The Lutheran Hour
-
"The Cross Carrier"
- Download MP3 Reflections
-
Text: Luke 14:27
-
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed. The living Lord Jesus comes to all of us who are carrying a cross. He comes, and with nail-pierced hands, lightens our load. This is the promise of the Savior from sin, the Carrier of Crosses. In His Name we begin. Amen.
Those Lutheran Hour listeners who can remember back to the years when radio was supreme and television an impossibility, can probably recall a program entitled Fibber McGee and Molly. As often as they could, the writers of that program managed to insert a running gag which called for McGee, the fellow of the storyline, to go to his jam-packed, filled-to-overflowing, closet. Just as he began turning the doorknob, Molly, the lady of the story would call out the warning: “Don’t open the closet, McGee!” Well, McGee, without fail, opened his closet. The studio sound effects men went wild as they tried to create a mental picture for their listeners. They wanted the people to envision a mountain of strange and eccentric stuff cascading out of McGee’s closet.
Well, the Fibber McGee and Molly show went off the air a good number of years ago. Even so, that doesn’t mean the spirit of Fibber McGee’s closet doesn’t live on. Almost every one of us has junk drawers, junk closets, and junk rooms. Of course those places never started out as junk drawers, closets, and rooms; they just sort of… happened. You know how it happens: you turn on the TV and start looking around for something good to watch. If you’re clicking away on the TV remote in the wee hours of the morning, you’re confronted by the notorious infomercial. If you’re scanning during the day, you will come across one of those channels which is specifically dedicated to selling you… stuff.
In truth, it doesn’t make much difference whether you’re looking during the day or at night, 24-7, there is somebody who is ready and willing to sell you stuff. It’s not that you really need any more stuff, but when those smiling salespeople show you how their product can allow your car to run without oil and another product can give your jalopy a finish which will enable it to withstand burning lighter fluid, well that’s some impressive stuff. It’s stuff so impressive you can’t help yourself; you’re compelled to call the 800-number and buy the stuff. That’s how those of you who never used a knife to cut bricks of frozen vegetables, or tin cans, ended up with some brand-new, never-need-to-be-sharpened set of knives. The deal was irresistible; especially when they threw in a free lime squeezer and a lemon zester. I don’t wear earrings, but if I should ever decide to do so, I bought a product that allows me to comfortably suspend bowling balls from my earlobes. I’ve got a juicer that enables me to juice and drink small oak trees. I’ve got a cleaner that is so good it has turned our black lab white. I’ve got a toothbrush that can whiten my teeth, stop plaque, improve bad breath, and steam clean the kitchen floor. Pam and I live in a small condo, but if we ever entertain a crowd of 300 or more, we’ve got the chocolate dipping fountains, the salsa-makers, and the margarita dispensers that will enable us to do so.
Yup, if you want to see McGee’s closet, all you have to do is show up at my house; or maybe I can show up at yours. Using easy-pay, flex-pay, and discounted-pay, most of us have managed to accumulate stuff we don’t need, don’t use, and don’t want. Those sales folks sure are good at talking us into buying things we don’t need, don’t want, and won’t ever use.
Which is why, as I read the Gospels, I rejoice to see Jesus is not a seller of stuff. He is the Savior from sin; He is the Carrier of Crosses. Because He was a Savior from sin, Jesus would never have done well as a TV salesman. You see, Jesus came to give us that which we truly, eternally, need, not to convince us that we ought to buy the market’s latest, newest product that is supposed to bring us lasting happiness. Our Savior Jesus entered this world to make a permanent change in the eternal destinies of humankind. He was born, lived, died, and rose to bring light to those in spiritual darkness; He came to seek and save lost and sinful souls; He became one of us to offer Himself as the ransom which frees believers from the slavery of sin, the shackles of Satan, and the fetters of death. Jesus would have made a poor TV salesman because He was not a seller of stuff.
Of course there are many other jobs at which Jesus would have done poorly… at least in the eyes of the world. Although Jesus understood our sinful human hearts better than any person who has ever lived, He might not have been able to earn a good living as a psychologist. When a troubled sinner came to Him, Jesus didn’t begin lengthy and costly analysis. The solution He offered to suffering souls was simple: as God’s Son He held out forgiveness of sins and peace for a future He promptly filled with potential. Would Jesus have found success in the political arena? I think not. As God’s Almighty Son, He showed that He could feed thousands with a few loaves and fish; He could take care of physical problems better than any government program, but Jesus made it clear: His kingdom was not of this world. He was concerned first, foremost, and always that the lost be saved and the doomed be delivered from damnation. Jesus was not a seller of stuff; He is the Savior from sin, the Carrier of Crosses.
Read the story of His life and you will soon see that Jesus had a job to do, and He didn’t let anyone get in the way of His sharing. When the Pharisees and scribes, important and influential pillars of the Jewish community, tried to criticize and condemn His work, Jesus thundered, “…Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in…. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness…. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you going to escape being sentenced to hell?” (Matthew 23 excerpts). Can you imagine what would happen if I had begun this message calling The Lutheran Hour listeners “vipers” and “hypocrites”? I doubt if you would still be listening. Suppose the pastor of your parish regularly began his Sunday morning sermon that way, how long would it take for you to transfer your membership to another congregation? Of course you expect your preacher to speak the truth, but he doesn’t have to call us snakes, vipers, hypocrites, and white-washed tombs.
Jesus did not come to sell stuff, He came as the Savior from sin, as the Carrier of Crosses. I’ve often wondered how the Christ might have done if He were asked to be the leader of a contemporary church, a church which measures its success purely and primarily on the basis of money raised and not souls saved? What would be the reaction if Jesus spoke to a present day parish the way He spoke to the people in His day? In the 14th chapter of Luke, it says, “… great crowds accompanied Jesus, and He turned and said to them, ‘If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. ‘” If Jesus had said that to most country-club congregations, you can be sure, after worship the leaders of the church would be gathered together in His office; and they would not be smiling.
In my mind I can almost hear them saying: “Jesus, just what do You think You are You doing? The latest polls say that most folks think You’re a pretty good guy. Our services have been drawing some good crowds, and in a few years this ministry of Yours might even get out of the red and turn a profit. And now, just when things are starting to look up, You talk about people having to hate their fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. Jesus, Jesus, You can’t go around telling children to hate their parents. Telling kids to hate their parents is going to cost us big time. Look, we don’t want to tell You what to say, but it’s not in anyone’s best interests for You to tell parents they need to hate their kids. We know how You feel about loving the little children and how You pick them up in Your arms and bless them and how the kingdom of heaven is made up of such as these. We know what You believe, but the people out there don’t understand, and, quite frankly, we’ll all be surprised if they don’t crucify You for saying things like that.”
Then the officers would get on a new subject. They might say something like, “Look Jesus, we’ve covered all this before. Just how many times do we have to tell You to stay away from the subject of crosses? We’ve got bills to pay, we’ve got goals to meet, programs to implement. When people come to church, they want reassurance, not repentance. They don’t want to hear about saviors, sin, suffering, and salvation; they want to be told God is pretty pleased with them just as they are. Jesus, people don’t want crosses. What they want is to come into church feeling good and they want to leave church feeling better. If You have to tell them about a cross, why not do what almost everybody else is doing: tell them that if they give enough money to the ministry, and if they have enough faith, God will be obligated to take their cross away.”
Having patiently listened to this tirade, Jesus, with iron in His face and gentleness in His tone might have said, “I have not come to be a salesman for stuff; I am the Savior from sin, the Carrier of Crosses. I have to tell My people the truth and I refuse to make promises which the Father will not keep. I am not an entertaining, heaven-sent Infomercial. My Father has never said a Godly life is going to be an easy life, and I won’t pretend otherwise. The truth is, following Me means carrying a cross. Look at the Old Testament heroes of faith, which one of them didn’t have a cross to carry? Remember Noah: Noah preached for years and nobody listened to him; that was a cross. God asked Noah to build an ark and people laughed at him, that was a cross. When it began to rain and God shut the entryway to the ark, how do you think Noah felt knowing that everybody, and I mean everybody on the other side of those great wooden doors would be dead in a matter of days? Noah carried a cross.”
Jesus might have continued: “Among God’s people, children have always been looked upon as heaven-sent blessings. Even so, Abraham and his wife, Sarah, went for decades without having an heir. Their cross of barrenness was shared by Hannah, even as it was shared by Zacharias and Elizabeth in the New Testament. Yes, the Father eventually gave children to them all, but, for years they had had to carry a cross. Joseph: he was hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, and unfairly thrown into prison. Joseph carried those crushing crosses for years. For four decades Moses led the Children of Israel in the wilderness. That’s 40 years of listening to people crying, criticizing, complaining, and condemning. Moses had a big cross. The shepherd David and crown-prince Jonathan were best of friends. But they were also friends who knew that if David was to sit on the throne as God had promised, Jonathan had to die. Two friends shared that cross. The prophets were given a message from God, and they, along with their messages, were ignored, disregarded, and discarded. How,” Jesus might have asked, “can I sell My people a bill of goods and tell them their lives will be different?”
You see, Jesus knew that the Old Testament prophets, princes, and priests hadn’t cornered the market on the carrying of crosses. Jesus’ stepfather, Joseph, stood by Mary when he knew the child she was carrying wasn’t His. Jesus’ mother consented to be the Lord’s handmaiden, even though tongues might wag, even though it meant traveling across the country when she was about to give birth; even when it meant running away to Egypt to save her baby from a mad king, even when it meant standing at the foot of the cross and watching her Son die saving those who put Him there. Jesus knew His people carry crosses.
It was to save people from their sins, to help people carry their crosses, that Jesus came into a world that didn’t want Him, His forgiveness, His sacrifice, His teachings, His promises of eternal life. To save us, Jesus came into this world and picked up crosses beyond counting. The village where He grew up tried to murder Him; the family that raised Him thought He was unbalanced; the crowds that deserted Him, the disciple who denied Him, the friend who betrayed Him, were all crosses that Jesus carried. Then, of course, there was the cross He carried to Calvary. Along with that cross He carried the sins of humanity; He carried sins numerous enough, monstrous enough to make even the all-powerful Son of God sweat, as it were, great drops of blood. Jesus carried these crosses so that when He died, so did the authority of condemnation and the necessity of damnation. When Jesus rose from the dead on the third day; when He kicked open the doors of death, He showed to all the world that He truly was the Savior from sin, the Carrier of Crosses.
When Jesus told the crowd that they would be getting a cross, He knew some of them, quite literally, would spend their last moments carrying a cross. Looking at what would come, Jesus knew some would be sold out by friends for a reward; others would be turned in by family because of jealousy or because they thought they were doing their civic duty. Some of the crowd to whom Jesus was speaking would stand before an authority of the state who would lay out their options. They would say something like, “Think about your children who will be left without a parent; think about your future… You can save your life, or you can sacrifice it. Burn a little incense to honor the emperor, or be burned alive, or be thrown to wild animals, or be skinned alive, or be crucified.” Jesus, in speaking to the crowds that day, wanted them to know that following Him was not going to be easy pay, flex pay, or interest free. He wanted them to know that they would carry a cross, and He wanted them to know that He would help them.
He wants you to know the same. Jesus, with Divine foreknowledge saw the burdens, the crosses you would carry. Jesus, seeing your face, as clearly as He saw the faces of the crowd which stood in front of Him, knew the devil would try and seduce believers from His side. I would not hazard a guess as to how many of you listening to this Lutheran Hour message are being confronted by some close friend or family member who is doing all he or she can to convince you to compromise your commitment to the Christ. I cannot imagine how many Christian young people are being told their allegiance to the Lord is old-fashioned, narrow-minded, and incredibly boring. I don’t know how many business people are being told they can move up the corporate ladder if they will only sacrifice some of their Christian integrity, reliability, and responsibility. How many of you who work on farms must constantly reject Satan who would have you cheat a little, compromise a little, concede a little? And if I have not mentioned your particular cross, it is only because of time constraints, not because I am convinced that your life as a Christian is being lived without one. You have a cross, and Jesus wants to help you carry it.
I started out talking about an old radio program. Let me conclude with this story taken from an old Christian play. The story speaks of a young boy who was working in his parent’s carpentry shop in 1st century Jerusalem. The dialogue has the boy muttering and complaining about having to help his father fill a Roman contract to build crosses. In another scene, the boy is seen crying. When his parents ask, “What’s wrong?” the boy says, “I went to the market place and saw Jesus and He was carrying my cross! They took Him out of town and they nailed Him to my cross.” The parents comfort him saying, “Son, that wasn’t your cross. Plenty of other carpenters build crosses. No, we’re sure it wasn’t yours.” “Oh, yes, it was,” the boy said. When you weren’t looking I carved my name on the cross I was helping with. When Jesus went by me, He stumbled and I saw my name was on His cross!”
To all of you who are carrying crosses of physical infirmity and fear, of spiritual doubt and discouragement, I am able to tell you the risen Savior is by your side making sure that cross doesn’t crush you. He will, by Divine promise, someday remove that cross, and until that day, He will help you with its burden. This you can believe with all your heart, for the commitment to help carry your cross comes from the Christ who was not a seller of stuff, but a Savior from sin, the One who will help carry the cross with your name on it. If you need to know more about this Savior, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for September 9, 2007
TOPIC: Who Is the Real Jesus?ANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Ken Klaus responds to common statements often made by those who are seeking spiritual truth. I’m Mark Eischer. This material was originally developed as part of an outreach effort of the Lutheran Church-Canada.
KLAUS: Yes, I was asked to come up with responses to these statements from a Christian perspective. These statements, and others like them, can be viewed at these websites: www.whatyoubelieve.net and www.whatyoubelieve.ca.
ANNOUNCER: OK, Pastor Klaus, a lot of people would say they believe Jesus was a good man. How would you respond to that?
KLAUS: Mark, I’d say anyone who sees how Jesus reached out to the sick, how He became a Friend to the lonely and strength to the weak, they would have to conclude Jesus was a fine fellow and a great man, indeed. Anyone who hears His words about loving your enemies and treating others as you would like them to treat you, knows that Jesus was, by any human standard, a very, very good guy. The Gospels also tell us that Jesus was a fabulous philosopher, a trustworthy teacher, and a fantastic physician.
ANNOUNCER: And there’s still more, isn’t there?
KLAUS: There is. You see, if we confine Jesus to those roles, and those alone, we miss meeting the person God wants us to see. During His 33 years on earth, Jesus spoke about God’s judgment upon those who fail to live up to Divine standards. This is called sin. Jesus also shared how the Father has, in Him, provided the means of salvation.
Jesus was more than a good guy. That’s what John wanted us to know when he wrote this, in 1 John 4 (v.9-10), He said: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
ANNOUNCER: But what about the person who doubts whether Jesus even existed? There are some who point to a lack of direct historical documentation concerning the Christ.
KLAUS: You mean, like we can’t go to the British Museum and see His rocking chair or maybe a charge card sheet signed by Him?
ANNOUNCER: Well, yes, something like that. They ignore the eyewitness accounts found in the Bible. At any rate, some have concluded Jesus never was.
KLAUS: Yes, I’ve heard that all. Amazingly, when historians apply the same criterion to Jesus that they use in regard to other historical personalities, things change. We accept many well-known ancient persons as being real. They were born, lived, and died in historical time as real people. But, in truth, compared to Jesus, there is far less “historical documentation” for them. Jesus would have been a mere footnote in dusty books of antiquity had He not risen from the dead. Before the moment of Jesus’ resurrection, He had been perceived as a prophet, a teacher, a healer, and a troublemaker. Like all prophets, teachers, healers, and troublemakers, His death should have taken Him out of circulation.
ANNOUNCER: That should have been the end of His career right there.
KLAUS: And it wasn’t. It wasn’t the end of His career because Jesus rose from the dead, an event unexpected by friends, family, and enemies alike. Jesus showed Himself to be the Savior He had always claimed to be. Which leads us to say: the story of a living Lord as told in the Gospels, coupled with the unprecedented spread of the resurrection message, can be considered to be solid proof of His existence. In closing, Mark, do you think we could mention those Lutheran Church-Canada websites once again.
ANNOUNCER: Certainly. Those websites are: www.whatyoubelieve.net and www.whatyoubelieve.ca. We encourage you to share those sites with someone you know who might have questions. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“When I Suffer Pains and Losses” arranged by Henry Gerike. Used by permission
“Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord” by Felix Mendelssohn. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“In the Cross of Christ I Glory” arranged by Bob Singleton. From How Great Thou Art by New Covenant (© 1989 Family Films)
“Jesu, meines Todes Tod” by J.S. Bach. From die Bach Kantate by Helmuth Rilling (© Hänssler Verlag)