Show Notes
Exodus 3:1-15 | Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c | Romans 12:9-21 | Matthew 16:21-28
Chapters
- (00:00:01) - Why Do You Come to Church?
- (00:04:33) - The Romans reading
- (00:10:24) - A Risk with Your Discipleship
- (00:13:55) - A Discipleship Workout
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Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] I speak to you in the name of one God who creates us and redeems us and sustains us. Amen.
[00:00:10] So, come on, iPad, let's play.
[00:00:14] All right, we're good.
[00:00:17] So why.
[00:00:18] Why do you all come to church on Sunday?
[00:00:22] Hmm.
[00:00:23] I think that there are a variety of reasons, and it changes through our time.
[00:00:29] I think that sometimes we come for fellowsh.
[00:00:32] I think sometimes we come for spiritual nourishment. I think sometimes we come because we're on duty for an assigned ministry that week.
[00:00:43] I think sometimes we come because it is the one place where we can be quiet and we don't necessarily have to be doing something during the week.
[00:00:54] There are a lot of reasons that we get up and make our way to church on a Sunday.
[00:01:02] But no matter why you are here, I always, always hope that as we gather, it becomes a time for each and every one of us to draw deeper in discipleship to Jesus, deeper in following the one who calls himself the I am the one whose love for us can never be diminished.
[00:01:32] Now, if you've been coming for the past few weeks, so if you're a regular, welcome to all the visitors, you'll get a chance later to let us know who you are. But for the past four weeks in the Old Testament, we've had a lot of ups and downs. We have Joseph. They got sold into slavery, but then he becomes Pharaoh's helper. There are a whole lot of ups and downs in between. Becomes Pharaoh's helper and helps his family.
[00:01:59] And then we get Moses, who's supposed to be killed as a baby, but is saved by the women around him and raised in Pharaoh's house. But today, now he's a shepherd. But then he gets called by God, which, all right, getting called by God, probably a high point, but that's a hard one, folks.
[00:02:18] And then if we look at the gospel last week, we have Simon, who then was called Peter. Jesus asked, who do you say I am? And Simon Peter. Oh. Oh, you are the Messiah. And Jesus says, yes. Good job starring your crown. Isn't it great? And then immediately after that, we get the reading today, and Jesus tells him what will happen when. When he is to go to Jerusalem. And Peter's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And Jesus stops him and calls him out and reorients him.
[00:02:55] So he goes from being the star pupil to absolutely failing the test.
[00:03:02] Now, the phrase that we most often hear when Jesus rebukes Peter is get behind me, Satan. Which makes it sound like Jesus is telling Peter that he is Satan.
[00:03:17] But if you look at the reading we have today, which is by the marvelous Eugene Peterson, and this is a translation not from. It's called a paraphrase, not a direct translation, but it's not from English. He didn't read it in English and then write this. He. He actually reads. He's a scholar, both Hebrew and Greek, and would read in the original language and from that paraphrase into today.
[00:03:45] And I believe that his translation in some ways is a little bit more accurate because he tells Peter to stop it, and then he tells Satan to get moving.
[00:03:58] And it is a very different way if we look at that, because Jesus is telling Peter to get behind him as a follower. And Jesus goes on and explains that if you want to be my disciple, you need to let me lead. You need to get in behind.
[00:04:19] And if we are followers of Jesus because we are disciples. Yes, yes.
[00:04:28] Part of why we come to church, to work out our discipleship.
[00:04:33] But what does it mean for us today to follow Jesus?
[00:04:38] And that is where we look at the Romans reading, which, if you were in my parish, they would be shocked that I was not preaching on Moses, my favorite. They would have heard that first reading and been like, oh, here comes another Moses sermon. But the Romans reading is so rich, you can't not take time to look at it.
[00:05:01] And when I read it, I immediately went back to in the late 80s, there was a poem that went around, and it was on everybody's walls if you were a classroom teacher. And it was everything I really needed to know I learned in kindergarten by Robert Fulgrim.
[00:05:19] But today's reading of Romans is all I really needed to know.
[00:05:26] I learned by getting behind Jesus.
[00:05:30] And the paraphrase version that we read today is so rich. I want to do an exercise with you. Ooh, interactive sermon. Are you ready?
[00:05:41] I know all the introverts just went, oh, it's going to be okay. Trust me.
[00:05:47] I want to do a form of lectio divina.
[00:05:51] Lectio divina is divine reading. And the traditional way to do lectio is you read the scripture four different times.
[00:06:01] The first time you read it, to read it, and the second time you read it and you reflect on the part that speaks to you.
[00:06:11] The third time you read it, and you pray through it, you respond to it, and the last time you read it, and you sit and meditate on it.
[00:06:25] But I know some of you are going to want to have brunch. It's a little chilly. I'm not going to extend this out, but we're going to do a version of this.
[00:06:35] I'm going to ask you all to put your papers down, and I'm going to ask you if you want to close your eyes.
[00:06:44] And I'm going to read through this slowly, which, Judy, wherever you went, great job. She's disappeared outside. Maybe she's inside. Thank you, Judy. Great reading.
[00:06:56] So when I read, though, when the phrase that speaks to you, when you hear the phrase that speaks to you, just sit with that phrase. Don't keep listening. Just contemplate that phrase. Mull it over, chew on it. And when I finish reading, I'm going to give us a moment or two of silence, and then I will give you your next direction. Are you ready?
[00:07:22] So everybody just take a moment if you want. Close your eyes if you want. Leave them open. They're beautiful things to look at love from the center of who you are.
[00:07:36] Don't fake it.
[00:07:39] Run for dear life from evil.
[00:07:43] Hold on to dear life to good.
[00:07:49] Be good friends who love deeply.
[00:07:53] Practice playing second fiddle.
[00:07:58] Don't burn out.
[00:08:01] Keep yourselves free, fueled and inflamed.
[00:08:06] Be alert, servants of the master Cheerfully expectant.
[00:08:15] Don't quit in hard times.
[00:08:19] Pray all the harder.
[00:08:23] Help needy Christians be invented in hospitality.
[00:08:32] Bless your enemies.
[00:08:35] No cursing under your breath.
[00:08:39] Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy.
[00:08:44] Share tears when they're down.
[00:08:50] Get along with each other.
[00:08:53] Don't be stuck up.
[00:08:57] Make friends with nobodies.
[00:09:00] Don't be the great somebody.
[00:09:05] Don't hit back.
[00:09:07] Discover beauty in everyone if you've got it in you. Get along with everybody.
[00:09:17] Don't insist on getting even.
[00:09:22] That's just not for you to do.
[00:09:27] I'll do the judging, says God.
[00:09:29] I'll take care of it.
[00:09:34] Our scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch.
[00:09:42] Or if he's thirsty, give him a drink.
[00:09:47] Your generosity will surprise him with goodness.
[00:09:54] Don't let evil get the best of you.
[00:09:58] Get the best of evil by doing good.
[00:10:24] Now, I'm going to ask you all to take a risk with your discipleship.
[00:10:30] Now, some of us in this space are solitary contemplatives. And some of us are. Are raging, extroverted engagers. So be respectful.
[00:10:44] But what I'm going to ask you to do is to turn to the person next to you or in front of you or behind you. And if you are sitting next to a spouse, I ask you to find someone else to talk to.
[00:10:59] Yeah, yeah. No getting away with that.
[00:11:02] But I promise you, nothing major on the sharing front. So all of you who are like, I don't want to share. Okay, I got you. Here's what you're going to do. I want you to tell each other your name, and I want you to tell each other the phrase that spoke to you.
[00:11:20] And the reason I'm going to do this is because then I am going to ask you to pray for that person this week and pray for this piece of scripture to continue to. To speak to their heart.
[00:11:34] And when you pray for them, you will be reminded that they are praying for you.
[00:11:39] Now, there's a little bit still to go, but I'm going to ask you to turn. I'm just going to give you. I'm not giving you a long time. You can finish your conversations at the peace if need be. But turn, find someone. Introduce yourself. Name and your friend.
[00:12:03] It's.
[00:12:35] It.
[00:13:04] I hope you all got a name and a phrase. And if you need to write it down because you're like me and you can't remember, you know, whip out your phone and type it in there in your notes so you know where your prayers are.
[00:13:20] But my hope, my hope for all of us, no matter why we came to church today again, is that we will be drawn deeper into discipleship.
[00:13:35] Coming to church strengthens us, it encourages us, it assists us on our discipleship journey.
[00:13:45] Because the real work of discipleship happens in our words, in our actions when we leave this place.
[00:13:55] Now, for those who have been coming all month, you know that I like to give you a little discipleship workout for, for the week, right, AKA homework. But we're going to call it a discipleship workout.
[00:14:07] So I'm going to ask you to again take your reading home. Not only do you need to pray for this person, but I'm going to challenge you to take 20 minutes, 30 minutes, and to do a full lectio with the Romans. Reading.
[00:14:25] Read it through.
[00:14:27] Read it through again, read it through a third and a fourth time.
[00:14:33] And here, where Scripture is speaking to you, where is it where you are like Peter and you absolutely get it.
[00:14:44] And where is it when you are also like Peter and you're getting ahead of Jesus and you need to remember to get in and fall behind.
[00:14:54] Jesus has given us all we need for discipleship, and it is up to us to fall behind Jesus and practice his way of love.
[00:15:07] Amen.
