By now most of you have
probably heard of, seen or even taken the ALS ice bucket challenge. I know
there are some of you who are probably scratching your head and thinking to
yourself “what is he talking about now?”
So a little
introduction for those who don’t have a clue about the ice bucket challenge.
There is a phenomenon that is going around where people video tape
themselves dumping buckets of ice water on their heads. Those who have taken
the ice bucket challenge then post this video on a social media site like
Instagram or face book. Part of the
challenge has to do with challenging other people to then do the same
thing.
This phenomena has raised
awareness about about ALS Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association or Lou
Gehrig’s disease and it has raised more than 50 million dollars for an
association that last year brought in just 10 million dollars.
It has been fun
watching all of the videos surface on the internet- both of my children have
taken the challenge and it was a lot of fun getting to dump ice cold water on their heads.
Caden wanting to outdo his sister didn’t just have one bucket of ice water
dumped on his head, but rather two.
Famous people have
taken the challenge- George W Bush has taken it. I saw a video of a bunch of
Buffalo Bills taking the challenge. Barack Obama declined but wrote a check.
Justin Bieber and Lebron James have taken part.
Now it is quite obvious
that if you want to belong to the Ice bucket challenge community you have to dump water on your head or donate
100 dollars.
Today- Jesus talks a
little bit about what it means to join his community of followers— how do they
belong--his followers are those who take up their crosses. He says in today’s
gospel—“If any want to become my
followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow
me.”
Now I think we sometimes tend misunderstand this passage- It’s quite
obvious that Jesus is speaking about making a choice here. If any want to become my followers... Jesus gives each one of us the ability to
choose to take up our crosses or to leave them lying in the dust on the ground. Taking up our crosses is not something that
is foisted upon us- it’s not a burden that we have to bear. Like a disability
or a difficult situation.
My mother has end stage renal failure- she hooks herself up to a machine
every night that draws toxins out of her body --- she has dialysis everyday-
that is not her cross to bear.
Picking up our cross is a decision that helps distinguish us as followers,
as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Now I love Jesus, but he often speaks in coded language that isn’t
always clear what he actually. What exactly does Jesus mean by taking up our cross? Maybe
that was more obvious to Peter and Andrew James and John and his followers two
thousand years ago, but what does it mean for us to take up our cross?
Fortunately- the text from Roman is absolutely perfect- it paints a
picture of what it means to reach down and grab the hard wood of the cross and lift
it onto on our shoulders.
St. Pauls paints a picture of
what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
He says things like:
Let love be genuine – hate what is evil- love one another with mutual
affection. Rejoice in hope- be patient in suffering- persevere in prayer. Bless those who persecute you. Extend
hospitality to strangers. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Some
of these are pretty radical. If your enemies are hungry give them something to eat---feed them. Beloved never avenge yourselves.
Picking up our crosses is about ----not being haughty and associating
with the lowly- its about turning the other cheek when we really want ball up our
fist pull your hand back and pound somebody- it’s about loving our neighbor as
much as we love ourselves. It’s about
feeding and giving drink to our enemies rather than squashing them out like a bug. It’s about giving up one’s life so that
others might live.
I invite you this week to take what I am terming the Romans 12 challenge.
This is not going to have to anything to
do with dumping ice cold water on your head but rather it’s about trying to
take one particular piece of this Romans passage and to live into it more
fully. I
invite you to tear open one of these statements open and trying to live fully
into it?
What would
it look like to bless someone who “persecutes” you, who bothers you? What might you offer to that
person?
What would it look like to extend hospitality to strangers?
What might it look like to weep with those who weep- who in your world
needs an arm put around them or a prayer offered.
What might it look like for you to contribute to the work of the saints
or the work of the church?
This Romans 12 challenge will not be easy- crosses are heavy, their hard
to drag around- But if we can do this I
think we will find that we will be like Moses before the burning bush----
standing on holy ground- in midst of God.
AMEN
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