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“Lose it or Find it” – Matt 16:21-28 – August 31, 2008

I have a discipline of setting time to study and prepare my weekly sermon. Last week I was working hard, typing and really inspired. Unexpectedly I received a phone call from a woman who was in crisis. She needed to talk. And she did just that. Before I knew it an entire hour had passed. Then I was behind schedule. My agenda was suddenly changed beyond my control.

Have you ever had times when your agenda was changed because someone needed you? Or, something happened that forced you to change your schedule? We are people who like to be in control of our lives. We like predictability. When the mail doesn’t come on time we get impatient. When a friend is late or we are interrupted we get frustrated or even aggravated. We just don’t like moving in a direction that is unfamiliar or opposite from the direction we would like to go.

Jesus announced to his disciples that he would soon suffer and die. But, Peter could not accept the reality that Jesus must suffer and die. He resisted the notion that Jesus’ life would be going in a direction that was contrary to what Peter had hoped. Jesus said “Get behind me Satan,” because Peter was standing in the path Jesus needed to walk. He was going to suffer, die and be resurrected. But, Peter didn’t want to hear that.

Jesus then told his disciples to “take us their cross and follow him.” These are difficult words to hear. I believe that Jesus’ words, “to take up our cross and follow” are misunderstood. He didn’t mean we had to imitate his path to Calvary by being crucified. What he meant was that by following him we join the side of God and that places us against the side of the world. We are therefore called to go in a direction that may not be the direction we want to go.

We are hard at work trying to save our lives. We are like Peter, doing everything we can to avoid suffering and rejection, trying to live as long as we can. But it is God who saves our lives, not ourselves. So what is Jesus saying to us? What does Jesus mean when he said, “Take up your cross and follow me,” or “to find one’s life is to lose it?” These are words that seem very radical, but they are words that call us to change the direction of our lives.

Eugene Peterson, in The Message, said it best. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver seat, I am. Don’t run from suffering, embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how.”

My caller, like so many others I counsel was anxious. Her anxiety would have been minimized had she walked in a different direction. She was paralyzed by fear. She needed to make some changes in her life and move on.

Recently the GM plant in Dayton closed its doors. Many people have lost jobs and others have been transferred to other places. The reason GM closed that plant is that they were making SUV’s. Unfortunately the rising price of gas has hurt the sales of SUV’s. And since GM was slow to respond to changing times people have lost their jobs.

Ironically, GM hasn’t always made the same mistake. In the 1970’s The GM plant in Fremont, California was the scene of a major conflict between labor and management. There was a lack of trust which resulted in a lack of productivity and poor quality. Absenteeism was out of control. There were days when the production lines couldn’t get started.

GM linked up with Toyota on a joint venture. They started from scratch with a simple contract. Executives agreed to take lower salaries and employee input would be taken seriously. There was also an emphasis on teamwork. Workers were organized into small teams. They rotated tasks rather than do the same thing every day. As a result, absenteeism dropped 85 percent and the plant became successful again.

At that point GM made a decision to walk in a new direction, adapting to the times. They discarded old work habits and built a sense of trust and cooperation among the employees.

Taking up our cross means to yield to God’s presence instead of resisting God. God calls us away from our current situation and consequently we undergo a complete transformation. When people of faith join together they become part of a new and unique family. We are called to be part of a new family, one that practices self-denial, one that doesn’t follow the ways of the world. That means we leave our kinship group or clan, and team up with other disciples. It means we change the direction of our lives.

The cross is a symbol of oppression and control. The Romans used crucifixion as a means of silencing those who did not follow their ways. Following Jesus means that no one has power over our lives except God. Following God means we differentiate ourselves from the ways of the world by living lives of compassion and love. We become focused on the needs of others and less focused on our own self-preservation.

Currently our society is constantly being led and conditioned by fear. For example, people are filled with the fear of catastrophic weather reports. We are reminded daily of economical problems. There is a plethora of bad news that reinforces fear and panic in society both here and abroad. To take up our cross is to recognize that we are letting fear lead us instead of God, a God who loves us and gives us hope.

In addition, suffering needs to be embraced rather than denied. When we think of suffering we think of pain. The suffering described here means we are called to “find our lives by losing them.” We become fulfilled and live joyfully when we are able to sacrifice our security for the sake of others. We willingly make sacrifices which enable the lives of others and at the same time set us free.

One time a shipwrecked sailor was found on a beach of a South Sea Island. The natives found him, hoisted him to their shoulders, carried him to their village and then set him on a crudely fashioned throne. It became apparent that this was some form of coronation ceremony. Over time he learned their language and discovered that the natives had a custom of choosing a new man to be king each year. Once the period of kingship ended, the man was banished to a nearby island where he would eventually die. Not particularly liking the outcome the sailor decided to take full advantage of his role while he was king. He put the carpenters to work making boats. He had the farmers plant trees and crops and he had the masons build houses on the island. When the year was over he was exiled, but the island had become one of abundance.

When we lose our lives we believe in the grace of God. That calls for absolute trust and unconditional surrender. As a result we are renewed, revitalized and resurrected.

People want resurrection. But resurrection is not possible without death; death by saying “no” to the ways of the world and saying “yes” to God. It is also giving death to our fears by following the peaceful and loving path that Jesus walked. To follow God is to live in this moment with hope. It is to trust in God and not the ways of the world.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio