"Paradise Now"
Sermon Presented March 12, 2006
Mark 8:31-38
Several months ago I saw the film Paradise Now, the Golden Globes winner in the category of Foreign Language films. It is the story of two young Palestinian men, friends since childhood, who are recruited by a radical Islamic group to carry out a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. They join the group because of their great fervor for rights for the Palestinian people and hatred toward Israel, and this fervor leads them to a willingness to plan their own death and the deaths of others. They believe they are doing what is right and just and that they will go to Paradise immediately when they die - thus the title Paradise Now.
As I was preparing this sermon, my mind kept returning to this movie. I thought about how the religious fervor exhibited in this film is similar to and yet vastly different from what Jesus calls his disciples to do. Both Jesus' disciples and the Islamic terrorists are urged to be willing to face death for what they believe. Let's look at our text and see what Jesus says about the hazards of following him.
Mark 8:31-38 (Read text.)
This exchange follows Jesus' question to his disciples "Who do you say that I am" and Peter's reply: "You are the Messiah." Following this conversation, Jesus warns them not to tell anyone. Let people discover it for themselves when they are ready.
Jesus understands his mission differently than his disciples do. He won't act like their vision of a Messiah but he will suffer, be rejected by the religious leaders, be killed and then be resurrected after three days. The disciples can't handle this! It doesn't make sense. The word "Christ" or "Messiah" is a title of honor and majesty, not of defeat and death. "Messiah" and "suffering" are a contradiction in terms.
Peter must have felt comfortable with Jesus or he wouldn't have dared to scold him. He objects to Jesus' description of what is to take place because that doesn't fit his ideas of what a Messiah is to be. His vision of Jesus as a conquering Messiah can't relate to that of a suffering Messiah. Assuming he has greater understanding than Jesus, Peter decides to straighten him out. When he tries to help Jesus understand his own destiny, Jesus rebukes him.
Peter's concept of Jesus in the Christian faith today is alive and well. Many Christians believe they are to be conquerors and rule the earth. This idea allows them to abuse non-Christian faiths and nations without feeling guilt. They proclaim that when people are right with God, only good will come to them. They shove down their bad experiences because these might indicate they aren't living the life they should lead, and they put on a happy face-mask to suffer alone. They believe that if people just pray hard enough and have enough faith, they won't experience suffering and pain. Then when spiritual or physical or emotional healing doesn't occur as they expect, they blame someone else. Like Peter, we just don't get it!
Jesus tells his disciples that he will suffer and die, and they must be willing to suffer and die too. Our life won't be all alleluias and glory. Although we know the truth of that statement, we sometimes need to hear it stated again and again. The Bible tells us that righteous people suffer - as did Jesus, the disciples, Paul and the prophets! They suffered and died, but they didn't die in vain. They died doing what God wanted them to do, so why do we think life should be different for us? We tend to forget that the Jesus of miracles is also the Jesus of the cross. Prayer opens the way to God, but doesn't force God to do our will. The good news is that God helps us handle our occasions of suffering.
Next, Jesus speaks of the commitment necessary to be his disciple. This is a time of crisis for Jesus' followers. They like the ministry of miracles and putting the religious leaders in their place. They don't want to even consider a path that leads to rejection and death. The concept of a cross is abhorrent to them, and now Jesus calls them to follow him all the way to the cross and beyond. This new picture includes imprisonment, suffering and death. And yet they continue to follow Jesus because they believe in him. As they follow, they learn to pick up their individual crosses and go where Jesus leads. They follow because of love.
What does this story mean for us? Like the disciples, we are called to follow Jesus - a continuing journey. I doubt that anyone here will face death because of your stand for Christ, but you may face condemnation and alienation. All along the way we are given choices, and our journey is shaped by what we choose - step by step - day by day. Even though we experience pain and suffering because of following Jesus, we also find peace and joy in the presence of God.
When I was in Marysville, one of the churches sponsored a major traveling dramatic production on hell. It was complete with visual effects of smoke and fire and sound effects of screams and agony. I refused to encourage our people to attend, and voiced my opposition because that isn't the message Jesus preached. I can't find any place in scripture where Jesus tells people that they should follow him so they can escape hell. Jesus calls us to live with him in the Kingdom of God, and kingdom living begins the moment we choose to follow Jesus. We gain understanding as we follow. Kingdom living is in the here and now - as well as in the future. Kingdom living is all about loving God and God's people.
There is joy in following Jesus. We make the commitment to follow him because of love - God's love for us and our love for God. When we stray and then return, we return because of love, not fear. Young people follow gang leaders because of fear. People follow Jesus because of love. If I felt compelled to join a group for the sole purpose of escaping a horrible death, I wouldn't feel love or affection toward the group or its leader - only fear and distrust. This isn't Christ's call to discipleship.
Why do people choose to get involved in a particular cause or organization? Some become involved in organizations that fight the disease that afflicts their loved ones or themselves, affirm their political ideology, support their religious beliefs, promulgate their economic goals or offer relief to an oppressed group that they sympathize with. The basic compelling reason for joining is passion. When we are passionate about something, we put our hearts, souls and money into supporting its goals. People support the causes that touch their hearts.
As with the first disciples, we don't know where our initial commitment to follow Jesus will lead. It might scare us if we did. But with each act of obedience, God moves us further along the way. When we choose to be a disciple, we need to seek God's guidance through prayer, Bible study, worship and fellowship with other Christians. We can't be solitary Christians, because solitary Christians can go off the deep end when they aren't accountable to anyone.
No one likes pain and suffering. We don't want to be criticized when we publicly state our beliefs. But as we follow Jesus, we discover a sensitivity to the suffering and needs of others that can't be ignored, and for that reason we can be criticized. God's love in us causes us to reach out in love to others. Our love for others compels us to speak out against injustice and poverty.
What is God calling you to do? I don't know! It may be to sacrifice your own self-interest and give time, money and support to someone in need of what you have to give. It may be to stand up for justice at school, your neighborhood, your workplace or your social club - a stand that may be unpopular. It may be to share God's love with someone who is shunned by the community. It may be to care deeply for those who are dying. As a consequence of our actions, we may be ignored, left out, fired, talked about, criticized or ridiculed. Following Jesus means taking up our cross with courage.
Each of us has our own cross to carry and each cross is unique. Our opportunities are different. Our influences are different. Our gifts are different. However, when a cross is ours, we don't have to carry it alone. Jesus is there to support us and lighten the load. Jesus will bring us real joy!
The disciples followed Jesus because of love and hopefully, we do too. Followers of Osama bin Laden and members of Hamas follow because of hatred of others - of nations and of religious and political groups. Both Christianity and radical Islamist groups are expected to have passion for their cause, so where does healthy passion end and radicalism begin?
The distinguishing factor is love. Crowds came to Jesus because of his miracles and his teachings of love. This love caused them to accept his call to follow. Later, when they knew him better, they were willing to follow him to death.
We can experience paradise now by following Jesus - by accepting our crosses and carrying them. But, let's call it the Kingdom of God and not paradise. The difference in how our fervor is expressed depends on who we follow. Militant Islamists will ask their followers to kill themselves and others to further the cause. Fervent Christians will offer their lives to bring the love of God to the world. If we are to be fervent about our faith, we can't play it safe. We must take up our individual crosses and follow Jesus.
