Then
Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples, and He told them, “If
anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and
follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for My sake and for the gospel will save it.
What
does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can
a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in
this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of
him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38
BSB)
In our reading today, Jesus was explaining to his followers what it
means to be true disciples. He used phrases such as “let him deny himself” and
to “take up one’s cross.” What does he mean by these things?
Jesus then says, “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s shall save it.”
Jesus was actually preparing his disciples for the fact that he was
soon to be crucified. He told them, “The Son of Man must suffer many things. He
must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be
killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
But Jesus was doing more than preparing his followers for that
particular event. He was also teaching them the way of a true disciple in this
present life. He is talking about things to which you and I should also listen.
He is speaking of a life of self-denial. After all, he also asks the rhetorical
question, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his
soul? What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Then Jesus says something that may be particularly disturbing: “For
whoever is ashamed of Me and in My words in this adulterous and sinful
generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the
glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Jesus is talking about commitment. He is talking about true
discipleship.
The Big Picture of Commitment to Christ
Jesus was preparing his disciples for the fact that he would be
crucified because of the teachings that he brought. But he also knew that his
disciples would themselves soon face severe persecution as well. For this, he
knew that they would need to be prepared in their faith.
We still live in a world where many Christians face severe and
life-threatening persecution. You and I may not see it in our safe, secure and
insulated lives here, but in the wider world, it is the heinous fact.
In several countries of the world, the Christians living in those
places are facing increasing danger. It is especially true in those areas ruled
by Islamic fundamentalists. The lives of the Christians are in constant peril
and their faith is continually tested. Perhaps when Jesus is preparing us for
persecution, it is this kind of persecution that he had in mind. Perhaps this
is what Jesus was talking about when he warned us about denying him.
If we have thought about this issue at all, the consideration of
ourselves facing this type of choice must have at least entered our minds. What
would we do if we were to be in a similar situation?
Maybe we have determined in our minds that if we would personally be
confronted with an ISIS threat (for instance), we would never deny Christ, even
at the cost of our own heads. Being as it is unlikely that any of us here today
will face that possibility, this seems like a pretty safe thing to say. But
even if you or I think that we may not face that threat, the way that events
are moving in the world in these days, it would not be inconceivable that this
threat might happen sooner than we may suspect, and even very near to our
beloved northwoods.
Perhaps we have brave words in mind. Perhaps we would say as did the
Apostle Peter just before the time of the trial of Jesus, “Even though all may
fall away because of You, I will never fall away! Even if I have to die with
You, I will never deny You!” (Matthew 26:33, 35)
But it is one thing to say brave words, and quite the other to carry
them out. Afraid to admit even to a servant girl that he had any association
with Jesus, Peter denied that he knew Jesus. In fact, three times he denied
Jesus.
We may also speak brave words in the enthusiasm of the moment, but if
we have not internalized our commitment, we may also find ourselves denying
Christ at a critical point. We may find ourselves ashamed to admit any
association with Jesus.
As did Peter, we may hear our own rooster crow in the morning.
As did Peter, we may hear our own rooster crow in the morning.
The Little Picture of Commitment to Christ
When thinking of being ashamed, I do not know your own level of
boldness about speaking up for the Lord, but quite frankly, there have been
times when I did not speak up when I thought that I should. There have been
times when I did not want to face ridicule or rejection because of what I
believed about Jesus and the gospel—or simply about truth in general.
Instead of imagining what brave words we would say if we were forced
to renounce our faith to an executioner, perhaps it would be better to imagine
what we would say to a servant girl.
Instead of imagining ourselves in an intense scene of some epic movie where we picture ourselves making a bold statement for Christ—accompanied by a soundtrack of dramatic movie music, perhaps it would be better to bring ourselves down to our own workplaces or social gatherings.
Instead of imagining ourselves in an intense scene of some epic movie where we picture ourselves making a bold statement for Christ—accompanied by a soundtrack of dramatic movie music, perhaps it would be better to bring ourselves down to our own workplaces or social gatherings.
For that perspective, we move to something that the Apostle James has
written. James talks about commitment in the small things in life—even in the
things that we often think relatively unimportant or inconsequential.
“For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what
he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well” (James
3:2).
Bridling Our Bodies
The first thing that I need to do is to clarify the phrases in this
sentence.
Of course you all know what a bridle is. A bridle is a type of harness
that we put around the head of the horse to help us control its movements. In
this case, James is using this word in a verb sense when he talks about our ability
to control our own bodies—we are to bridle our bodies so that we can control
our actions.
I think we can all understand this. It is basic and fundamental. But
quite honestly, not many people really do have this ability. That is, not many
people actually have the ability to have control even over their own bodies. We
engage in habits or activities that we do not want to be part of our lives, yet
seemingly cannot help it. When this is the case, it means that we have not
learned to bridle our bodies. Perhaps every one of us here can relate to this
at some level in our lives.
The second phrase is when James speaks of a “perfect man.” In saying
the man is perfect, he does not mean that this man has no faults. This level of
perfection, of course, is unattainable to us in this lifetime. When James
speaks of a perfect man, he is simply saying that this man is mature in his walk with the Lord; he is complete.
This also does not mean that this complete man or woman lacks absolutely
nothing, because in this life we are still bound by limitations. But this person
who has learned to bridle his or her life no longer is plagued by those
inconsistencies of a new believer in Christ. He or she has learned to bridle
their bodies.
How does one learn to do this? Does he learn to bridle himself by
resolving that if he were ever to be faced with decapitation that he would
never deny Christ? Does he say, as did Peter, “Even though everyone else should
fall away, I will not fall away!”
Spiritual Maturity
Actually, this is not the way to reach maturity. It was not the way
for Peter and it is not the way for us. These may be statements or sentiments
of someone who has reached maturity,
but it is not how we get there. A small boy does not become a man by grabbing a
chainsaw and going out to the woods to cut down trees like his dad, or by
taking a briefcase and going to the office. There are many things he must learn
first. And he of course must also grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and in other ways as well.
To be spiritually perfect, or spiritually mature, there are many things
that we must first learn, and many ways in which we must first grow. This is
what James means to teach us.
He continues: “If we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they
may obey us, we will direct their entire bodies as well. And look at the great
and massive ships. Although they are very huge and are driven by strong winds, still
they are directed by a very small rudder, which in turn is the hands of the
pilot, maneuvering the ship wherever he is inclined.”
In talking about horses and ships, James is talking about large
things, even massive things that are controlled by something that we might
think very small and insignificant. In using these examples, James is showing
us that it is sometimes to the small things where we need to place our attention.
If we can control these small things, we can do the large things that Jesus
talked about, like “denying ourselves,” and “taking up our crosses.” We can
even “lose our life for the sake of Christ” and thereby find our true life.
What are some of these small things? James focuses on one of the most
important of these, but also mentions others along the way. Actually,
the entire book of James is almost a treatise on these small things that we
need first learn to control and to do.
Controlled by our Small Tongue
In speaking about the small things that control large things, like the
bit in the mouth of the horse or the rudder of a great ship, James continues,
“So the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.”
I don’t think that I need to elaborate on how our own tongues can get
us into trouble. Probably we all can think back at our own personal lives and
see the time when something that we said got us into trouble. Some of us may
not even have to look back very many days.
And in recent summers with the massive and unprecedented forest fires
in the western states and provinces of Canada, the illustration of James is
especially appropriate. “Behold, how great a forest fire is set aflame by such
a small fire!”
Then James makes this startling statement: “The tongue is a fire, the
very world of iniquity.”
Perhaps none of us would place such a great importance on the role of
the tongue in controlling us, but these verses tell us that it is our tongue
that can set the course for our entire lives!
How is this possible, we might ask?
How is this possible, we might ask?
I am not sure if doctors still do this, but back in the old days, when
you went in for a physical examination, they would ask you to stick out your
tongue so that they could take a look at it. I suppose with all the advanced
medical equipment that they have now they may not still do this, but the fact
is; a trained doctor can tell quite a lot about your physical health by the
appearance of your tongue.
In much the same way, the words that we speak are an indicator of our
spiritual health. Jesus tells us that “the good man, out of the good treasures
of his heart, brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil
brings forth what is evil, for his mouth speaks from that which fills his
heart” (Luke 6:45).
But it even goes beyond that. Once a word is spoken, not only it is an
indicator to others what is inside of you, but the thought that you allow to
find voice becomes more established within you. It is no longer a fleeting thought.
Your voice has given the thought life. With your spoken word, the thought takes
up residence within you.
Words that Build
That is why the Apostle Paul says to us, “Let no unwholesome word
proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification
according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear”
(Ephesians 4:29).
“Funny, isn’t it,” James says, “that we have learned to tame every
sort of beast, but we cannot seem to master our own tongues?”
We often think nothing of sitting in church and using our tongues to
sing songs of praise to God, read the confession and the responsorial, and then
go home and speak evil of someone. Does this seem acceptable to you?
James continues, “With our tongues we bless our Lord and Father, and
with it we curse men who have been made in the likeness of God. From the same
mouth come both blessing and cursing.”
“Brothers,” James says, “it should not be this way.”
He brings up the example of water coming from a fountain. When you
bend down to take a drink from a drinking fountain, you expect the water to be
good. It does not bubble up fresh water, then half way through your drink,
change quickly to bitter water. This would not be acceptable to us.
Neither should we find it acceptable within ourselves to live such a
dichotomy. Paul says that our words should be used for edification. What does that mean? Edification means that our words
should be used to build someone up, not tear someone down.
You probably have heard it said, “That man brings out the worst in
me!” You may have even said it yourself. There are some people that just seem
to rub our fur the wrong way. These are the people who we think have wronged us
in some way or have been unkind to us, or who have a personality that just
seems to irritate us.
After we have had an encounter with that individual, or even if we just
hear his or her name or merely think about them, we replay in our minds all
that we see as being wrong with that person. Then, after all of this negativity
that we have expended in thinking about this person, when we next see him or
have contact with him, those thoughts come flowing out of us. The bitterness
spills forth. We say something that we should not and probably regret it
immediately, or at least soon will.
This is the untamed tongue. This is the tongue that controls us
instead of we controlling it.
Words that Give Grace
James also says that our words should be used to give grace. And what does that
mean? Grace is something good that we do for another person that they do not
deserve. The other person may not deserve to have something good said about
them, but if we are looking to build that person up, we find a way to give grace.
I am not speaking of flattery or ignoring something about that person
that really does need to change. Speaking or acting in this way would not be
acting with grace, because it is not for the ultimate good of that other person.
I am talking about finding words and actions that help that person
deal with his or her problems. The fact of the matter is, we are all works in
process. There is something about all of us that needs work. One of the reasons that we gather together as
brothers and sisters in Christ is so that we can help each other along the way.
When someone stumbles, we do not trample over them in our rush, but we stop to
help them up.
Small Beginning, Impressive Finish
When we think of the things we should do if we want to be a follower
of Jesus, it is good to think in terms of “denying ourselves,” or “picking up
our crosses.” It is good to think of giving our lives for the gospel’s sake.
But perhaps we should think first of the small things. If we get the small
things right, the major things will follow along.
We would do well to pray the prayer of David: “Let the words of my
mouth. and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my
rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
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