I. Theme – Actions speak louder than words. We must match up our words and actions.
"Christ Carrying the Cross” – Lorenzo Lotto (1526)
"Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."- Mark 8:31
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm – Psalm 116:1-8 Page 759, BCP
Epistle – James 3:1-12
Gospel – Mark 8:27-38
Today’s scriptures ask us to demonstrate our Christian beliefs through appropriate actions. In Isaiah, God’s servant remains obedient in the face of suffering and remains confident of God’s guidance and support. Proverbs invites us to begin the search for Wisdom. James reminds us of the destructive power of even a few evil words. In the gospel, after allowing himself to be identified as the Messiah, Jesus points out that sharing in his mission means embracing a life of sacrifice.
“Quick, now! Who do you say that I am?” Most of us, if caught flat-footed by the question, would fumble around and wish we had a handy catechism to consult. Quick-to-respond Peter blurts out, “You are the Messiah!”
In Echoing God’s Word, Jim Dunning calls Peter “one of the first Christians to mouth a doctrine without the foggiest idea of what it means.” Peter thought messiahship implied pomp, status, perks and power. Jesus interpreted it to mean “navigating stormy seas, eating with rejects, following down the road that leads to drinking the cup of suffering with our most broken and wounded sisters and brothers.”
Some of us, like Peter, dream of the perks that our association with Jesus might bring. But Jesus points instead to the suffering, the paradoxical loss of life, the hard road that leads to Calvary…a difficult journey indeed, ultimately continuing to Easter.
Consistency, congruency—this leads to authenticity. To be an authentic follower of Christ, we must match up our words and actions. We must remain faithful even in times of struggle. We must turn inward first to God before our words lead us astray—we must think before we speak. And we must remember that our lives and words are witnesses to Christ’s presence in our lives, and if we truly wish to walk with insight, to walk with Christ, we must remember that we can’t be focused on our own desires and need, but on the way of God, which is beyond ourselves and beyond our time.
II. Summary
Old Testament – Isaiah 50:4-9a
Today’s passage is the third of the four servant songs in Isaiah (the others are found in 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 52:13–53:12). The servant probably represents Israel in its ideal form, fulfilled only in the unique person of the Messiah (49:3).
Isaiah’s third Suffering Servant Song portrays a servant who stands for God and God’s ways even through humiliation, pain and suffering. This song in chapter 50 is to inspire the remnant of Israel to stand firm in God’s ways, and that God will bring deliverance. While Christians have often interpreted these passages to be about Jesus, the experience of many of the prophets is found in these songs, for Jeremiah, Isaiah and others all suffered at the hands of those in power, the religious and ruling classes, the conquering empires, and even from the people. In contrast to the people, who often turned away from God, many of the prophets remained steadfast even through suffering, and we are reminded that we, too, are called to endure and remain faithful, for God is faithful. God does not cause suffering; God does not desire suffering. However, throughout our suffering, when we remain faithful and trust in God, we know God is present with us, and that we do not suffer alone.
The song in today’s reading describes the servant both as a disciple of the lord and as a misunderstood, ill-treated prophet to a weary people. Using the image of a court of law, the servant expresses confidence that God will vindicate him. The servant songs provided a way for Israel to understand the significance of the suffering and humiliation of the exile. The songs later helped the Church understand and proclaim Jesus’ suffering and resurrection.
Psalm – Psalm 116:1-8 Page 759, BCP
Psalm 116:1-9 praises God for deliverance from evil, from death. The psalmist reminds those that are faithful that God is faithful to them, even in times of suffering. God does not relieve the suffering while it is happening, but God is present, and when the time of suffering has passed, we are reminded that God did not abandon us—God is still with us, and will see us through when we endure and remain faithful.
This psalm of thanksgiving recounts the vindication of a righteous sufferer. Such a psalm was recited as a testimony to other worshipers. The one who was delivered paid the promises or vows (vv. 14, 18) in the temple (v. 19). It is not clear whether this deliverance was from illness (v. 3) or false accusation (vv. 10-11).
The “cup of salvation” most likely refers to a drink offering to the lord (Numbers 28:7), or it may be a metaphor of deliverance opposite in meaning to the lord’s “cup of wrath” (Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:15). Verse 15 indicates that the untimely death of God’s servants is not a matter of indifference to God; God will act to deliver them (Psalm 30:3, 86:2).
Epistle – James 3:1-12
The author sandwiches a discussion of the power of speech between his statements about tangible faith (2:14-16) and heavenly wisdom (3:13-18). The tongue can expose faithlessness and foolishness. Its tremendous power is deceptive. The person who gains control over his or her tongue is a person who knows how to exercise discipline over his or her entire life. Teachers are required to watch their speech even more carefully because of the greater significance attributed to their words.
With our mouths, our tongue, we can bless and curse. We can hurt others intentionally and unintentionally. James, writing in the Wisdom tradition, reminds us that first we must turn inward to God and away from the ways of the world—to seek God’s guidance, to think before we speak, to use our tongue, our words, to build up rather than to break down. We are reminded that a few weeks ago Jesus spoke about how it is what comes out of the mouth that is unclean, not what goes in—and so first we must turn inward to what is inside us, and then turn outward, to use our words to speak up for justice, to speak words of hope, to speak words of peace, to speak words of encouragement—and not to say things that make us feel better about ourselves, words that harm others. Most importantly, we must be careful not to use our words to represent the voice of God in ways that are for our own personal gain. We are called to bless instead of cursing, and often we can use the words of Scripture to curse rather than bless. We are called to bring life and light to the world, and our voice is our most powerful tool to do this, next to our hands. Our hands, our feet and words must be in congruence—we must do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God, and our lives and words must match to do the work of God.
These verses echo Jesus’ teachings about how words reveal the true nature of one’s heart. The tongue speaks the truth about what is hidden within. The author recognizes the double-sided nature of the tongue, which can speak either praise or profanity. He urges his audience to confess the inconsistency and to purify their speech.
Gospel – Mark 8:27-38
Mark 8:27-38 is the familiar story in the Gospels where Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” It is one of the turning points in the Gospel.
Mark’s gospel this week contains three significant elements: first, the confession of Peter; second, the first prediction of Jesus’ approaching suffering and death; and third, Jesus’ sayings on discipleship.
Jesus went to the predominately pagan region of Caesarea Philippi to question and deepen his disciples’ understanding of his role and theirs. “Who do you say that I am?” The popular evaluations of Jesus’ identity–John the Baptist, Elijah, a prophet–do not include that of Messiah. Peter gets it right – he answers triumphantly “You are the Messiah.”
While Peter names Jesus as the Messiah, he fails in the next part when Jesus is telling the disciples about how the Son of Man will suffer, be rejected and killed. Peter rejects the thought of a suffering Messiah. Peter tries to rebuke him – "that’s not right Jesus". Peter clearly does not get who Jesus is or what Jesus is all about.
In Mark, the general expectation of the Messiah seems to be that of a royal deliverer. Jesus rejected this approach by sternly ordering (literally, rebuking) the disciples not to speak of him in those terms. Instead he used his favorite name for himself, “Son of Man,” combining it with the figure of the suffering servant drawn from Isaiah.
The word used for “must” in “the Son of Man must undergo great suffering” shows that it is part of God’s purpose in fulfillment of the Old Testament (Isaiah 53:10). Mark, however, reiterates throughout his gospel that the disciples (and the Church) cannot truly understand the meaning of Jesus as Messiah before, or apart from, the crucifixion.
Jesus also said that suffering will be the cost of discipleship. The disciples are called to total surrender of self-centered desire.
We are called to die to the ways of this world. The ways of this world fear death, are all about satisfaction now, and are focused on one’s own salvation and success. The way of the cross is to die to all those things, and to live for God, which is to give one’s life over completely to God. And that involves living for others, looking to the needs of the poor, the outcast and the marginalized, and remembering that death does not have power over us—rather, God’s love endures forever, so we ought to endure and live for God, and not for ourselves. It is hard to understand and accept—even the disciples did not get it—but it is what we are called to do.
III. Articles for this week in WorkingPreacher:
Old Testament – Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm – Psalm 116:1-9
Epistle – James 3:1-12
Gospel – Mark 8:27-38