The Heidelberg Factor

(This placque, commemorating Martin Luther's work, is located in the Universitatsplatz in Heidelberg, Germany -- on the grounds where the Augustinian monastery once stood.)

Text: Mark 8:31-38
Theme: “The Heidelberg Factor”
Second Sunday in Lent
March 4, 2012
First Presbyterian Church
Denton, Texas
Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

IN THE NAME OF JESUS

31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life[b] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

It was going to happen sooner or later. I just as well state that right up front. Even those in His closest circle of followers would start asking questions – questions like: “What’s the goal? What’s the ‘end game’?” “What’s the purpose in traipsing around with our new friend, with following him – not in virtual reality (as in Twitter or Facebook), but in realville, in reality?” “How is this all going to turn out?” “Will we get our championship rings at the end of this season of our lives?”

Jesus of Nazareth had blazed quite a trail. Now, the government, at the time, could have cared less about Him – this little pipsqueak, itinerant “preacher” wandering out in the country. The religious establishment – again, at the time – had, at best, a negative opinion, and, at worst, they concluded he was a dangerous man; a “friend” of the lowest, most base, and profoundly immoral members of society; and, worst of all, an out-and-out blasphemer. Plans were already in the offing to somehow deal with Him. In modern lingo, the thought goes as follows: “Arrest him; put him on trial; convict him; send him to the holding cell outside the death chamber in Huntsville, Texas; juice Him, save God’s honor, let justice rolls down like mighty rivers”. You get the idea.

But for the rank and file, for what we might call the “Joe and Jane Six-packs” of the world, His words hit home; His message resonated with them; it got into the nooks and crannies of their heads and hearts and souls. They weren’t book reports or religious lectures delivered to yawning congregations of a Sunday. His stories were things you could sink your teeth into and understand. They provoked thought; they called forth response. “Holy, moly! Who is this guy?” people must have been thinking. He told people -- actually, everyone within the range of His voice – they were right on the cusp of something big. The kingdom of God was at hand! Things were – finally! – going to be put right. The call was to repent, to change your mind. Think it through if you must, but take the leap anyway, because this is the time of the Lord’s favor. There would be recovery of sight for the blind, release for the captive ones, and the poor would have good news preached to them. And, by golly, this guy did things, in the course of any given day, that backed it all up with action; He didn’t just say it, He lived it: the water turned to wine; the paralytic and the leper and many with various and sundry diseases were healed; the forces that demonized people were sent packing.

Still, how would it all turn out? Where is this Jesus thing headed? Jesus, who knew what was in the heads and hearts of humanity, beat them to the punch. He took His disciples for a little time of retreat up north in Caesarea Philippi. On the way up, He posed a question: “Who do people say that I am?” They babbled out a few responses. But then came this: “Who do you say that I am?” Uh-oh, now it’s getting personal. It’s not time for opinions; it’s time for convictions. The disciple Peter spoke up: “You are the Messiah!” Bang! He nailed it! “Blessed are you, Simon, son of John,” says Jesus, “for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father who is in heaven.”

Jesus sort of set the table with this exchange. It was the perfect moment to answer the question: “What is the end game?” Our text today supplies the answer: “He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this.”

Talk about sucking the life out of the room! Talk about dousing enthusiasm! Talk about emptying the pews. This was bad; this was intolerable; this could not happen. “Give us the Jesus that spins yarns; works miracles; gives us instructions and principles and tips on how to live life successfully or ‘to the max’. Give us a Smoothie King Jesus who nourishes our lives with all the right ingredients. Give us a Messiah who lifts us up from the tawdry, and the ho-hum, and the hum-drum, and who makes our lives glorious! Be the leader, the Messiah, the anointed One, the agent of change, who enables us to live our best life now! That’s what will continue to draw a crowd. Times are tough and we could use a little sweetness and light; be the Jesus who keynotes our political tea party, or be the non-Wall Street Jesus of the 99% who gives us an administration of change and hope; either way, quit being so serious; stop speaking so plainly. We didn’t’ sign-up to follow a man headed to the death chamber.

Perhaps these were the thoughts of the disciple Peter who politely pulls Jesus aside, away from the crowd, and then, if I might paraphrase for effect, “rips Him a new one.” Jesus, in turn, looks away from Peter and back at the rest of the disciples. He says: “Get behind me, Satan. You don’t have in mind the concerns of God but only human concerns.”

Isn’t this supposed to be a retreat up there at Caesarea Philippi? If that weren’t enough, it only gets worse from here. Our Lord calls in the whole crowd at this point, and he says: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

What does today’s crowd – the ultra-modern crowd – think of this? I pondered that pretty hard this week. Consider the whole bit about self-denial. Here’s where most part company with Jesus. If anything, our society teaches us to “affirm” the self, focus on the self, highlight the self, and emphasize the self. I mean, folks, we swim in an ocean of relentless narcissism where the basic template and default position is “I’m right; you’re wrong. We breathe in the air of tireless self-promotion, of self-aggrandizement, of grandiosity and pomposity, of “me first” first, last, and always.

What of taking up a cross? People will wear a cross; they come in gold, platinum, silver, and stainless steel. Adorn that cross with cubic zirconia, or, if you are able, diamonds. Put one on your necklace; solder one onto your ring; put on a pair of cross earrings. I heard of a church that is encouraging its members, this season of Lent, to get tattooed with religious symbolism – including the cross. By all means, wear it – even painfully emblazoned on your skin, but what of bearing it? Oh, we’ll bear it – as long as it’s light and easy and made of Styrofoam.

And what’s this mumbo-jumbo about losing one’s life for the gospel? Don’t we want to save lives? C’mon, let’s be honest. We live in a socially Darwinistic, modern world where it all boils down to the survival of the fittest. Shouldn’t the church enable people to survive and be fit?

We don’t want to forfeit our souls, but gaining the whole world isn’t such a bad idea, is it? Crying out loud, we split the atom, put a man on the moon, came up with the microchip, and, just recently, the two hundred fifty billionth iPhone app was downloaded. Let’s accept life on life’s terms. Greed is good. Profit is not a dirty word. And is not a fresh influx of entrepreneurial capitalism the answer to all our woes?

What’s this about being ashamed of Jesus and His Words? We’re not ashamed of all of them, but just a few of them – like this one.

All during this past week, I felt increasing gratitude for being a Presbyterian. Now, I’m the first to tell you that the Presbyterian Church is having its share of problems. But I’m still grateful that I’m part of it. Here’s why: the Presbyterian Church is part of the Reformed tradition. The Reformed tradition – changed and always changing – is part of the Protestant tradition. The Protestant tradition takes us back to Martin Luther who “protested” some of the things that were happening in the church of his day. To wit, he argued that you could not buy your way into God’s good graces with your money or your good works. He posted 95 Theses to that effect on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31st, 1517 – nearly five hundred years ago.

The institutional church at the time – I speak of the Roman Catholic Church and, for that matter, the holy Roman empire (which included Germany) – didn’t like what they read. The pope didn’t like it; the theologians didn’t like it; the government was worried. His theses for debate and discussion were the rhetorical equivalent of a bomb going off.

Six months later, Luther – an Augustinian monk turned university professor of theology – agreed to address his colleagues at the annual get-together of the Augustinians in Heidelberg, Germany. (For those of you wondering about today’s sermon title, now you know!) It was a perilous, dangerous time for Luther to be traveling. He had a target on his back. He had said he would issue something of an apology to the Vatican, but that hadn’t been forthcoming. Some hoped that he would explain himself and keep the peace at Heidelberg.

But Luther had something else in mind. Fortunately, we have the written record of Luther’s remarks to his colleagues. It’s called the “Heidelberg Disputation.”

Let me close with two brilliant gems from the “Heidelberg Disputation.” Consider, first, thesis twenty one: “A theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theologian of the cross calls the thing what it actually is.” When Peter ripped Jesus as new one for predicting that death on a cross, Peter was calling good evil. He was a theologian of glory. When Jesus spoke of following Him, denying one’s self, etc., he was calling what we might think of evil as the highest good. Jesus, the Son of God and the promised Messiah, was a theologian of the cross.

In thesis twenty six, Luther wrote: “The law says ‘do this,” and it is never done. Grace says, ‘believe this’, and everything is already done.”

This is “The Heidelberg Factor”: is it all about human glory, or is it about the cross of Jesus Christ and God’s love for us that sent Him there?

Dear friends, everything is already done. And love, so amazing and do divine, involves our souls, our lives, our all.

Amen.