Sermon - Cost of discipleship

Somehow her song summed up a mood where we wanted a hero to come and make things right.

Another icon of the 80s was the actor Christopher Reeve who played that hero of all heroes Superman. When the first Superman movie came out, he gave dozens of interviews to promote it. The question he was most frequently asked was: “What is a hero?” He remembers how easily he’d talk about it, and the glib response he repeated so many times. For him a hero was someone who performed a courageous act without considering the consequences. A soldier who crawled out of a fox hole to drag an injured comrade back to safety, the prisoner of war who never stopped trying to escape even though she may be executed if caught. He used to mention lots of sporting heroes too.

But after his tragic accident falling from a horse, Reeve became paralysed from the neck down. This changed his perception of what a hero was. He disagrees with Bonnie Tyler, heroes haven’t got to be fresh from the fight, or strong or fast. Heroes are those who are ordinary individuals who find the strength to go on inspite of overwhelming obstacles. This is real courage, this takes real strength.

Jesus as Hero

In our gospel reading today we hear Jesus prophecy to his disciples about his death, and eventual resurrection. Even though his disciples probably didn’t understand what he was talking about, Jesus was showing himself to be a hero. He accepted what had to be done, and got on with it. He didn’t complain, or try to wriggle out of what life had in store for him, but simply had the courage to face all that was thrown at him.

Jesus tell us to be Heroes

Jesus urges us to be heroes when he says:

“If anyone would come after me, they must deny themselves, take up their cross daily and follow me”.

This saying of Jesus has lost its strength as we are familiar with it, but to his original audience it must have sounded dreadful. The cross was the instrument of the most barbaric form of execution known to the Romans. As we know through the Passion narratives, the condemned had to carry their cross through the streets of the city to the place of execution. The crowds would spit and jeer at them watching those poor unfortunates condemned to die in such a cruel way. At the place of crucifixion they would be nailed to the cross and left to die. The process of dying was through slow suffocation. In order to breathe the condemned person had to haul himself up through excruciating pain in his legs and hands which were nailed to the cross. As the person slowly became more and more tired, they were unable to haul themselves up and so became unable to breathe. If the Romans were in a hurry, or if they were feeling merciful, they would break the leg bones of the person on the cross so they would not be able push themselves up and hence to breathe.

Jesus telling his followers that in order to be a disciple they must take up their own cross and follow him to be crucified would have sounded horrific. I suspect many people turned away from such a teaching.

Taking up One’s Cross

Just as telling people to take up their cross then was not fashionable it is not fashionable now. Taking up one’s cross means putting one’s self after others. It means recognising that we are not the most important person in the world, that others come first.
But it also means being prepared to suffer persecution for Jesus. Being a Christian in our society will always mean a certain amount of persecution. Our lifestyles are a sign of contradiction to the world around us. The Archbishop of Canterbury has recently said that the lifestyle represented by the TV show Footballers’ Wives is profoundly immoral. Holding up our society to the light of the gospel invites persecution. Living by values of truth and honesty in a culture which values money and power – and the pursuit of these regardless of cost invites persecution. Being different in a society that is profoundly unsettled by diversity invites persecution.

Persecution for us, however, is different than it was in the Early Church. In the West we are not likely to be killed for our faith. We are persecuted in more subtle ways. We are laughed at, belittled or ignored. Our perspectives are not seen as valid as other perspectives and viewpoints. Our message is distorted out of all recognition. And this is part of what Jesus calls us to do. This is the type of hero that Jesus asks us to be.

Called to be Heroes

Being a hero for the gospel is not about being up for a fight, but is about fighting for truth and being witnesses for the truth. Being a hero is not about being macho, but about getting on with our everyday lives, dying to self and letting others come first. Being a hero is not about having amazing powers but is about allowing ourselves to be captivated by and influenced by the amazing power of the Gospel.

Instead of Bonnie Tyler we hear Jesus calling us.

Sermon - Sunday 28th March 2004

The Cost of Discipleship

Scripture - Luke 9: 21-27

Rev Andy Braunston