Lent 2 Year B

Lent 2 Year B Mark 8:31-38

While reading the gospel lesson for today, a thought about my family came to my mind. I grew up in a family where there were acceptable emotions and unacceptable emotions. Now I don’t think I am especially weird in this; in fact, I think this is the case in most families. In my family, it was ok to be happy, but it was not ok to be sad, angry, or upset. Happy was a feeling we could share, but to express any of those other feelings was met with social censure.

Now it may seem odd that the gospel reading would bring this memory to mind. It may seem like it has come from left field. And, quite frankly, that was my feeling when it first went through my mind. But being a psychologist at heart, I decided to follow the thought through.

What dawned on me was that the same dynamics that occurred in my family were occurring in the gospel reading. The merry band of Jesus and the disciples were going along having a great time until Jesus drops a bomb. “Oh, guys, did I forget to mention? I will be persecuted, have to go through great suffering, and eventually be killed.” Talk about sharing something that is NOT at all happy and joyful.

So how does Peter respond to this? Does Peter take in the gravity and truth of what Jesus is saying and reflect on how this will impact his life? Does Peter see the truth of Jesus’ statement and appreciate the strength it took to make such a bold proclamation? No, Peter does not want to hear such things. Peter does not want to hear that the life he is currently living can be so quickly changed. So instead of hearing the truth of what Jesus is saying, he pulls Jesus aside and basically tells Jesus to shut up.

Now, Jesus could have paid attention to what Peter was saying. Jesus could have thought, “Maybe Peter is right. Maybe I just need to have an upbeat attitude and things will be better.” Or Jesus could have thought that maybe he shouldn’t say anything because to say something unpleasant is causing Peter to have a bad day. But Jesus didn’t do that. Jesus didn’t let Peter’s fears get in the way of his mission. Even if it was something that the disciples did not want to hear, Jesus does not let that stop him from saying what is important.

We have some interesting dynamics going on here. These are dynamics that we all deal with on a daily basis. Peter’s point of view is that of not wanting to deal with difficult situations. Peter does not want to hear that anything bad can happen. It is a kind of superstitious thinking: As long as nothing bad is said, nothing bad can happen.

However, Jesus has a different kind of dynamic going on. Jesus wants to tell the truth to prepare his followers for what is to come. Jesus is not saying this to rain on their parade but to help the disciples to deal with the valleys in life that are bound to occur.

But Peter does not want to hear this. Peter wants to think that everything will continue on just wonderfully. Peter does not want to hear what Jesus has to say. The problem is that even if Peter did manage to stop Jesus from speaking, it would not stop the situations from happening. Jesus was going to be persecuted and eventually killed. Whether Peter believed that or not was not going to change a thing.

I think our faith can often have this dynamic about it. I know that I especially feel it during Lent. Lent is the time when we hear Jesus talking about being persecuted and being killed. Lent is the time that we are to look at our own sins and realize that we often fall short of the mark. Lent is the time when we want to pull Jesus aside and rebuke him for all the negative things he is saying. Lent is just not a “happy feelings” kind of season.

Often we hear from people who hold faith up as this ultimate anti-depressant. They will say that all anyone needs to do is just have faith and everything will be great. If you feel bad, it is just because you do not have enough faith. You will hear tell that if you have enough faith, then you will have a new house, a new car, everything you ever wanted. And if you lack these things, then it is an outward sign of your lack of faith. You will hear people talk about how if you just have enough faith, then everything will be wonderful. But no matter who we are or how much we believe, something bad will come into our lives.

Because we have difficulties in our lives doesn’t mean that we are lacking faith. As it has been said: Into every life a little rain must fall. We just need to remember that because there is some rain in our lives doesn’t mean that we are doing something wrong. It also means that we should not feel ashamed of these difficulties. These are not signs that we are doing things wrong. Actually we may be doing everything right, it is just that there will be difficulties in our lives.

Jesus’ response to Peter shows us that we are to face our difficulties directly and honestly. We are not to pretend that there are no difficulties. We are to truthfully acknowledge the difficulties that are present.

And if you have learned anything about my sermons, you should be expecting a big “HOWEVER” about now. So here it is!

HOWEVER!

We are to follow our savior and take hope in our savior. Our savior met ridicule, rejection, and even death. He met them all straight on and honestly. But these trials didn’t keep him down. Even death did not keep him. He overcame the trials of life. He overcame death and the grave. He overcame the worst the world had to give him. He met these challenges honestly and through faith overcame them.

And this is the example he gives to us. He asks us to follow in faith. He asks us to honestly face the difficulties that are before us but to continue on in faith. Yes, Jesus does call Peter “Satan,” but we need to remember that Satan was the tempter. Peter was tempting Jesus to deny the reality of his fate. Jesus was telling Peter to get behind him because that is the proper place for a follower.

Peter was running out in front of Jesus. Peter had other plans. Peters plans probably sounded pretty tempting. But Jesus told him to get behind. Jesus told Peter to follow. Jesus was telling Peter that the proper place for a disciple following in the footsteps of the leader.

When our lives become challenging, it is really easy to want to run in front. It is easy to want to deny the difficulties. It is easy to want to tell Jesus what should be happening. But Jesus tells us to get behind and to follow. The one who called us into the family of God continues to look after us.

Unlike my human family, in the family of God, we can acknowledge that there are difficulties in life. We can acknowledge that things may not be going the way we would like. But we can also acknowledge that we have a savior who will lead us and support us.

We may not want to acknowledge the difficulties. We may not want to deal with the tough times. But we are not left alone during these times. Like I said last week, during Lent we are asked to go on a journey. Life, too, is a journey. The one thing that we can count on, as in our Lenten journey, our journey through life will lead not to a full tomb, but to an empty tomb with our Savior waiting to hold us in his arms.