Away, Satan!

Sermon on Mark 8:31-38

St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, PA

Sunday, March 8, 2009,

2^nd Sunday in Lent, Year B,

(word count: 899)

WAIT, Part Two: Away, Satan!

We humans work hard at avoiding suffering, reducing suffering. If we have a headache or back pain, then we often take medicine, lie down, do something to reduce the pain. We strive to get relief, and that makes sense. Of course we want freedom from suffering.

However, a crucial component of being a Christian is suffering. For us Christians, the baptized, suffering is inevitable. In our gospel, Mark 8:31-38, Jesus teaches us that if we want to be his followers then we need to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him.

Take up the cross. Meditate on that wisdom. Taking up the cross, in Jesus' day, meant being crucified, and crucifixion was ruthless and sadistic. So when Jesus says, “If you want to follow me, you need to take up your cross,” his first hearers would have pictured all that torture and humiliation ending in death. The point is that following Jesus, taking up your cross, will hurt, will demand suffering. In effect, Jesus is saying, “If you want to be my follower, you must be ready to suffer.”

What does it mean to suffer as a follower of Christ? Many of us get confused about taking up the cross, about suffering for Christ. When considering suffering, it is crucial to understand that there are at least two types of suffering. There is pointless suffering, and there is Christian suffering. Pointless suffering is suffering that happens to us but that does no good. Christian suffering is suffering that we take on for Christ.

It is crucial for us Christians to understand the difference. For example, if a so-called loved one is beating you, that is horrible suffering, but it is not Christian suffering. It is not Christian suffering, because it does not serve Christ. That person will not get better through your allowing the person to beat you. Rihanna is wrong to go back to Chris Brown. If someone claiming to love you is abusing you, get out of the relationship. You wouldn't put up with a stranger abusing you; do not put up with a so-called loved one abusing you. You wouldn't let a so-called loved one abuse a child. Do not let someone abuse you. Some suffering is just evil, does not serve Christ. Get away.

By contrast, Christian suffering serves Christ. Christ is love. Christian suffering serves that love.

We can see both types of suffering in the life of Harriet Tubman, who died on March 10. Harriet Tubman was an African American born into slavery in the 1800s. As a child, she endured the first kind of suffering, the pointless suffering. Her masters whipped and beat her. When she was a teenager, her master accidentally hit her in the head with a weight he had thrown at another slave. As a result, she had seizures for the rest of her life. Her suffering was savage, shocking. It was pointless suffering.

Eventually, Harriet Tubman managed to escape to the free states. Then she sneaked back south repeatedly to liberate dozens more slaves. Harriet was deeply religious, so you can bet that she saw her dangerous work as part of being a Christian. The abuse she endured as a child was pointless suffering, but her efforts to liberate other slaves was Christian suffering. Harriet Tubman took up the cross.

How about you? How do you take up the cross as part of following Christ? How do I? How do we at St. James engage in Christian suffering? What sacrifices do we make? Do we sometimes take the easy way out as Christians? Give, but not too much, so that we are not uncomfortable? Make little sacrifices, but nothing too hard? How can we push ourselves a little harder as Christians for the sake of Christ and the good news? What changes can we make?

Last week, we began a four-part sermon series based on the word WAIT. Last Sunday, we had a W-word, wilderness. Today, we need an A-word, to go with the second letter in the word WAIT. Actually, we have an A-phrase. The phrase is, “Away, Satan!” Away, Satan.

Part of taking up the cross, part of suffering for Christ, is pushing Satan away. Do not let him block your path. When Satan tries to talk you into being stingy or complacent, you snap back, “Away, Satan!” Satan says, “Give up on God. Stop waiting for him to help you. God's not going to help you,” and you reply, “Away, you snake!” Satan coils around you and says, “Don't take up the cross. Don't embrace suffering for Christ. Take the easy way out. Take it easy. You deserve the easy way.” You break loose. “Away, Satan!” Follow Christ. Take up the cross.

Taking up the cross can be excruciating, but it's for Christ, the one who has bought us freedom, not with silver or gold, but with his precious blood, as the Book of Concord says. Christ took up the suffering, took up the cross, so we shall live forever. Christ has liberated us from slavery to sin. Christ has carried us through the Underground Railroad and into the Promised Land, all by way of his suffering. Christ has emancipated us. Christ took up the cross to save us. Now we take up the cross to thank him. Carrying the cross, we announce, “Away, Satan!”