SERMON, PROPER 7C, LUKE 9:18-24

If you were in church two weeks ago, you'll recall that I made an announcement about needing a new RCL service book. You may also recall that I was asked what the difference between the RCL and the BCP lectionaries were and that my visiting priest friend explained that the RCL covered more biblical territory.

I bring this up because this week is a perfect example. Last Sunday we heard the story of the woman washing Jesus' feet over in Luke 7. This week we jump to the middle of Chapter 9, and the RCL is back in Chapter 8. What the BCP often misses is continuity and we get gospels that seem to be pulled out of thin air. We go from washing Jesus' feet at Simon's house to Jesus asking the disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" So let me give you a little background.

At the beginning of Chapter 9, Jesus sends out the twelve disciples on a mission trip, giving them power and authority over demons and to cure diseases and to proclaim the kingdom of God. Which they did. We also hear from Herod. He has heard stories that Jesus was a prophet of old, or Elijah, or even John the Baptist whom he had beheaded. The disciples return from their mission trip and tell Jesus all they had done. Following this is the the feeding of the 5000. After this great miracle, Jesus goes away to a lonely place with his disciples and prays. And it is here where today's gospel takes place.

Questions are swirling around Jesus. Was he a forerunner of the Messiah? Was he Elijah come again, as stated in Malachi? Was he John the Baptist? The disciples had been out on their mission trip, so they certainly had heard enough stories to know what the popular polls were saying about him. So Jesus asks them, "Who do people say that I am?" After hearing all of the above answers, Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?"

This is one of those passages that points to us today and stares us right in the face. Why is that? Because we are followers of the Son of the Living God. We are baptized from death to life. We have been given a taste of his living water. We know of his word, spoken through prophets and sages, which speaks to us today. In short, this passage speaks to us and stares us in the face because WE are his disciples.

The passage is not, "Jesus asked his disciples who they said he was." The passage is, "But who do you say that I am?" Not who WAS Jesus, but who IS Jesus. Who do you say Jesus is? That question is directed to the twelve, to us, and to every other person throughout history who claim to be disciples of Christ.

But following Christ is no easy task. There's more to it than simply coming to church for an hour once a week. Luke reminds us of this when he inserts a few post-resurrection words into this passage. "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily." Discipleship is a daily decision. A daily desire to live your life differently. A willingness to place God first. An understanding that the world might consider you odd.

I've preached on a similar passage from a different gospel. I said it then and I'll say it now, our cross to bear isn't our obnoxious mother-in-law, or our unforeseen cancer, or a bad marriage, or rotten co-workers or anything else that is thrust upon us. Our cross to bear is our discipleship to Jesus. Our cross to bear is our willingness to follow him, afflicting the comfortable, comforting the afflicted, ministering to those in need, and, if necessary, to be crucified for our belief. It is that which we choose to take on.

Luke uses a word here that none of the other evangelists use, and that is "daily." Luke reminds us that discipleship is a DAILY occurrence. This one word moves "take up your cross" from a martyr point of view to a way of daily sacrificial living. Our baptism is not the be all and end all of our faith. Do you remember the welcoming prayer after a baptism? "We receive you into the household of God." Just like our own houses have daily chores, we need to daily take up that cross of our faith. What does that look like?

It's different for different people For some it might be giving up time on the weekends to serve at a homeless shelter or food bank. For others it might be organizing clothing drives. For some it might be helping the church financially. For others it might be doing something positive through negative actions. Whatever it is, though, it is a daily sacrifice of the self so that we can live in relationship with God.

That "positive through the negative" might need some explaining here. Maybe there is something in your life that causes you to stumble, and maybe you are at a point where it would be really easy to cave in -- to say, "Just this once . . ." knowing full well that you shouldn't go there. One answer to that might be to say, "No, I won't sin today." Or to avoid being in a place where that temptation is almost too great. We can work to avoid those situations, and we can say, "As much as I want to, I won't sin . . . this time." That's a hard thing to do. And it needs to be done daily. It's a negative action, saying No, which produces a positive result, not sinning.

"Who do you say that I am?" Once you figure that out you can work on taking up your cross daily. What is that cross? I don't know; that's something you'll have to work on. After you decide who Jesus is and what that means for you, spend some time in prayer and discernment looking for ways to serve on a daily basis. At the very least, maybe you simply need to find one thing in your life that distances you from God and say, "No, I won't sin . . . this time."