In the lesson that we have read there were huge crowds
of people following Jesus. They were listening to his
sermon, hanging on his every word. Some of them were
listening intently betting their souls on him and still others were listening to him and waiting for him to talk himself right into a political trap so that they could accuse him and find fault with him. Some of them were following him because he was offering them a new kind of life. There were others following him just for the sake of the miracles and signs that
he performed. To these people Jesus was sort of a religious side show, and they were enjoying the adventure.
For one reason or another, they were all following
Jesus, but if any of them had known Jesus’ destination, and if they realized where following Jesus would take each of them, probably none of them would have followed Jesus at all.
Eventually, following Jesus would lead them to a hill
called Calvary, because Jesus was walking towards a cross to die. This is why he was teaching these people, on this day, the terms of personal sacrifice. He said, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have NO reward from your Father in Heaven.” This is what I am talking about today. I am talking about balancing our practice of piety, the sacrifices we make
with the call from God to give of ourselves without regard to what people think and how it looks before the rest of the world... concerning ourselves with what God would have us to do instead. taking up our cross if you will and following Jesus.
This next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the beginning
of Lent. The Lenten season is designed so that we can
prepare ourselves for what is going to happen to Jesus. We spend 6 weeks, 42 days, getting ourselves psyched up for the 6 hours that Jesus spent on the cross. And I don’t think that we really do this preparation the justice that it deserves.
In some other Christian churches the people spend the
season of lent fasting. When people fast as our scripture for today commands, they give up food in order to become more spiritually prepared and disciplined. We also read in scripture that Jesus fasted as a way to keep himself disciplined.
People all around the world will be giving up things for Lent that mean relatively little to them in the first place. Giving up small things, even if we do enjoy them, in no way measures up to the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for you and me. As I Listen to some people speaking about what they are giving up for lent two words come to my mind... CHEAP GRACE! Self denial for the sake of Jesus’ Christ should cost
us more than fast food or candy bars or things that we should be giving up anyway for the sake of our health.
Giving up those things may teach us something, but
simply giving those things up for a few weeks out of the year does not compare to what Jesus did for us. Christ’s way of self denial and suffering cannot be measured in terms of the few things that we might deny ourselves today.
If you begin to see my point you will see that what most people call self sacrifice is not really a sacrifice at all. What we call self denial doesn’t even come close to Jesus call to us today.
In Just a few weeks Good Friday will be upon us. In
Just a few weeks we will remember that Jesus was betrayed, arrested and tried for crimes that he was not guilty of. When the stress came, afraid for their own lives, all of his friends abandoned him and ran. Jesus was beaten and sentenced to death. He was given a cross to carry through the city streets to a hill on the outskirts of town called calvary. There, he was crucified while people mocked him and gambled for his clothes.
And never once did he defend himself. When the
religious leaders asked him if he was the Messiah, he only said, "If I tell you, you will not believe." When Pilate asked him if he was the King of the Jews, Jesus only answered, "you say so." without attempting to explain. When Herod asked him questions Jesus gave no response at all. They dressed him in a purple robe and put a crown of thorns on his head and Jesus was as silent as a lamb being led to his slaughter. Even when he was dying, he could have called 10,000 angels to set himself free, but he chose to die there. Denying life itself for people like you and me.
And we measure commitment in terms of small sacrifices that really mean nothing at all in the grand scheme of things and then we do it loudly, like we have really
accomplished something major. May God forgive us that we measure sacrifice in terms of small change. May God
forgive us, that we think of ourselves as spiritually rich when we are spiritually cheap. And may God teach us that the way of life is death on a cross.
In the Bible lesson, Jesus is making some pretty
profound points. Without covering them all I would like to consider one of them this morning. Jesus does NOT ask his people IF they will fast or give alms to the poor or pray,rather he instructs them on the proper attitude to cary with them WHEN they do these things.
You will not hear that everyplace. The religions of this world will give you a different answer. Today, popular religion will inform you that God requires nothing, expects nothing, makes no demands. They will tell you that to follow Christ does not mean that you are expected to surrender your whole life. They will tell you that you are entitled to the benefits of God’s saving grace, but you are not accountable for your life. The religions of this world will allow you to remain immature and uncommitted -- sort of a spiritual adolescent, awkward and rebellious... Not fully accepting responsibility for the condition of your life. This my friends is what Cheap grace leads to... Cheap grace is a cheap theology which teaches that there is no cost or commitment to follow Jesus Christ. With cheap grace we simply accept the grace of God, and remain the same... not becoming new people. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without following all the way to the cross, grace that justifies but does not require anything of us. Cheap grace is grace without the cross.
There is no such thing as an economy plan for people
who don’t want to be fully committed to Jesus Christ. There are no bargain basement specials in the Kingdom of God. Because the cost of grace to God was extremely expensive. God’s grace to people like you and me cost the very life of Jesus Christ. Cheap grace does not exist in the Kingdom of God. The grace of God comes to us at a very high price.
For Lent let’s not just make small insignificant sacrifices. Let’s covenant together to give our very lives to Jesus Christ. Let’s give up our spiritual immaturity growing into a spiritually mature adult. The difference between child and being a spiritually mature adult has absolutely nothing to do with the number of years you have lived. The difference between childhood and adulthood is the degree to which your life is in focus. And unless we have grown into spiritual adulthood as a matter of choice, we are only adult children lacking any focus or direction.
May our lives for lent begin to reflect our growing in
maturity in Christ. A little less self centeredness, a little more sacrifice. A little less self indulgence, a little more emotional maturity. A little less having our own way, a little more obedience to the cross. A little less concern about our freedoms and entitlements and rights, and a little more concern for our commitments and responsibilities.
Let’s give up some other things too... Let’s give up a
critical attitude. Let’s give up the need to hang onto the past, so that we can be free to live in the present. Let’s give up our very selves, our plans, our dreams, and our own blueprints for our lives. Then and Only then will we be free to follow Jesus.
Anything less than this is not enough!
