Organists are rare birds. As our own Phyllis Linn or Rae Ann Anderson can tell you, good organists are not only few and far between, but they also share wonderful jokes amongst themselves.
Sometimes, when we hear hymn and song texts, our ears can deceive us. Many church musicians like to share corny jokes in the form of alternate or misheard hymn titles. So I decided to ask the FB Organists Association, who were happy to send me some of their favorite hymn bloopers:
-“Come for Tea, My People” (Comfort Ye, My People)
-“We believe in being honest, true, chased by elephants." (The Thirteenth Article of Faith)
-What is Andy doing there in the garden, anyway? “Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me”
-“Lead On, O Kinky Turtle”
-“The cattle are blowing the baby away.” (Away in A Manger)
-and for Christmas, the line in “The Angel Gabriel” = “most highly flavored gravy”
-“While shepherds washed their socks by night “
…and my personal favorite — “Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear.”
“Gladly” can sit here as a reminder that Words can play tricks on us. We hear the same word side by side and it may have slightly or entirely different meanings. Language is important, but not always perceived in the same way.
This morning I would like to talk about three different ways we can bear the cross. (Four, if you count Gladly here).
But first, let’s unpack the Gospel lesson we just heard.
There they are, James and John walking together with Jesus. It’s a weird proposition — “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” Kind of presumptuous, don’t you think? And if it weren’t addressed to Jesus I would almost suspect it was a trick question. What’s Jesus supposed to say? If it were up to me, I’d say “Suuure, I’ll do anything you ask.” But that’s just me, and I’m not as smart as Jesus. Instead, he answers them with a question. “What is it you want me to do for you?” “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in Your glory.” First lesson learned: Never say yes to such a question
Jesus knew that James and John had absolutely no clue what they were asking, and tells them so. When He asks them, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I was baptized with?” Not knowing what they were really getting into, they’re like, “Yeah, yeah, sure.. We are able.”
So we, too, must be careful. For instance , when we baptize — we are asked questions like, “PoG, do you promise to support these sisters and brothers and pray for them in their life in Christ?” and we answer, “We do, and we ask God to help and guide us.”
In passages like this, we learn that we need to KNOW, to the best of our limited knowledge, what it is we are asking of as well as promising to God. Although we act in faith — and there are a lot of unknowns —we are still responsible for what we DO know. If we have the daunting task of taking up the cross before us, we’d better have some idea of what we’re getting into.
So Jesus continues, saying, “Okay. You will drink the cup that I will drink, and be baptized with the baptism of which I am baptized, BUT…to sit at my RH or at my left is not for me to decide. God has already taken care of this,” says Jesus.
At this point all the disciples get a bit angry with James and John. Jesus smashes the prevailing hierarchy to bits. “You know that the great rulers around here are tyrants and keep those below them under their thumb. But that’s not what we’re about here. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Drinking the cup, sharing His baptism, we are also invited to share in Jesus’ suffering, to carry the cross. In effect, Jesus is asking, “Are you willing to walk in my shoes?” asking us to leave ourselves behind and concern ourselves with those around us.
People will often say things like, “Well, that is my cross to BEAR (same spelling).” But that sounds passive, that sounds like, “Well, I’ll just have to deal with it, this is the pain that I am stuck with.” But Jesus tells us, “TAKE up your cross DAILY” — it is an active challenge to us all. In order to TAKE up something, we need to make a decision. Now, this is not the same as making a decision for Christ. Christ already made a decision FOR US. Therefore, we are already IN Christ. But, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer points out in “The Cost Of Discipleship,” this is not cheap, but costly grace. We are still faced with a choice every day — whether or not to dare to go outside of ourselves and our own comfort zone and TAKE up the cross of Christ. Every day.. Each day brings new challenges.
Second form... I think of the verb “to BEAR,” which means “to give birth.” And I think of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was given her own cross even before her son arrived on this earth — and that was to actually CARRY him in her womb. When we hear her Magnificat we hear of her willingness to BEAR the very cross of Christ — “My Soul does magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For He who is mighty has done great things, and holy is his Name.”
We, too bear, or birth the Cross every day, as, what Martin Luther calls, “little Christs” in this world. We bear the cross in the world by proclaiming the Good News. As we walk the talk, people can’t help but see that we are followers of Christ. Just as one couldn’t help but see Mary’s pregnant belly as she was with child, we too, can be so full of the Holy Spirit and the good news of the Gospel as we bring it forth — birth it — to others. (New moms example)
Yet we, as residents of this world, sometimes find ourselves in situations where we are truly in the midst of our own suffering, or perhaps we see a lot of turmoil around us. While it’s so easy to get drawn into darkness, we remember and re-member and BARE (homonym) - reveal, show - B-A-R-E the Cross even as we bare our souls to others. We take that risk and become vulnerable, in spite of our brokenness.
This is where the rubber hits the road. This is where we find ourselves this day. World Hunger Sunday. We take risks when we forget ourselves and put others first. When we see someone at the intersection carrying a cardboard sign - (“Will work for food” “Homeless and hungry” “Help me get my wife back”) — those signs are symbols of have THEIR “crosses.” When we see these signs, sometimes our minds race. We come up with all kinds of excuses. The light’s gonna change. Oh man, this guy’s gonna get run over if he doesn’t get out of the road.
Well, who is it that really needs to get out of the road? Maybe WE need to get out of our OWN road. Maybe WE need to put ourselves last, and not second-guess the Holy Spirit.
Many times, I try to rationalize things. The skinny young woman outside the Wawa, asking very politely for a handout. “Ok, maybe when I come back I’ll have some change, ” I say. “I don’t have any cash right now.” Silently I hope that maybe she’ll move on while we’re in there getting our coffee. “Oh, maybe I could buy her a sandwich, but who knows if that’s what she really wants anyway. Probably not. She probably wants money. And she’ll buy more meth with that. Or other drugs. Or alcohol. Aww, forget about it.”
Well. People of God, guess what? What she will do with that money has already been decided — by the same God who already arranged where James and John will be sitting on that day of glory. And it’s not about sitting on thrones. That entire exchange is about the Ultimate Exchange — through Christ’s redemptive sacrifice on the cross, crucified between two THIEVES on either side of Him. the Suffering Servant we hear about in Isaiah, the hymn we so often sing in Lent:
When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss, And POUR CONTEMPT on all my pride.
“All my pride.” When confronted by someone in need, we can’t presume to do the work of the Holy Spirit. We can’t translate the message of the Spirit into our own version of God’s will. It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to tug at your heart. It’s the Spirit’s job to make you feel uncomfortable, and to stir you enough to reach out to someone else. To put ourselves last.
Our job is to act in response to the Spirit, not to second-guess — Go with the first thing you hear, don’t make it up on your own terms. If God says feed the hungry - go feed the hungry. Clothe the naked, go to the thirsty, give them drink. Make disciples. Baptize them in Jesus name. We show up and do whatever it takes because we are God’s hands in this world, acting on behalf of the One who gave Himself for all of us.
Finally, What’s the name of our bear again? “GLADLY — the cross-eyed bear, We are to bear our cross gladly because we love the One who loved us first, without ever thinking of himself. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.”
How about you? What can we do? Be vulnerable. Take that risk. Throwing aside all weight, let’s put ourselves last and follow in Jesus’ footsteps, sharing His Baptism, sharing His cup - gladly. AMEN
Wonderful sermon, Lisa!
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