Sermon

Mark 8:27-38

Following…and Other Children’s Games

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Mark 8:27-38

Following…and Other Children’s Games

Pastor Steven Molin

A number of years ago, when I was still doing youth ministry, I attended a conference at a Christian camp in North Carolina, with some of the top youth leaders in the country. It was a beautiful place, nestled in the Smokey Mountains and surrounded by trees. After dinner one evening, the people who were leading the program suggested that all of us youth leaders – all 200 of us – hike to the mountaintop overlooking the camp. It was a warm summer evening, and since they were in charge of the program and not us, we readily agreed to take that hike.

The journey up was relaxed. A narrow dirt path wound its way, probably two miles to the top of the mountain. But when we arrived, it was all worth it! You could see for miles, the sun had painted the sky a thousand colors, and the view of the camp down below was spectacular. We sang songs and hymns and had a sort of impromptu worship service on the top of the mountain. When the lights came on down in the camp, it appeared as though we were looking down at a constellation of stars. And then it occurred to someone to say out loud “You know, it’s gotten dark, and we’ve got a two mile hike down to base camp.” Hmmm, that same thought occurred to our program leaders at just about the same time! 200 people making their way down the mountain in pitch dark wasn’t what they had planned.

Fortunate for us, one guy discovered a flashlight in his backpack. One flashlight – 400 broken ankles waiting to happen! Another person said she was very familiar with the trail back to camp. These were now our leaders, and we were the timid followers. It was a slow and humbling experience; 200 bold and gifted leaders having to follow one flashlight and one college co-ed in the darkness.

I’ve thought about that scene countless times over the years, because it was that night that I realized that I’m not a very good follower. And I live in a culture of others who are not very good at following. That’s somewhat odd, because the first thing we teach our children at a very young age is to follow. “Follow daddy down to the basement.” “Follow Mommy out to the garden.” We teach them games like “Follow the leader” and “Simon Says” and “Captain May I?” And we are pleased when they follow well.

And then it ends! We don’t want our children to be followers, we want them to be leaders. “Don’t follow the crowd, be a leader!” we tell them. Who’s the leader on your team? Lead by example. Be a servant leader. I subscribe to a magazine called Leadership. And it’s all very understandable to me; being a leader is considered in our society to be an indicator of success, strength and prosperity. Being a follower is considered weak, disappointing and boring. And I think it’s always been that way.

Early in Jesus ministry, he chose 12 people to go with him into the future together. They were going to be leaders, proclaiming good news and preaching in front of throngs of people. And the early days of ministry were wildly successful. Together, they helped Jesus feed the 5000. They were there for the healing of sick people, the winning of debates against critics. They were learning from Jesus how to calm the angry seas by a simple word. It was all very, very cool.

And then one day, Jesus made a sharp right turn. He asked the disciples if they had figured out who he was. After a few guesses, Peter identified Jesus as the Son of God. It was a powerful, holy moment. But in his very next words, Jesus told them that he was on his way to Jerusalem to die. “Die?” Peter says. “Die? You’re not going to die! The party’s just getting started!”

And it was then that Jesus offered them a three-fold standard for leadership. “If you are going to be leaders” Jesus tells them, “then you must deny yourself, take up the cross, and follow.” It all seemed so backwards to them, that they should have to deny themselves (whatever that meant), and take up a cross (they knew exactly what that meant!), and to be followers. And yet, this is precisely what Jesus expected of them — that they would deny themselves — that they would set aside their own selfish wants and wishes, and pursue what was best for the group. And when Jesus spoke of the cross, they learned that being a disciple would mean hardship, and sacrifice, and possibly even death. And finally, the disciples learned that Jesus wanted them to follow him…to imitate him…to love the people that he loved, and to trust the God that he trusted.

I must tell you that the disciples didn’t really get it until after the Resurrection. Finally then, they understood what Jesus was saying — that to be in his company, he required people to set aside their personal agendas, and to be willing to suffer, and to live life like him, because this life is not the end. When Jesus rose from the dead, it all made sense to the disciples. In fact, that three-fold standard — self-denial, taking up a cross, and following Jesus — became the way they lived…and the way they died. Every one of them.

But what about us? We who are 2000 years removed from his words that day, what would Jesus say to us about what he expects from Christian people? In reality, the expectations have never changed. The way they play out in this contemporary age of ours might look different, but still today, Jesus is saying “If anyone wants to follow me, let them deny themselves, take up a cross, and follow me.” So what DOES that mean in 2003?

What does it mean to deny oneself? Does it mean that we leave home and family and friends and occupation in order to be a disciple? Not necessarily. But it does suggest that we leave our baggage behind, that we leave behind our insistence that it is our way or the highway. That’s what “denying oneself” means, and it goes against the grain of this present culture.

Author Anthony Campolo says our attitudes start at a very early age. He brought his son to the first day of school and the principal was addressing the parents in this way: “Here at the Ding Dong School, we like to think of each child as a little flower, unique and special, one which blossoms and grows in its own special time.” The problem is, the kid grows up thinking she is so special that she’s the only one that matters. Then she gets a job at McDonalds, or General Motors, or Andersen Windows. I guarantee you Joe Rosell does not give this speech to the new hires: “Here at Andersen Windows, we like to think of each employee as a little flower, unique and special, one which blossoms and grows in its own special time.”

There is a need for conformity. There is a need to leave our personal wants and wishes at the door, and to work together for what is best for the group. That’s what it means to “deny oneself” in our day. In fact, Jesus called the Church “a body.” And only when the body is working together toward a common goal, only then is the body functioning properly.

Jesus also told his disciples that they must take up a cross. In the first century, crosses were only used for one thing; death. The implication of Jesus is clear: there will be hardship for the Christian. If someone told you otherwise, they were lying to you. If we take seriously our Christian faith, we will be called to make difficult choices. If we take seriously our Christian faith, some people will reject us. If we are serious about being Christians, we may even be persecuted. We may never have to die for our faith, but we may be made to feel very uncomfortable. Here’s a litmus test for you: do the people at work, or at school, or in your neighborhood know that you go to church? Or do you hide that simple fact for fear that, if they knew, it would change the way they treat you? If that is the greatest cross you are bearing in your Christian life, then your life is charmed. Because there are others in this world who, if they admit to being followers of Jesus, will lose their house, their job, and possibly even their family, or even their life. And still, they profess their faith.

Finally, Jesus says that we are to follow him. Does that mean that we are to follow…or are we supposed to FOLLOW?

The Twins are in the pennant race, maybe you’ve noticed. Every game they win or lose will have an impact at the end of the season, so they have attracted a lot of attention. Somebody says “I follow the Twins.” Do you know what that means? They tune in for the pre-game show and study the lineups. They watch every pitch of every inning of every game. They read the box score the next morning in the paper so that they thoroughly comprehend everything that happened between the lines. The word “fan” comes from the root word “fanatic” and this illustrates why.

So, do you follow Jesus Christ in this manner? Do you study scripture to learn who Jesus was, and what he did, and all that he said? Have you read the Old Testament to understand what the prophets said of him hundreds of years before his birth? Have you read books to understand what scholars have said about Jesus in the centuries since his death? This may be what it means to “follow” Jesus. And if you did all of this, would our world call you a “fan” or would you be a “fanatic?”

But maybe “to follow” means to imitate him, to mimic him, to try to be like him in everything you say and do in this world. You may not have done so well at the “walking on water” thing, but when it comes to loving people, or being fair in business, or being courageous when it comes to defending the weak; in all of this, you try to follow Jesus.

A couple of closing remarks, and then I’m through. I told you at the outset of this sermon about being led down the mountain in darkness, and how humbling that was for us leaders. You see, leaders are always supposed to lead, even if they don’t know the way. And that’s a dangerous thing, because if the leaders go in the wrong direction, it can be a disaster. That happens in corporations, and it happens in governments, and it can even happen in churches.

Secondly, I told you that children are the best followers; in fact, I think they are natural followers. Is it any surprise, then, that Jesus once said “Let the little children come to me, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” The followers.
Finally, I suppose after hearing a sermon like this, you think its preacher has got leading and following all figured out. Otherwise, why would he stand up and speak so boldly about the subject? The fact is, I don’t have it all figured out. Sometimes, I am reduced to that youth director, wandering down the mountain in the darkness, wondering if my next step is going to send me crashing into the rocks. Sometimes, I remember that there is a Leader out in front of me. He doesn’t have a flashlight, he IS the Light. And sometimes – not often enough, but sometimes – I remember that when I came to faith in Jesus Christ, I never signed up to be a leader. I signed up to be a follower. I can only expect that the same is true for you. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Copyright 2001, Steven Molin. Used by permission.