Sermon by Pr. Craig Mueller on the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 24b + September 15, 2024
He lost it. She’s losing it. Who wants to do that? To lose control. To lose your temper. To have an ugly cry. I certainly don’t want to lose it. Though sometimes I do.
Peter seems to lose it when Jesus says his mission will involve suffering and death. That’s not what a Messiah does, Peter thinks. We need you to come in and overthrow Rome. Show your political and military might. We need a political strongman.
Jesus seems to lose it then. With a sharp tongue, he rebukes Peter. Get behind me, Satan. You’re setting your mind on human things, not divine things. Or as an African American commentary explains, a Jesus follower will be more about love and God’s approval than saving their own skin. (Emerson Powery, based on Howard Thurman)
And then come those enigmatic words about losing it. Take up your cross. Lose your life to find it. What good will it do you to get everything you want and lose you, lose the real you, lose your soul?
This is not the message that is going to bring in the Wrigleyville crowd by the thousands. Why you ask? All are welcome, yes. But the message in here is dangerous. It is risky. And it is costly. It is not for the faint of heart. Is this what you signed up for in baptism? To lose it? To let go, to find your true self through opening your clenched fists? To surrender control? The message we hear everywhere is to put ourselves at the center. To demand our rights. To play the victim. To be more concerned about ourselves than the common good. And the health of the earth.
So you’re wondering: is losing it a good thing or a bad thing? Depends on how you define it.
One of the ways we lose it in an unhealthy way is by lashing out at others. James exhorts us: you bless God with your tongue and then you curse others made in the image of God. When things heat up, in politics—or even with those we love—too often we slander the person with our words, rather than calmly confront their position or their behavior.
The Watergate scandal came to a head 50 years ago. Back then everyone shared one set of facts. Republicans, Democrats, the media. There was no question that Richard Nixon needed to resign. But we live in a different world. It may not be the tongue that James talks about, but through social media, lies and conspiracy theories are spread, and hateful speech ignited. We can’t even agree on who won the 2020 election. And a similar breakdown is happening in numerous other democracies, from Brazil to Israel, from France to the Philippines.
You may remember a speech last month that urged us to not to count the lies, but to count the I’s. Being obsessed with ourselves is what we call sin. Calling out others without taking a hard look at ourselves, our church, our political party, our family.
Life is hard. Suffering is part of it. Loss is part of it. Even the gradual loss of summer points to the losses we face in life. Loss of youth. Loss of health. Loss of loved ones. Loss of dreams.
Think of it as your lifelong spiritual agenda. Dying to the I’s. Losing it for the sake of others. That’s why a cross is made on your brow at baptism. Not a smiley face.
The word teacher is mentioned several times in our texts. And today we kick-off Sunday School and Confirmation. And it is the beginning of a new academic year. Some of us are teachers. Others are students. And I hope we are all lifelong learners.
There is a particular teacher I would like to honor today. Not Mrs. Zinke I had in Third Grade. But Mother Earth. The earth as your teacher. Nature as your spiritual guide.
Many plants will die in the coming months, losing their lives, and providing seeds for future growth. There are so many animal examples, but salmon comes to mind. Not only because I love to eat salmon. But because we were in Alaska last month. Salmon hatch in freshwater rivers or streams. They migrate to the ocean as young adults and spend several years there. As adults they migrate back to the place they were hatched to spawn. It’s a mystery how the salmon can find their natal streams, though scientists suspect that scents, chemical cues, and the sun help them get back to their birthplace. And after they spawn, they die. They lose their lives for the sake of their offspring. And for the stream and forest that receive nutrients from their decaying bodies.
Yet salmon are endangered like many other species. Native fishermen say their way of life has been stolen from them and future generations. Rising sea temperatures, dams, and pollution are a few factors.
During the industrial revolution humankind aimed to gain power over nature. We have gained the whole world, but are forfeiting our lives and the lives of plants and animals. Are we willing to let our old lives die for the sake of our planet?
Bishop Rose Okena, of the Anglican Church in Kenya, urges us to challenge the materialism that hardens our heart against God and our fellow creatures. Environmental and climate activism require sacrifice. In other words, losing it. Living more simply, she says. Sacrificing our time, our resources, our energy.
It is going to be hard. It was for Peter and the other followers. It was for Jesus. And it will be for us. Some things will need to die. But we’re in it together. And you have all you need. A community for support. Bread and wine to nourish. Water to cleanse and refresh.
Christ loses it, loses his life, gives of his very body, for us and for all the world.
As our hymn of the day invites, we praise the gracious power. The persistent truth. The inclusive love. The word of faith. The tide of grace. Christ crucified. The cross that makes one. The cross calls us to be bold in our response. Amen.