Year B Lent Second Week (March 8, 2009)
Peter’s confession of faith
Today’s passage is connected to Peter’s confession of faith. The incident is written in verse 27 after.
When Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked them on the way, "Who do people say I am?" The disciples replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." Then Jesus asked again, "But what about you? "Who do you say I am?" Now Peter stepped out and answered, "You are the Christ." Hearing their answer, Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. (27-30)
Continued to this, Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. When Jesus spoke plainly about this, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this, Jesus rebuked back to Peter. "Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
Here we have a question? Why did Peter tell Jesus that he shouldn’t be suffered and his resurrection shouldn’t be happened? Of course we can understand his heart to try to stop Jesus’ suffering and death. However, Peter’s activity didn’t seem to be a natural for Jesus told him about his resurrection three days after his death too. So we can think that Peter tried to stop Jesus’ suffering and death only. Or though Jesus told him about his suffering and resurrection together but Peter accepted resurrection only. For people used to have a tendency to hear what they want to hear only or what they could understand.
There might be a possibility for Peter who was greatly shocked after hearing Jesus’ word that Jesus would be killed by the hand of highest authority. He thought Jesus would be the king of Judea after demoting the power holders of those days. It was the idea of all the Jews about Christ, Son of man, including Peter. So Peter, in his simple idea, tried to stop Jesus that Jesus’ suffering and death shouldn’t happen. At this point Peter didn’t do anything wrong. As a human no disciple would let his teacher suffer. And also at the religious level of confessing Jesus as Christ he was right.
Jesus’ rebuke
However, breaking our expectation, Jesus rebuked Peter seriously even he might be considered Jesus’ treatment unfair. "Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (33) According to Matthew’s gospel Jesus praised Peter after hearing Peter’s confession to give him even ‘the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Despite this in what reason Jesus rebuked him seriously? Despite his right attitude to confess Jesus as Christ, Jesus rebuked Peter. That meant even Peter’s confession of faith might have problem. Then why did Jesus praise Peter’s confession of faith earlier? We can think of it by separating Peter’s confession of faith with Jesus’ rebuke. Or the authors of the Bible might bind two different incidents together that happened in different place and different time in their editing process. However, one thing was very clear here that Jesus’ rebuked Peter’s idea about ‘Son of God’ and ‘Christ’. As Jesus said, he wasn’t able to distinguish between the things of God and the things of men. It meant he thought the incidents of Christ which was related to God at the level of man. What does ‘the things of God and the things of man’ mean and what is difference in between?
Whoever wants to save his life
Jesus explained this matter in verse 34 and following verses in detail. It was the question of thinking life as what. "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘If anyone would 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 me and for the gospel will save it."(34, 35) Here a cross appeared even before Jesus took a cross. The cross of those days was an execution method for antinational offence. Isn’t it strange? According to this word, to follow Jesus meant to be a traitor. Of course the nation in those days meant Roman Empire. Jesus probably mentioned it as a symbolic level. Or the term of cross was added in Jesus’ word by the latter period of Christian community. We now cannot catch the entire situation precisely. However, we are able to understand the ground of what Jesus was talking about: “whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” The one who want to save his life was the people like Peter who tried to stop Jesus’ suffering and death. Most of us belong to this group. We give our best effort for such things. Without any difference between a narrow-minded person and a deep-thought person we all struggle to keep our own life. A little radical people try to keep their life through succeeding in life and earning money while others to prevent their life by living as a good man.
However, Jesus said such people eventually may lose their life. Why did Jesus say an opposite word that against the way of our life? The answer is very clear that people cannot keep their life by themselves. If we look into our life even a little honestly, we can confirm that life is not the thing we can get by our own effort. For the simplest example, our food material would be a case. Our parent cultivates rice and vegetable but it never is done by their own effort. Such food materials are produced by physical and chemical action of sun, carbonate and water in our unknown level. It means that keeping our life which is belonged to our flesh also not ours but belongs to the universal level. Though man operates or stimulates such universal life incidentally but it only operates it in a tiny part. Moreover, if man loses his heart to keep his own life only then eventually nature and universe will demolish the minimum condition of being level of mankind. If the science is only to focus on man’s consumption then someday it takes away the entire human life.
Jesus’ word, "whoever wants to save his life will lose it" is right at our psychological level too. Our selfishness is our attitude to keep ourselves with our own effort but it doesn’t give us life but kill. Despite man cannot live alone, if one remains in selfish status then he eventually dies. Though he looks smart outwardly but slowly falls into the way of ruining inwardly. The proud heart putting on airs endlessly and seeks the object to reveal self. When he has such object to be proud of then he boasts of it otherwise suffers from uneasiness. If a man is not able to escape from such psychological status then he lives outwardly but dead practically. Even in psychological level, man doesn’t have an ability to keep his life by himself at all. Likewise if a man, helpless being for life, tries to confirm in his own achievement and accomplishment he cannot but die eventually.
Concentration for self
In most case, we who are living in religious life also indulge in expanding ourselves and build up Christian culture outwardly. We accept Jesus’ word in very abstract and emotional way, “but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” but in real life we thoroughly indulge in the way of extending ourselves. Our desire to extend ourselves reveals our real life very clearly. Recently a shepherdess has to suffer a lot to give up her desire to extend herself in her business. It was especially hard thing to her for she had tasted the joy of confirming her value through business ability. It could be the same case to some brothers who had worked for the call-centers. At the beginning stages they earned just pocket money. However, it grows till Rs. 20000 or 40000 per month. Then all of sudden the employer feels burden for paying high payment then kick his employee off. I heard many brothers and sisters are spoiled for their consumption standard that already have become so high and feel hard to accept degraded level of consumption.
The certain Christians try to live an exemplary life being sincere to this word as possible as humble without coveting others. They try to reveal Christian’s ethic. They think that church should lead ahead to make morally clean world. They organize a morality recovery movement. Furthermore, they consider a homosexual and an unmarried mother a sin and try to clean this world by suggesting a certain moral standard. In fact, it is not easy to control self and live with such social ethic responsibility. However, such humbleness and ethical character also can be operated as a sort of self-salvation.
Whoever loses his life
The way to get life for man is in another place. There is no other way to reach to life except the way to connect to the resource of life. All our effort without any relationship with the resource of life it is meaningless like to catch cloud with hand. So Jesus said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? (36, 37) The thing man can do is to get the world. It can be possible according to his ability and effort. However, he cannot get life itself for the resource of life is in another place which means life is not a possession but existence.
The way to connect to the resource of life, not the way to get possession but toward existence is in following Jesus’ word, “whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (35) This word is the answer for the life attitude which connects to the resource of life. The word 'me and the gospel’ signifies one fact, Jesus Christ. If we understand this word as the word of forcing martyrdom immediately then it is wrong. Of course we think the word ‘loses his life’ in literal level then it might signify martyrdom. However, Christian faith doesn’t always concentrate on struggling between two things. Of course it has such sharp aspect in it but we have to clarify first the meaning of losing one’s life in order to understand such confrontation. If you remember my earlier explanation about the meaning of ‘whoever saves his life’ then you may understand the meaning of this word.
Worldly people struggle to keep their life with their own effort but we Christian gives up such method. Instead we concentrate on Jesus and his gospel, source of life. We pursue not to extend ourselves but Jesus Christ and his gospels, source of ourselves. While we are doing this we pay no attention to accomplish ourselves with worldly method. This is the meaning of what to lose our life. As we can see Jesus’ parable, we sit at lower place when we are invited to a banquet. We always humble ourselves as a child. At worldly order point of view such people seems to lose their life but they are people to live in Jesus’ word.
Concentration on the absolute world
The word to lose life for Jesus and the gospel should be understood much further in fundamental meaning. To lose one’s life means to change one’s concern from self to the absolute world. Jesus taught in his teaching on the mountain, “So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt. 6:30-33) This is the teaching about where man put their mind. I feel I need to explain it a little in detail for those who receive it in abstract manner. Here are two persons who invest in the stocks. One person always concentrate on the stock invest. Eventually he may earn much money through stock or perish. The other person is concentrating on how much he gains joy and freedom in his life. This person may get joy and freedom regardless of whether he earns money through stock or lose. Which one is life? According to Jesus’ teaching today, what is use of money if the person who became a rich suddenly by investing stock but loses his joy and peace in his heart. At this point Christian believes we don’t secure our life with our own effort but participate in life by certain other absolute power.
Visible and invisible one
However, problem is that people never pay attention to the meaning of saving life. It is because the world of salvation which is accomplished by self is visible and the salvation that comes from the absolute life is invisible. So people holds on to the visible life that they are able to achieve. Like Peter who jumped up with surprise objecting impossibility of Jesus’ suffering and death, people only judge and think base on self confirmation, but neglect invisible one, precisely speaking, yet revealed one. So Jesus said, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.” (38) Those who ashamed of invisible but really certain one and hold his life on to the product of man shall be ashamed of his life when everything becomes visible.
What is shame of today? Needlessly to say, people are mostly ashamed of lack of money. They say outwardly money is not everything but feel shame internally because of lack of money. On the contrary, people are proud of much money. The occupation to earn much money gets top most popularity. Evaluation for people also is done according to his annual salary. Likewise people living in today’s society regard a visible foundation achieved by their own effort as life itself. Reverse to this people pay not much attention to peace, joy and love. When we live in this way, we are eventually put into shame.
The glory of Father
The title of today’s message is ‘the way to get life’. This is related to a question, what is life? There is not more foolish thing than to live by misunderstanding about life. The word Jesus gave Peter by rebuking his desire that Jesus wouldn’t be suffered was the answer for the question, what is life? Life is not our possession. We are merely a receiver not a giver. Despite this fact people struggle to possess it by confirming self with their own effort from the beginning of history, till today and even on the future. According to Jesus, they eventually lose their life. The reason they have to lose their life is that they limit life in human category, which is unknown and connected to the world of absolute life. We still don’t know about the essence of life. As we don’t know about God clearly we don’t know life either. As we don’t know about living and death now we don’t know about life as well. It is because it happens from God who lives in another level. So Jesus expresses here, “when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.” At that moment, the secret of life will be revealed. At that time we come to know what glory is, what is life and who is God? Before that time, the time of transient what we can do is not to achieve the life with our effort but humbly accept it so that the spirit of life may work in our life actively.
THE WAY TO GET LIFE
Mark 8:31-38Peter’s confession of faith
Today’s passage is connected to Peter’s confession of faith. The incident is written in verse 27 after.
When Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked them on the way, "Who do people say I am?" The disciples replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." Then Jesus asked again, "But what about you? "Who do you say I am?" Now Peter stepped out and answered, "You are the Christ." Hearing their answer, Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. (27-30)
Continued to this, Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. When Jesus spoke plainly about this, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this, Jesus rebuked back to Peter. "Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
Here we have a question? Why did Peter tell Jesus that he shouldn’t be suffered and his resurrection shouldn’t be happened? Of course we can understand his heart to try to stop Jesus’ suffering and death. However, Peter’s activity didn’t seem to be a natural for Jesus told him about his resurrection three days after his death too. So we can think that Peter tried to stop Jesus’ suffering and death only. Or though Jesus told him about his suffering and resurrection together but Peter accepted resurrection only. For people used to have a tendency to hear what they want to hear only or what they could understand.
There might be a possibility for Peter who was greatly shocked after hearing Jesus’ word that Jesus would be killed by the hand of highest authority. He thought Jesus would be the king of Judea after demoting the power holders of those days. It was the idea of all the Jews about Christ, Son of man, including Peter. So Peter, in his simple idea, tried to stop Jesus that Jesus’ suffering and death shouldn’t happen. At this point Peter didn’t do anything wrong. As a human no disciple would let his teacher suffer. And also at the religious level of confessing Jesus as Christ he was right.
Jesus’ rebuke
However, breaking our expectation, Jesus rebuked Peter seriously even he might be considered Jesus’ treatment unfair. "Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (33) According to Matthew’s gospel Jesus praised Peter after hearing Peter’s confession to give him even ‘the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Despite this in what reason Jesus rebuked him seriously? Despite his right attitude to confess Jesus as Christ, Jesus rebuked Peter. That meant even Peter’s confession of faith might have problem. Then why did Jesus praise Peter’s confession of faith earlier? We can think of it by separating Peter’s confession of faith with Jesus’ rebuke. Or the authors of the Bible might bind two different incidents together that happened in different place and different time in their editing process. However, one thing was very clear here that Jesus’ rebuked Peter’s idea about ‘Son of God’ and ‘Christ’. As Jesus said, he wasn’t able to distinguish between the things of God and the things of men. It meant he thought the incidents of Christ which was related to God at the level of man. What does ‘the things of God and the things of man’ mean and what is difference in between?
Whoever wants to save his life
Jesus explained this matter in verse 34 and following verses in detail. It was the question of thinking life as what. "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘If anyone would 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 me and for the gospel will save it."(34, 35) Here a cross appeared even before Jesus took a cross. The cross of those days was an execution method for antinational offence. Isn’t it strange? According to this word, to follow Jesus meant to be a traitor. Of course the nation in those days meant Roman Empire. Jesus probably mentioned it as a symbolic level. Or the term of cross was added in Jesus’ word by the latter period of Christian community. We now cannot catch the entire situation precisely. However, we are able to understand the ground of what Jesus was talking about: “whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” The one who want to save his life was the people like Peter who tried to stop Jesus’ suffering and death. Most of us belong to this group. We give our best effort for such things. Without any difference between a narrow-minded person and a deep-thought person we all struggle to keep our own life. A little radical people try to keep their life through succeeding in life and earning money while others to prevent their life by living as a good man.
However, Jesus said such people eventually may lose their life. Why did Jesus say an opposite word that against the way of our life? The answer is very clear that people cannot keep their life by themselves. If we look into our life even a little honestly, we can confirm that life is not the thing we can get by our own effort. For the simplest example, our food material would be a case. Our parent cultivates rice and vegetable but it never is done by their own effort. Such food materials are produced by physical and chemical action of sun, carbonate and water in our unknown level. It means that keeping our life which is belonged to our flesh also not ours but belongs to the universal level. Though man operates or stimulates such universal life incidentally but it only operates it in a tiny part. Moreover, if man loses his heart to keep his own life only then eventually nature and universe will demolish the minimum condition of being level of mankind. If the science is only to focus on man’s consumption then someday it takes away the entire human life.
Jesus’ word, "whoever wants to save his life will lose it" is right at our psychological level too. Our selfishness is our attitude to keep ourselves with our own effort but it doesn’t give us life but kill. Despite man cannot live alone, if one remains in selfish status then he eventually dies. Though he looks smart outwardly but slowly falls into the way of ruining inwardly. The proud heart putting on airs endlessly and seeks the object to reveal self. When he has such object to be proud of then he boasts of it otherwise suffers from uneasiness. If a man is not able to escape from such psychological status then he lives outwardly but dead practically. Even in psychological level, man doesn’t have an ability to keep his life by himself at all. Likewise if a man, helpless being for life, tries to confirm in his own achievement and accomplishment he cannot but die eventually.
Concentration for self
In most case, we who are living in religious life also indulge in expanding ourselves and build up Christian culture outwardly. We accept Jesus’ word in very abstract and emotional way, “but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” but in real life we thoroughly indulge in the way of extending ourselves. Our desire to extend ourselves reveals our real life very clearly. Recently a shepherdess has to suffer a lot to give up her desire to extend herself in her business. It was especially hard thing to her for she had tasted the joy of confirming her value through business ability. It could be the same case to some brothers who had worked for the call-centers. At the beginning stages they earned just pocket money. However, it grows till Rs. 20000 or 40000 per month. Then all of sudden the employer feels burden for paying high payment then kick his employee off. I heard many brothers and sisters are spoiled for their consumption standard that already have become so high and feel hard to accept degraded level of consumption.
The certain Christians try to live an exemplary life being sincere to this word as possible as humble without coveting others. They try to reveal Christian’s ethic. They think that church should lead ahead to make morally clean world. They organize a morality recovery movement. Furthermore, they consider a homosexual and an unmarried mother a sin and try to clean this world by suggesting a certain moral standard. In fact, it is not easy to control self and live with such social ethic responsibility. However, such humbleness and ethical character also can be operated as a sort of self-salvation.
Whoever loses his life
The way to get life for man is in another place. There is no other way to reach to life except the way to connect to the resource of life. All our effort without any relationship with the resource of life it is meaningless like to catch cloud with hand. So Jesus said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? (36, 37) The thing man can do is to get the world. It can be possible according to his ability and effort. However, he cannot get life itself for the resource of life is in another place which means life is not a possession but existence.
The way to connect to the resource of life, not the way to get possession but toward existence is in following Jesus’ word, “whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (35) This word is the answer for the life attitude which connects to the resource of life. The word 'me and the gospel’ signifies one fact, Jesus Christ. If we understand this word as the word of forcing martyrdom immediately then it is wrong. Of course we think the word ‘loses his life’ in literal level then it might signify martyrdom. However, Christian faith doesn’t always concentrate on struggling between two things. Of course it has such sharp aspect in it but we have to clarify first the meaning of losing one’s life in order to understand such confrontation. If you remember my earlier explanation about the meaning of ‘whoever saves his life’ then you may understand the meaning of this word.
Worldly people struggle to keep their life with their own effort but we Christian gives up such method. Instead we concentrate on Jesus and his gospel, source of life. We pursue not to extend ourselves but Jesus Christ and his gospels, source of ourselves. While we are doing this we pay no attention to accomplish ourselves with worldly method. This is the meaning of what to lose our life. As we can see Jesus’ parable, we sit at lower place when we are invited to a banquet. We always humble ourselves as a child. At worldly order point of view such people seems to lose their life but they are people to live in Jesus’ word.
Concentration on the absolute world
The word to lose life for Jesus and the gospel should be understood much further in fundamental meaning. To lose one’s life means to change one’s concern from self to the absolute world. Jesus taught in his teaching on the mountain, “So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt. 6:30-33) This is the teaching about where man put their mind. I feel I need to explain it a little in detail for those who receive it in abstract manner. Here are two persons who invest in the stocks. One person always concentrate on the stock invest. Eventually he may earn much money through stock or perish. The other person is concentrating on how much he gains joy and freedom in his life. This person may get joy and freedom regardless of whether he earns money through stock or lose. Which one is life? According to Jesus’ teaching today, what is use of money if the person who became a rich suddenly by investing stock but loses his joy and peace in his heart. At this point Christian believes we don’t secure our life with our own effort but participate in life by certain other absolute power.
Visible and invisible one
However, problem is that people never pay attention to the meaning of saving life. It is because the world of salvation which is accomplished by self is visible and the salvation that comes from the absolute life is invisible. So people holds on to the visible life that they are able to achieve. Like Peter who jumped up with surprise objecting impossibility of Jesus’ suffering and death, people only judge and think base on self confirmation, but neglect invisible one, precisely speaking, yet revealed one. So Jesus said, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.” (38) Those who ashamed of invisible but really certain one and hold his life on to the product of man shall be ashamed of his life when everything becomes visible.
What is shame of today? Needlessly to say, people are mostly ashamed of lack of money. They say outwardly money is not everything but feel shame internally because of lack of money. On the contrary, people are proud of much money. The occupation to earn much money gets top most popularity. Evaluation for people also is done according to his annual salary. Likewise people living in today’s society regard a visible foundation achieved by their own effort as life itself. Reverse to this people pay not much attention to peace, joy and love. When we live in this way, we are eventually put into shame.
The glory of Father
The title of today’s message is ‘the way to get life’. This is related to a question, what is life? There is not more foolish thing than to live by misunderstanding about life. The word Jesus gave Peter by rebuking his desire that Jesus wouldn’t be suffered was the answer for the question, what is life? Life is not our possession. We are merely a receiver not a giver. Despite this fact people struggle to possess it by confirming self with their own effort from the beginning of history, till today and even on the future. According to Jesus, they eventually lose their life. The reason they have to lose their life is that they limit life in human category, which is unknown and connected to the world of absolute life. We still don’t know about the essence of life. As we don’t know about God clearly we don’t know life either. As we don’t know about living and death now we don’t know about life as well. It is because it happens from God who lives in another level. So Jesus expresses here, “when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.” At that moment, the secret of life will be revealed. At that time we come to know what glory is, what is life and who is God? Before that time, the time of transient what we can do is not to achieve the life with our effort but humbly accept it so that the spirit of life may work in our life actively.
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