Sermon - September 3, 2023 - The Rev. Jack Alvey

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight,

the Lord our strength and our Redeemer. Amen.

A few years ago, I remember watching a press conference where a golfer responded to

a question about why he got so angry at this cameraman who was following him around on the

golf course. I expected the golfer to say something like, well, he was moving during my shot and

distracted me so I lost my temper. Nope. Instead, the golfer said he didn't like the cameraman

following him around because after he hit a bad shot, he didn't want the video clip of him hitting

a bad shot and then throwing a temper tantrum to ruin his brand. Well, I understand that

businesses and nonprofits and even churches have brands. I was surprised to hear this golfer say

that he needed to protect his brand. But I shouldn't be surprised though, since the advent

of social media, the branding of an individual has become a thing. Essentially, an individual

curates their brand by sharing aspects of their life and personality on social media,

aspects that fit the image of the brand they want to put out there that they want to market.

Branding yourself also conveniently means omitting the parts of your life that don't

fit your brand. For example, if I want others to see me as a good golfer, I'm going to make a lot

of social media posts about my last great score or my last great shot. I'm not going to talk about

the eight I made on the last hole or the shank I hit into the next fairway. And if I do tell about

those bad shots, I will do so with sort of a self-deprecating humor that still holds me in a

positive light. I wouldn't want people to think I'm too good to be true. But even still, I'm in

control of the narrative. I'm in control of who I want others to believe I am. But as we all know,

the person that we create for others on social media or even in real life doesn't usually equal

the person that we actually are. There's a gap there. In last week's Gospel lesson, and again in

today's Gospel lesson, Jesus is trying to close the gap between who people say he is and who he

actually is. If there has been any brand attached to Jesus at this point in his ministry, it would

be the image of a crown, a crown that a king wears. Jesus of Nazareth is supposed to be the

long-awaited King who will, like his ancestor King David, rule an undivided Israel, an Israel

that is free from Roman occupation, foreign occupation. Today, however, we see Jesus

introduce a different kind of brand, a different kind of symbol associated with his ministry,

a symbol that none at the time would associate with salvation. Jesus, of course, introduces the

image of a cross as the symbol of his brand. And a cross, as we remember, is the Roman style of

execution. And Jesus' tagline is, those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who

lose their life for my sake will save it. So now, Jesus' number one PR guy thinks this is a

terrible idea. Peter pulls Jesus aside to have a private meeting to talk him out of this terrible

marketing idea. Jesus, however, will think nothing of it. He rebukes Peter and says,

Peter, you're no better than the competition. You're no better than the enemy. Get behind me.

Peter can only see what's right in front of him. Through Peter's eyes, there's nothing beyond the

cross. The cross is supposed to completely eliminate your brand and face from the universe.

And to be fair, Peter hasn't seen the other side of the cross, the death and the resurrection like

we have. And like the competition, Peter believes salvation comes from defeating the enemy by force,

from squeezing out the competition. Now, even those of us who live on this side of the cross,

on this side of the grave, aren't too different than Peter on occasion. On some level, we believe

that life would be better if they weren't in the picture anymore. If so and so weren't in charge,

or the president and the economy would be better, we'd have better immigration policies,

we'd have better access to health care, our war veterans would be treated more fairly,

and the list goes on. And I'm not saying that our leaders don't have an effect, but I'm saying that

we can't completely blame them. Our issues are complicated, and we should struggle to address

them as a culture and a society. However, to completely blame the other is short-sighted and

self-centered. As Jesus says to Peter, when we think that solutions are as easy as blaming the

other, as squeezing out the competition, we are setting our mind on human things and not divine

things. Ultimately, as we see again and again, and this is the whole point of the gospel,

the answer does not come from within the system, because the whole system is corrupt. It is a

universal problem. We all have it. Jesus himself said, a house divided cannot stand. So the answer

must come from outside the system. And that's why the kingdom of God, that's what we mean when we

say the kingdom of God is breaking in. If we've learned anything over the last several weeks,

in the gospels, we've learned that we can't save ourselves. We have no power in ourselves to save

ourselves. Like the Canaanite woman, like Peter walking on water, the only thing we have to offer

to our salvation is the plea for help. It's a plea that says, Lord, have mercy. But Jesus didn't just

come to save us individuals from our sins. Jesus comes to save the whole world from the destructive

forces of sin and death. The entire system needs to be changed and transformed. And when earthly

systems are threatened, any system, they are they retreat into self preservation mode and become

defensive. And the kingdom that Jesus is bringing into this world is a huge threat to our earthly

systems, especially to those who benefit the most from them. Those who benefit the most will do all

in their power to prevent the status quo from changing. For the Romans, crucifixion is how to

put an end to a threat against the system. So therefore, for Jesus, the cross becomes the

instrument of salvation. The cross becomes Jesus' brand. And eventually, the cross will become the

church's brand. Now, one of the biggest criticisms of the church over the centuries is the gap that

exists between the cross the church proclaims on Sunday and the story the church lives Monday

through Friday. The church and her people are supposed to be evidence of a God who enters into

our pain and our suffering and transforms it with an unending, non-judgmental, grace-filled,

sacrificial love. But the story that is often heard out there is a story about the church,

is a story of a people who are more concerned with their own life and salvation than the life and

the salvation of others. Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who save their

life, or those who lose their life for the sake of the gospel will save it. Now, if you're anything

like me, you might be defensive at this moment. It's easy to name all the ways that our life and

our church has been that light, God's presence in a dark world. And I know you and the church have

done plenty of things to shine that light in a dark and hopeless world. However, this isn't a do

better sermon, this isn't a pat yourself on the back sermon, this is a take up your cross sermon.

And the cross isn't your brand, the cross isn't something you wear or proclaim for your own sake,

for your own benefit. As St. Paul says to the Corinthians, it is not ourselves that we proclaim,

but Christ crucified in ourselves as his servants. We proclaim and carry the cross, the brand of Jesus

for the sake of the world, for the sake of the gospel. A brand that was forged into this world

through Jesus's death and resurrection. A brand that we are given in baptism, a brand that we

uphold with our baptismal vows. And when we uphold this brand, when we take up our cross,

there will be a cost. I don't know what your cost has been or will be, I can't give you a prescription

on that. Yes, 10% of your time, talent, and treasure has been the standard the church has taught,

but that number is really just a descriptor of a life of faith, it's not a prescription. In other

words, when you choose to follow Jesus, when you choose to take up your cross and really give

yourself to the way of Christ, then you might expect to sacrifice 10% of your time, talent,

and treasure. Now some have paid a much greater price, some have paid less. However, there are

no shortcuts to a life of faith. In the end, we will all see that nothing short of our entire life

is demanded when we take up our cross. You can only have one foot in this earthly world and one foot

in the heavenly kingdom for so long. There will be time from the gap between our earthly systems

and God's heavenly kingdom will stretch you so far that you're going to have to choose between one

or the other. Will you choose the brand that promises the illusion of safety now, only to

leave you dead for later? Or will you choose the brand that might cost you whatever life you thought

you needed now, only to give you the life you never knew you needed later? Those who want to

save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for the sake of the gospel will save it.

Amen.