Sunday's Message - An Eye in the Sky

Here's the message I offered during the celebration services in the First United Presbyterian Church of Mingo Junction, Ohio on Sunday, February 28, 2020.

Mark 8:31-38 [Contemporary English Version]

Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to him. He said, “The nation’s leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. He will be rejected and killed, but three days later he will rise to life.” Then Jesus explained clearly what he meant.

Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that. But when Jesus turned and saw the disciples, he corrected Peter. He said to him, “Satan, get away from me! You are thinking like everyone else and not like God.”

Jesus then told the crowd and the disciples to come closer, and he said:

If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me and for the good news, you will save it. What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? What could you give to get back your soul?

Don’t be ashamed of me and my message among these unfaithful and sinful people! If you are, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

An Eye in the Sky

Now, if you watch WTOV, channel 9 news, you may know what I’m talking about with the sermon title this morning. But if you don’t, let me explain. A couple of years ago, WTOV bought this really sophisticated and I assume expensive drone called the SkyView9. Of course, when you first see it, man, it looks like something out of a science fiction movie, with propellers attached to four legs extending from a central body with a camera coming out from the bottom. I’ll tell you, twenty years ago, it would have been the stuff of nightmares. But not now. In fact, according to their press release, this is just another example of how “WTOV9 is always working to give you the best view of every story.” And I’ll tell you, I believe it really does what it’s suppose to do. Where, in the past, a camera on a tower could give just one perspective, the SkyView9 can go anywhere. And even though it’s sort of like those helicopters I remember you know, the one that radio stations used when I was a kid to give a broader view of the traffic going in and out of the Naval Base, this drone is nearly silent and not only can it hover, it can move and zoom so that we really can get “the best view of every story,” something that we might miss if everything is on the same level. You see, it really is an eye in the sky.

And I’ll tell you, that’s kind of what the Evangelist Mark was doing for us when he wrote his gospel. In a very real sense, he was serving as an eye in the sky as he wrote about the good news of Jesus, because he offered all kinds of stuff that we wouldn’t have known if we’d actually been in the story. For example, right at the beginning, he told us what he was describing: This is the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. [Mark 1:1, CEV] And at the baptism, we heard the voice from heaven, even though it was directed at Jesus: “You are my own dear Son, and I am pleased with you.” [Mark 1:11b, CEV] And before he cast them out, we heard the demons say,  “Jesus from Nazareth, what do you want with us? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are! You are God’s Holy One.” [Mark 1:24, CEV] And we know that, after he cured the man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, “the Pharisees left. And right away they started making plans with Herod’s followers to kill Jesus.” [Mark 3:6, CEV] You see, the Evangelist told us stuff that not even the disciples knew. In other words, he gave us “the best view of every story” and in that way, for us, his gospel really is our own eye in the sky.

And I’ll tell you, we’re going to take advantage of that perspective this morning. You see, as we consider the first time Jesus taught about what he was about to face and the first time he had to confront one of his closest followers and the first time he described in detail what following was all about, as we do that, we’re going to sort of look down at what happened and then we’re going to take what we see and apply it to ourselves. And you know, I think doing that will help us recognize three things that we might miss if we actually put ourselves into the story.

For example, when we assume this broader perspective, first, I think we’re able to understand that Jesus really did need to suffer. And that’s certainly in the passage we read. 

Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to him. He said, “The nation’s leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. He will be rejected and killed, but three days later he will rise to life.” Then Jesus explained clearly what he meant. [Mark 8:31-32a, CEV]

Now that’s what Mark wrote.

And since we’re familiar with the rest of the story, we know that’s exactly what happened. I mean, we know that soon after he gets to Jerusalem, his support is going to melt away. Man, even the crowds that followed him around and scared the Pharisees into biding their time, they’re going to be yelling for his crucifixion in a little while. As a matter of fact, when he gets to the end, he’s really only going to have twelve followers left and of those, one will betray him, one will deny him and the rest will run away. Yeah, he was right about being rejected. And he’s sure going to suffer and be killed. As Mark will write, and I think I read these verses last week,

About noon the sky turned dark and stayed that way until around three o’clock. Then about that time Jesus shouted, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”

Some of the people standing there heard Jesus and said, “He is calling for Elijah.” One of them ran and grabbed a sponge. After he had soaked it in wine, he put it on a stick and held it up to Jesus. He said, “Let’s wait and see if Elijah will come and take him down!” Jesus shouted and then died. [Mark 15:33-37, CEV]

And so, he was right about the part about suffering and death. But of course, we already know that’s not the end of the story. As the young man said to the women who entered the empty tomb: 

“Don’t be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who was nailed to a cross. God has raised him to life, and he isn’t here. You can see the place where they put his body. [Mark 16:6b, CEV]

And so we know that Jesus was spot on when he described his future.

But more than just knowing, thanks to our broader perspective, we can also understand why this had to happen. You see, because he was rejected, we can appreciate the fact that the gospel is all about what’s true, not necessarily what’s easy or comfortable or popular. And because he suffered and died, we have a savior who knows what we’re feeling on our very worse day and who actually experienced separation and abandonment and even death, something that we might and will experience sometime in our lives. But since that’s not the end of Jesus’s story, I mean, since we know that there’s an empty tomb there in the shadow of the cross and there’s the resurrection after the crucifixion, we can be confident that death won’t end our story either. You see, Jesus really did need to suffer, something that we can understand when we look down on this story. And that’s one.

And second, when we approach these verses from a broader perspective, I also think we can see pretty clearly something we really should avoid, and I’m talking the temptation to assume that we can define who Jesus is and why he came and what he expects from us. And I believe that’s a trap Peter fell into according to the passage we just read. After Jesus had talked about what he was going to endure, Mark wrote:

Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that. But when Jesus turned and saw the disciples, he corrected Peter. He said to him, “Satan, get away from me! You are thinking like everyone else and not like God.” [Mark 8:32b-33, CEV]

Now, that’s what Mark said.

And I’ll tell you, what Peter assumed and did, man, I believe it really does reflect the way most people think. I mean, I think folks have a tendency to assume that they know best and what they believe to be right is right because they believe it. For example, a couple of days ago I was talking with a guy who was throwing out a lot of opinions that he said were facts. And when I asked him to send me any articles he had that supported what he was claiming, he said, “Well, I guess we just have different facts.”I’m telling you, an opinion or an assumption or a feeling doesn’t become a fact just because we want it to be. But that seems to be the way a lot people think now-a-days. Just like they seem to assume that they have the right to reshape the words of Jesus Christ and the message of the Bible to fit what they want to believe, even if that means yanking stuff out of context and focusing on just a few verses while ignoring the vast majority of scripture. And why do they do it? I think it’s so that they can follow a Christ who confirms rather than confronts what they already believe. That sure seems to be what a lot folks feel comfortable doing, even to the point of condemning those who don’t. 

But as we look down on this story, isn’t that what Peter did to Jesus, and he did it the minute the one he’d just called “the Christ” started to say some things that made him uncomfortable? And isn’t that why Jesus called Peter “Satan” because he was trying to distract Jesus from doing what he knew he had to do? And that’s the same thing Satan tried to do in the wilderness. And isn’t that why Jesus also told his number one disciple to stop trying to lead and get back to where he was suppose to be, and I’m talking about, behind the one who called him to follow? Sure it is. And I’ll tell you, I think that can be applied in our world just like it did in his. Therefore, it just makes sense for us to focus our attention on what Jesus actually said, rather than on what we might want him to have said and to make the radical decision to use our two ears more than our one mouth and to recognize that Jesus came to save us, not the other way around. You see, we really should avoid following the example of Peter, the second thing I think we can see when we sort of look down on this story.

And third, right along with something we can understand and something we should avoid, I believe a broader perspective can really help us accept that following Jesus is challenging, if not out-and-out tough. Again, listen to how Jesus described the life he was challenging Peter and his other followers to live:

Jesus then told the crowd and the disciples to come closer, and he said:

If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me and for the good news, you will save it. [Mark 8:34-35, CEV]

Now, I don’t know about y’all, but for me, this seems every bit as clear as it is uncomfortable. For example, if I’m serious about following Jesus, I’d better be ready to deny myself, which may include denying my desires and my opinions and my own self-righteousness. And then I need to be willing to take up the cross, which not only points to definite pain but also to humiliation, because there was nothing more humiliating than then hearing the jeers and the ridicule as you carry a cross down the street. And I’ll tell you, that’s probably what’s going to happen when I make the decision to listen rather than to talk and to learn rather than assume. You see, that’s how we follow Jesus.

And why is that important? Why is it important to deny and to carry and to follow. Again, listen to Mark:

If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me and for the good news, you will save it. What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? What could you give to get back your soul?

Don't be ashamed of me and my message among these unfaithful and sinful people! If you are, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. [Mark 8:35-38, CEV]

I guess you can say that what we choose to do carries consequences. And I’ll tell you, that’s something we probably should accept as consider this passage.

Now, I’ve got to admit, I really like WTOV’s SkyView9. Watching something unfold from above is just more interesting and informative than seeing everything from ground level. And you know, maybe that’s why the Evangelist Mark offered us a different perspective as he told us about the good news of Jesus: the Christ and the Son of God. For example, take the passage we considered this morning, the one in which Jesus talked about himself and confronted Peter and told his disciples what following was all about. You see, by considering these verses, we can understand that Jesus had to suffer. And we can avoid thinking like the everyone else. And we can accept that following Jesus is going to be challenging. Now I believe this is what we’ll be able to see when we claim the Gospel of Mark as our own eye in the sky.