17th Sunday after Pentecost

Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 116:1-9; James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38

Mark 8:27-38

²⁷Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹Jesus asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” ³⁰And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
 ³¹Then he began to teach them that the Son-of-Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³²He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³But turning and looking at his disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
 ³⁴Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? ³⁷Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? ³⁸Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son-of-Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

. . .

Necessary Words

Grace to you, beloved of God, and peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Tua Tagovailoa had another serious concussion last week when Miami was playing Buffalo on Thursday Night Football. It was his fourth in five years, and by Friday morning, the sports media frenzy was galvanized around the idea that the Dolphins’ 220 million-dollar quarterback should consider retirement. Even my children, who have cheered for Tua since his college days in Alabama, surprisedly joined the chorus: Tua should retire.

Nonetheless, these are words that I am sure neither the Dolphin Nation nor Tua himself wants to hear. In the case of fans, their hopes have been high this season. The window for the playoffs and even to a Super Bowl trip is open, but it would certainly be shut tight if Tua retires, and it will remain so for years. All the money they have put on tickets and jerseys already would be a waste. They can’t take that anymore, not after having hopes so high. Then there is Tua and the 167 million guarantee in his contract. The stuff he probably dreamed about since he was a little kid. Playing football for packed stadiums on national TV. Scoring game-winning touchdowns. The validation of family efforts and sacrifices. The hopes and trust that his teammates place on him. Then there is the maxim: players play. Those are all the reasons most believe Tua does not want to hear the words that health professionals and loved ones will likely say to him and consider retirement. Football players are often willing to risk losing their lives for all the gains described above. 

Words have power, and because of it, they may be difficult to say and difficult to hear. Yet, they may be necessary. 

We often say and hear words in difficult and anxious situations that we wish were never said or that we could take back. But it is like the hand sanitizer. You can’t put it back. Once words come out, they do what they do. 

If human words can affect us and set the world ablaze sometimes, imagine the ones we hear from Jesus of Nazareth. 

We reflected on this before. The disciples have left their families and their means of survival to follow Jesus. Their sacrifices have already been enormous. Some relationships they had before meeting the rabbi from Nazareth may have been lost forever, but they are all in, and they realize they are following the promised Messiah, the restorer of Israel. 

I am sure they were confident they picked the right team and leader. This man is going to go all the way and purge the occupying forces that are oppressing them. They are certainly willing to go to battle with him because even if they get severely injured or even die, he will heal them and bring them back to life. They’ve seen it. Imagine what Jesus would do for them when his kingdom comes and he is crowned victorious. They would get the 167 million guaranteed contract and the mansion by the lake. They would be set for life and their children’s children, too. 

But the Son of Man has other plans:

– Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on! I will be rejected, stricken, insulted, spat upon, crucified.  

– No, no, no, Lord. Don’t say it out loud. What people would think? No one is going to follow you now. That is weak!

– Say what! Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking like everybody else! Fall in line with the divine plan for the ages! There is no mansion by the lake! Pick up your cross and follow me! Shame on you, by the way!

Right there are some words that are encouraged not to be said by human beings and that we certainly would rather not hear because they have the power to set our souls ablaze in the wrong kind of way. Yet, they were said by the one who was divinely anointed with the tongue of wisdom, the tongue of the one who teaches us how to do good. What do we make of it, beloved children of God?

The next line in the poem from Isaiah that we received today might be helpful: The one anointed with the tongue of the teacher sustains the weary with his words. Some will never like these words. They will always deem them foolish and will not feel comfortable hearing and saying them. They cannot see the precious gift of life these words bring to the hearts of those who believe them. They may be difficult to say because they are difficult to hear. Yet, they may be necessary, for they are words that save lives, words of eternal life. 

The one who died on the cross for us can say these words, and we are called to proclaim them so the souls of the weary may be nourished and comforted in the most difficult and hopeless hours. He can do so and teaches us to do the same because the Son of Man knows rejection, pain, and shame. The one who knows our humanity knows how to sustain us and give us life. Morning by morning, may our ears be open to learning. Why gain the world and give that away? Thanks be to God. Amen.