Sermons & Meditations

Matthew 16:21-28
Presented August 28th, 2005, by J.D. Kline
The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

After writing his noted story Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll decided to follow it up with a second book in which both he and his readers would need to learn how to think inside out. In Alice Through the Looking Glass Carroll created a mirror-image world. In order to get somewhere in that world, it’s no good walking towards it; you’ll only find you’re further away than ever. In order to get there, you must set off in what seems like the opposite direction. Like cutting the back of your hair while looking in a mirror, it requires sustained mental effort to imagine life in this mirror-image world.

In his commentary Matthew for Everyone Tom Wright suggests that this Lewis Carroll story serves as an analogy to what Jesus is asking of his followers. If they are to understand the kind of Messiah or Christ Jesus is, the disciples must learn to think in a similar inside-out way. Peter, you will remember, speaks for all the disciples when asserting of Jesus, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). But Jesus is not the kind of Messiah the people of that day were anticipating; Jesus does not always act as the disciples and others had come to expect that the Messiah would act.

Indeed, Peter is shocked when Jesus boldly declares that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering, that he would in fact be killed by the authorities. And so Peter cries out, “God forbid it, Lord!” The Messiah Peter and the people of that day anticipated was a ruler who would come, sword in hand, eager to overthrow the hated Roman oppressors and restore Israel to a position of prominence and glory. Who wants to hear of a Messiah who must suffer and die, a leader who responds in inside-out fashion, a ruler who speaks of an upside down kingdom?

But that’s precisely what Jesus tells the disciples, and he invites them to join with him on a journey of humble joy and servanthood. Truth be told, you and I struggle every bit as much in our own day with a Suffering Servant Messiah as did the first followers of Jesus. We find it no less troubling than did the first disciples to hear of a Messiah who speaks of loving our enemies and praying for those who would persecute us, of turning the other cheek in the face of conflict, of going the extra mile in relationships, even when others threaten to take advantage of us. United Methodist writer Robert Raines speaks of this as “the never ending battle of ‘Not my will, but thine be done.’ By nature, we want to save our lives, not lose them. By nature, we want to do our will, no one else’s. By nature, we do not want to take up the cross.” So what do we make of this Messiah who, yet today, prods us to deny self, take up a cross, and follow in faithful discipleship? What do we make of a Messiah who comes modeling and proclaiming an inside-out way of living?

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Matthew 16:13-20
Presented August 21st, 2005, by J.D. Kline
The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Some of you are old enough to remember one of the earlier quiz shows on television, “What’s my Line?” Three persons each claimed to be the same individual who had accomplished something of interest or of note. Panelists asked a series of questions, and then voted for the one they deemed most likely to be telling the truth. Following the voting, the emcee asked, “Will the real ______ please stand up?”

There are times when it feels to me as if we need to ask the real Jesus to stand up. There are segments within the church who provide detailed lists of beliefs about Jesus, and suggest that we will only know the real Jesus if we subscribe to their particular dogma, jot and tittle. In Church of the Brethren tradition we have long believed that doctrine alone is not enough, that Jesus is seen and known as we who claim to be his disciples model his life of compassion and grace, mercy and self-giving love. Alexander Mack, early leader of the Brethren, when asked how the members of the new church shall be known, responded with words that have become familiar to us. Responded Mack, “By the manner of their living.”

By the manner of our living. But what do we do, when those who claim to be followers of Jesus find themselves embracing diametrically opposed manners of living?

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Matthew 14:22-33
Presented August 7th, 2005, by J.D. Kline
The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

There’s something quite odd about this story of Peter joining Jesus on the waters. We have enough trouble, don’t we, making sense out of the story’s foundation point—that Jesus would come walking atop of the sea to the disciples, in the midst of the storm. Most of us pride ourselves on rational thinking, and so the story pushes the levels of believability. But to make matters even more troubling, consider how Peter responds upon hearing those words of Jesus meant to assure the disciples, “Take heart; it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter speaks what appears to be a peculiar request: “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

Imagine if you will, your own response, were you to see Jesus coming to you across the waters of a turbulent sea. Truth be told, I doubt if the first reaction of most of us here this morning would be a request to join Jesus on the rough and stormy sea. Far more likely, would we not be prone first to ask, “Lord, calm the seas. Bring peace and healing into the midst of this time of struggle. Deliver us from this time of trouble.” But Peter asks, “Lord, let me join you in the uncertain waters; let me share with you as you walk through the fire; let me experience with you the turbulence.” In other words, Peter is asking for the courage to step out into the threatening storms of life.

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