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Giving Up Life Taking on Death March 28, 2013 (Maundy Thursday) Luke 9: 18-27 Rev.

. Deborah Dail Denbigh Presbyterian Church Scripture: Luke 9: 18-27 Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, Who do the crowds say that I am? They answered, John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen. He said to them, But who do you say that I am? Peter answered, The Messiah of God. He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. Then he said to them all, If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God. Sermon: I have shared before that Christianity has a public relations problem. If we advertise the truth about Christian discipleship, rather than some of the fringe benefits we sometimes experience as Christians, not many will be interested. Become a Christian and lose your life really doesnt have such a good ring to it. Deny Yourself, Take Up Your Cross Daily. Follow Me is a little much for a bumper sticker. Jesus himself had a public relations problem during his time on earth. People had a hard time getting a handle on who he was and what he was up to. Some thought he was Elijah who was to be the forerunner

of the long-awaited Messiah. Close, but not quite right. Jesus was the Messiah, not the messenger of a yet-to-come Messiah. Fred Craddock makes an insightful comment about this misunderstanding. To believe the Messiah has come means we can no longer shape him to fit our dreams; he fits us to fit Gods will. This is a difficult adjustment. (Luke in Interpretation Commentary series, p. 127) This is precisely the adjustment we must make. We cannot make Jesus into who we want him to be. Rather, we are to be shaped and fitted to Gods will. We are to be made into who he wants us to be. Jesus says that process will not be easy. You will need to give up life as you know it a life devoted to self. You will need to take on death death to your own self-centered way of thinking and living. Jesus says you will need to make this your lifestyle every day. Jesus puts it this way: If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Often this notion of taking up our crosses is misunderstood. First the cross-bearing spoken of here in Luke is voluntary. A way of life that could be called cross bearing would have to involve denial of self in the service of God. (Craddock, p. 130). Sometimes we speak of crosses we are bearing, such as poor health, problems with our kids, an unhappy job situation or a difficult marriage. Jesus is talking about something different here. He is speaking about daily choosing to deny ourselves in service to God. Of course, I believe that if you do find yourself in one of the situations I mentioned earlier, you can choose to approach those situations lovingly and sacrificially in order to serve God in those relationships. Then you are taking up your cross. Jesus also says For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. Craddock puts it this way: Self-centeredness is finally counter-productive and destructive, severing one from the resources that give life. (p. 130) One of my favorite movies from the 90s is titled With Honors. Monty is a student at Harvard who is working hard to complete his senior thesis which will allow him to graduate with honors. One night his computer crashes and he loses his saved work. However, he does

have a hard copy of much of what he has written. He goes out in the night to find a place to make copies, just in case another disaster strikes. While out, he trips and falls, dropping his thesis into a grate leading to the boiler room of the library. Desperate to retrieve his thesis which he believes is his life, Monty goes into the boiler room. There he discovers a disheveled homeless man named Simon. Simon is warming himself by throwing pages of Montys thesis into the fire. Desperate to save his life his thesis Monty begs Simon to stop burning the papers. They strike up a deal. Simon will return one page of the thesis for each act of service which Monty does for him. Over the course of weeks, Monty allows Simon to bathe in his apartment, gives him food and blankets and helps him find resources to stay alive. In return, Simon gives Monty pages of his thesis. Over time, Monty and Simon develop a relationship. Eventually, Simon returns most of the pages of the thesis and Monty is prepared to defend his thesis so that he can graduate with honors. After all, graduating from Harvard with honors is his ticket to a great life. But Simon grows very ill. Monty and his friends take care of him. On the day Monty was to defend his thesis, Simon is drawing near to death and he asks Monty to take him to see his son. Monty chooses to give up his life the possibility of graduating with honors. He takes Simon to see his son. However, in giving up his life in dying to self -- Monty experiences true life, a life of service and sacrifice for another human being in need. He graduates with honors, but not with honors from Harvard. Self-centeredness is finally counter-productive and destructive, severing one from the resources that give life. (Craddock, p. 130) Selfdenial and sacrifice for the sake of others is life-giving. Jesus gave up his life. He took on death so that we could have life abundant and life eternal. Jesus calls us give up a self-centered life, to put it to death through sacrificial, loving service. In so doing we die to ourselves. We give up life and take on death. In the end we discover that we have taken on true life. We too, shall graduate with honors.

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