Abram becomes Abraham, Sarai becomes Sarah, and followers of
Jesus become cross-bearers. “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.” God makes outrageous promises, and the faithful who hear the call and
trust in it are exalted with new identity.
It is told of Martin Luther that he
said each morning as he splashed water on his face, “I am baptized.” It was
this sure knowledge of being marked as God’s own forever that fueled his
courage as he faced both pope and emperor and refused to stop calling for
reform. . .
As we walk the road to Jerusalem
with Jesus in this season, as we face the powers of this world to declare,
despite the consequences, that love is more powerful than hate, that peace
needs to “made” as intentionally as war, that the hungry deserve bread, we live
the baptismal truth that nothing. . . can separate us from the love of God in
Christ Jesus [Rom 8:38-39]. . . ––
Scott Haldeman
Mark 8:31-38
In Mark 8:31–38, what appalls Peter
about Jesus’ prediction is not just that Jesus must suffer but that,
inevitably, those who follow him will face suffering and rejection, too. In
contemporary parlance we sometimes trivialize the “cross we have to bear.” What
are the more important crosses we might face, the circumstances in which
today’s Christians might have to make real sacrifice for the sake of the real
Gospel? –– David Bartlett
In Mark 8:27–30, Jesus asks his
disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” Predictably, he gets widely variant
answers, but Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus does not respond
directly to this claim, but “ordered them not to tell anyone about him.” Among
the many different claims about the Messiah in Jesus’ time, none of them would
have called for the Messiah to suffer and be rejected the way Jesus describes
in this passage. It should be no surprise then that Peter would question Jesus’
statements and likely he would have been shocked at the sternness of Jesus’
rebuke, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine
things but on human things.” –– Jonathan D. Lawrence
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
One of last week’s readings
described God’s covenant with Noah and all living things. This text focuses on
God’s covenant with Abraham and through him with all of his descendants,
promising land, descendants, and a blessing. . .
Of course, the very idea of
descendants is shocking in this story, since Abraham and Sarah were too old to
even imagine having a child. Yet. . . God’s promise of a son is fulfilled, as
proof that with God all things are possible.
In the course of their encounter
with God, Abram and Sarai become renamed as Abraham and Sarah. Sarah’s name
does not change significantly in its meaning “Princess,” but Abraham, formerly “Exalted
Father” becomes “Father of a Multitude.” –– Jonathan D. Lawrence
Romans 4:13-25
Paul suggests that the promises to
Abraham were fulfilled not through the law but through “the righteousness of
faith.” He refers specifically to Genesis 17:5 and God’s promise that Abraham
would be the “father of many nations.” He speaks of Abraham’s unwavering faith
that God would fulfill those promises, which could refer indirectly to
Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac at God’s command. This deep faith is
presented as a model for Christians who put similar trust in Jesus and his
death and resurrection. –– Jonathan Lawrence
David Bartlett, an
ordained American Baptist minister, is Professor Emeritus of New Testament at
Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, and Lantz Professor Emeritus
of Christian Communication at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut.
W. Scott Haldeman is
associate professor of worship at Chicago Theological Seminary, Illinois.
Jonathan D.
Lawrence, an American Baptist
Church ordained minister, teaches Religious Studies and Theology at Canisius
College, Buffalo, New York.
Homily Service 39, no. 4 (2006): 22-32.
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