jesus! This is so confusing. One minute I’m Peter; the next minute I’m Satan, but I didn’t change! How can plain love cause such outrage in the Lord?”

Similarly, from a couple weeks ago, one moment Peter had the faith to walk on water, the next, he is sinking like a stone. How often do we find ourselves wavering in our faith?

DISCIPLESHIP SECTION (// Mk 8:34-9:1; Lk 9:23-27)

<<SYNOPTIC DIFFERENCES>>

There are two major differences between Mk and Mt.

The first is that in Mt Jesus is only addressing his disciples, while in Mk the crowd has been invited to join the disciples. For Mt, this instruction is for the believers, not everyone. We are to be different than the people of the world.

A quote from Boring (Matthew, The New Interpreters Bible):

Restricting the address to the disciples has the effect of focusing the instruction on the meaning of discipleship to those who are already within the community, those who have, like Peter, made the Christian confession but are still ‘thinking according to human standards rather than the divine revelation’. These words are not an invitation to discipleship for outsiders, but reflection on the meaning of discipleship for those who have already responded to the call of Christ. [p. 350]

For those who offer “seeker-centered” worship, there is also the need to provide opportunities for the believers to delve deeper into the faith, to continually confront their “thinking according to human standards.”

Secondly, Mt omits most of the following from Mk: “For whoever would be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that one when he would come in the glory of his father with the holy angels” (Mk 8:38).

Instead Mt has: “For the Son of Man is about to come into his father’s glory with his angels; and then he will give to each one according to one’s practice” (Mt 16:27)

We have just seen that Peter’s confession was not sufficient. His attitude and (verbal) actions sought to cause Jesus to sin by avoiding the cross. It is an emphasis in Mt that faith has to bear good fruit (see 3:8,10; 7:16-20; 12:33; 21:43) or good works (ergon) (5:16; 26:10 — Note that this second “good work” was preparing Jesus’ body for burial in contrast to Peter’s rebuking in our text.)

The Greek word I’ve translated “practice” is praxis” which has become an English word meaning (from Webster’s New World Dictionary):

1. practice, as distinguished from theory, of an art, science, etc.
2. established practice; custom
3. a set of examples or exercises, as in grammar

Note also that this word in Greek is singular — it does not refer to the “deeds” that one does, but views the whole of one’s life as a deed, a practice, like “practicing medicine” — it’s a vocation = calling.

Faith, for Matthew, is more than a confession. It is the way one lives. It is having the right attitude — having the mind set on the things of God — and the behavior that results from that. I have a feeling that Matthew would be more concerned about orthopraxy (= “right practice”) than “orthodoxy” (= “right praise”). While there is concern about what one believes, there is even more emphasis on what difference it makes in one’s life that one believes.

Whereas Mk’s end-time judgment is centered on being ashamed of Jesus and his words; Mt’s is centered on being rewarded for living rightly.

God “repaying” (apodidomi) us at the last day is a theme in Matthew. It appears three times in the section about acting in secret, “so that your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (6:4, 6, 18). Perhaps the key for understanding this aspect in Mt is its use in 20:8 with the workers in the vineyard. The landowner (God) says: “Call the laborers and pay them their reward, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” This parable makes it clear that although we are expected to work — not lounge around in the marketplace doing nothing — our “reward” is not based on our work, but on the generosity of God.

<<SYNOPTIC HARMONY>>

“If anyone wishes . . .” (vv. 24, 25) indicates that it is a matter of the will. Most of the time our struggles with following Jesus is not a matter of knowing what to do, but a matter of the will — wanting to follow the way of the cross.

“behind me” I would suggest that this phrase, besides its usual reference to a physical position, might also indicate status. Jesus has to come first. Jesus is the leader. Peter when he rebuked Jesus, was putting himself first; so Jesus tells him, “Get behind me!” Perhaps a motto for Christians should be, “We’re number two.”

psyche is a word the ancient Greeks created to describe the difference between a dead body and a living body. It refers to whatever it is that gives life to a body: “breath,” “spirit,” “self,” “personality,” “soul,” “life-force,” etc. We might say that the “psyche” is what makes me, me.

I am inclined to use the word “self” for “psyche” in its four occurrences in vv. 25-26. How often in relationships do people really give their “selves,” or do they hold back, protecting or saving their “selves”? A book I read long ago by John Powell, S.J. had the title: Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am? The answer given is: “I am afraid to tell you who I am, because, if I tell you who I am, you may not like who I am, and it’s all that I have.” So, rather than risk being hurt, we don’t tell others who we are. We hide our self from others. We try and protect and save our self from pain. By doing so, we lose our self. We become a non-self in our relationship with other people.

In contrast to this, a few books I’ve read recently on family systems theory stress that “a self is more attractive than a non-self.” Being the person God created us to be. Being the person Jesus has freed us to be.

This change in 26b: “What will a person give in exchange for one’s self?” Easily leads to the question, “What is a self worth?” One answer is, “The death of God’s son.” That is what each of us are worth to God.

Boring (Matthew, New Interpreters Bible) uses the same interpretation in the following quote:

The Christian life called for is not a reflection of, let alone the baptism and blessing of, the egocentric culture, but its polar opposite. Self-denial is not part of our culture’s image of the ‘good life.’ But neither is the Matthean Jesus’ call for denying oneself to be understood as asceticism or as self-hate. Just as Jesus’ call to discipleship is not a joining in the cultural infatuation with self-esteem, neither is it the opposite. Nor is the self-denial to which Jesus calls the opposite of self-fulfillment. Just giving up things will not make one Christian; it will only make one empty. What is difficult for our culture to understand, indeed what it cannot understand on its own terms, is an orientation to one’s life that is not focused on self at all, either as self-esteem or self-abasement, as self-fulfillment or self-emptying. [p. 352]

There are four common explanations for v. 28 given by Boring.

1. It refers to the Transfiguration which immediately follows our text.
2. It refers to the Resurrection.
3. It refers to Pentecost and the power of Christ at work in the church.
4. It refers to the Parousia, which [Jesus and] Matthew expected to take place very soon. He adds: “Even though the early Christians were chronologically incorrect in their eschatology does not nullify its theological validity.”

Another possibility, if basileia (“kingdom”) refers more to the “power” to rule as king rather than a place, then the disciples saw Jesus exhibited this power in his authority over demonic forces and illness; over winds and waves; over the temptations of Satan and Peter. Jesus taught with authority and showed his authority to forgive sins by healing the paralytic.

Which of these five interpretations is right? Take your pick.

Boring, who opts for no. 4. above, says:

This call to discipleship is based on faith in Christ and confidence in the future victory of God; it is not a matter merely of high human ideals or noble principles. That is, the life called for here is not based on a reasoned conclusion about how things are, inferred from observation or general principles, but on faith that something has happened that makes everything different. To believe in Jesus as the Christ and to live accordingly means to reorient one’s life toward the good news that God has acted decisively and ultimately in Jesus, not that Jesus has some good advice on how to live (by what criteria could such advice be judged to be good?). The call to discipleship here expressed is based on the past and future revelatory act of God. [p. 352]

A final quote and challenge from Carter (Matthew and the Margins):

Jesus’ scandalous call, then, to take up the cross and follow (cf. 4:18-22) is a call to martyrdom, to die as Jesus does (9:15; 10:4, 21, 28, 29; 16:21). Such is the risk of continuing Jesus’ countercultural work of proclaiming and demonstrating God’s empire (10:7-8). On another level, it is a call to a life of marginalization, to identify with the nobodies like slaves, foreigners, criminals, and those understood to be cursed by god. It is also to identify with those who resist the empire’s control, who contest its version of reality, and who are vulnerable to its reprisals. It is to identify with a sign of the empire’s violent and humiliating attempt to dispose of all who threaten or challenge its interests. To so identify is not to endorse the symbol but to counter and reframe its violence. As the end of the gospel shows, it is to identify with a sign that ironically indicates the empire’s limits. The empire does its worst in crucifying Jesus. But God raises Jesus from death to thwart the empire’s efforts and to reveal the limits of its power.

W. Beardslee observes that sayings about gaining one’s life by losing it are found in exhortations to soldiers before war (Zenophon, Anab 3.1.43; Sayings of the Wise Menander 65), and in discussions about loyalty in friendship or love (Pindar, Nemean 10). Jesus reframs the first context to exhort resistance to rather than the perpetration of, imperial power. And he utilizes the second to reinforce the loyalty of disciples to himself.

To save one’s life (whole self, or existence, 2:20; 6:25; 10:28, 39) is to decide against the way of the cross and its confrontation with the status quo. It is to decide for what is safe, for self-interest. It is to be intimidated into compliance by the elite’s threat to crucify those who resist it. But this choice for safety is, in Jesus’ view, to lose life. Life based on intimidation is not God’s way of trusting relationship. It is not God’s saving way demonstrated in Jesus (1:21). God cannot honor such a choice in the judgment (10:32, 39).

Conversely, to lose one’s life for my sake (cf. 5:11; 10:18, 39), to be loyal to Jesus in the subversive way of the cross, at the hands of the elite, is to find it in an act which refuses to give the elite the power of intimidation and conformity that it craves. God will honor such a choice in the eschaton with a life that knows God’s justice and empire in full. [pp. 344-5]

While we can and should apply this text to us as believers in relationship to the state, but as I was typing this, I was also thinking, “How does this apply to being a pastor in a congregation?” What is or should be my relationship with the people of power in the congregation? the “elite” members? Am I willing to take positions counter to theirs — and perhaps threaten my job and income? Should we be willing to create “wars” in congregation as we seek to reach the unbelievers with the gospel?

As congregations and their governing bodies wrestle with this text. Should they be thinking of ways to give away the congregation rather than just trying to maintain and preserve it? Why should the leaders try to save a dying congregation? How often have we seen dead congregations sell their buildings to another church group who is able to become a viable, active congregation? What makes the difference?

On a slightly different issue: How “attractive” do we make the gospel? Do we water down these harsh sayings so that it is more appealing than the call Jesus actually extends to those who wish to follow? Can we invite others into a relationship with Christ without his scandalous call included in this text?

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Brian Stoffregen
Faith Lutheran Church, 1000 D St., Marysville, CA 95901
e-mail: brian.stoffregen@gmail.com

1. Vanderbilt Slides Link
2. https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=17