B, Lent 2 - Mark 8:31-34, 38 "The Bridge of Life"

Text Mark 8:31-34,38

31 Jesus began to teach the disciples 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. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

34 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. 38 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.”

Sermon

Picture this: There’s a castle laden with riches. In it is everything you would ever need. At first you didn’t know about it, but when you heard the word on this place, you knew it was the place for you. Your deepest desire was to find this place, but you had no way of getting to it, in fact you didn’t even know where it was. The saying goes; a man’s home is his castle. Well, this castle was always meant to be your home. From the moment you heard about it, an unexplainable yearning to be there, filled your heart.

And then this fellow appears, he seems to know where this place is. He’s a little on the weak and frail side, not terribly attractive, just an average bloke; but buoyed by his knowledge of this place and his desire to take you there you follow him. He leads you to a deep gorge and a rough suspension bridge which crosses to the palace shimmering in the light of its riches. Seeing this place for the first time sets your heart on fire, it’s more than you could have wished, you’re overwhelmed by its splendour.

But your eyes look down from the castle to the rope bridge; it’s old, as if it’s been there forever. It swings in the breeze over an abyss that falls away to an eternity below. You can tell that this bridge is not well worn, not many have crossed it. But its ropes and planks seem archaic and weak with age. As you look down your heart sinks, fear of failure bubbles within as you think to yourself, ‘there’s no way I can get across that bridge!’

You hear the fellow who brought you to the bridge and you turn as he says to you, “I’ll get you across that bridge. I brought you here I’m not about to leave you now! Trust me, I know the way, I know just the person who will get you across this bridge.” But you look him up and down in doubt and begin to wonder if this is really a good idea. You start to tremble from the fear, there’s no way your legs will carry you across the bridge. They shake in anticipation of you being out in the middle and falling into the endless chasm below.

“Don’t worry; I know what you’re thinking! You can’t walk across this bridge, you’re not able because of weakness and fear, but that’s ok.” And just as your guide finishes these words, he introduces you to someone else. “My friend will carry you across the bridge, he’s the only one whose feet have ever walked on the planks, he knows ‘how’ to cross, he knows the way!” Your desperation to be in the castle palace across the void leads you to say yes, you don’t know why you said yes, it’s as if the guide who led you to the bridge said yes for you. After all his friend is no superman, in fact he’s a humble character, stooped over with his face to the ground. He seems just as weak if not weaker looking than the guide who brought you to the bridge. You think to yourself, “How can he carry me? I’m not light you know! How can he balance me on his back, swinging to and fro on that bridge?” But your guide looks at you anticipating your thoughts and says, “Trust him, he knows the way, he knows how!” So soothed by your guide’s words you climb on his back to cross the bridge.

Amazingly, climbing on his back, letting him carry you, fills you with mixed emotions. In one way it scares the living daylights out of you, you can see what is below and in front of you. “Why do I have to trust this bloke with my life?” you ask yourself. But at the same time, it seems right for him to carry you. A feeling of peace comes over you, just the same as when you first heard about the castle and was filled with a yearning to be there. You think to yourself that he can do it, he will do it. In fact he is doing it, and before you know it you’re out on the bridge. It’s at this point you realise that your guide hasn’t left you either. He’s still with you too. And he encourages you to trust the one who carries you.

As you are carried you realise you don’t know much about the one who carries you, so you ask your guide about him. He tells you, “The one who carries you comes from the palace across the way, from the same place as me. That palace belongs to his father!” “Ok”, you respond enquiringly, and then your guide continues, “You know, this fellow died when he was making this bridge!” It’s at this stage that you look down and see the hands with which he is holding you, and the feet which are carrying you. His body scarred with the injuries he received from his death while building the bridge. In fact these wounds still weep; his blood soaks your skin. You wonder to yourself, “Should I get off and take myself across the bridge or go back the way I came. We’ve only just left the edge!” The guide once again knows your thoughts and says, “Don’t get off; you can’t do it by yourself, your eyes will deceive you! He needs to carry you! He walks with his eyes closed!” Alarmingly you respond, “What do you mean eyes closed!?” The guide continues, “Well, he walks with his ears open, he listens and is led – he listens to his Father. He trusts not himself, although he could, however he trusts his father’s directions.” Then you ask, “So how did he die building this bridge?” The guide concludes, “By listening to his father!”

Jesus listens to his Father, he trusts him, and he calls us to listen to him and trust him too.

Jesus began to teach the disciples 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. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. (Mark 8:31-32)

Jesus calls us to trust that he is the way and he calls us to trust his word as the truth. Peter learnt his lesson the hard way, thinking that another way had to be the way. He was walking by sight, whereas Jesus was walking by what he heard.

Peter was there face to face with Jesus when he unveiled God’s plan to build the bridge for us to cross. However, Peter’s eyes were open but his heart and ears were closed. He could see the deep chasm; he knew it was fatal to fall into the chasm. But Jesus could only build the bridge by sacrificing his life. Jesus’ eyes were closed but his ears were open, he was obedient to his Father’s will, even unto death. So Jesus turns to his disciples, away from Peter and says, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (Mark 8:33)

So here we are, riding on the means of Jesus, being counselled by the Holy Spirit, who has led us to Jesus, our heavenly bridge builder, our heavenly bridge. We are called to do nothing but trust the one who carries us to this palace of eternal riches. The Holy Spirit and Jesus both make it quite clear that to get off and walk by ourselves is fatal. Trust his broken but resurrected body to get your there. Trust his blood which stains you with his holiness to get you there. You know you can’t get there by yourself, he knows that too. Let him carry you!

Jesus makes it quite clear what will happen to us if we reject the one who brings us to him - the bridge of life. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” (Mark 3:28)

He knows you’re a sinner, he knows you can’t walk across the bridge under your own strength, and he promises to forgive us for our sins of doubt and worry, offering to pick us up and carry us home. So don’t reject the Holy Spirit who brings us to Jesus in his written Word. He is sent by Jesus to bring you to Jesus – the Bridge of Life!

Jesus calls us to carry our cross, but let’s be quite clear: We can only carry our cross if we allow and trust Jesus to carry us the way he knows is best. And that is: Trusting the bridge he built through his suffering, rejection, and crucifixion. And trusting our baptism into his suffering, death, and resurrection, and trusting the life he brings by the power of the Holy Spirit through his Word, and his body and blood. Jesus calls us to repent, turn, and trust his word, and rest on him as he carries us home. He says, “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.” (Mark 8:38)

So turn from the faithlessness, disloyal, adulterous, and two-timing prostitution of yourselves with other untrue gods destined to eternal death. Receive and trust the forgiveness our sinful and weak generation is offered.

Trust your Holy Spirit guide. Trust your Messianic bridge to carry you – it’s Jesus Christ built - guaranteed. And see the Father welcomes you, his child, into his kingdom of eternal riches forever. Amen.

May Christ our crucified Saviour draw us to himself, so in him we find the assurance of sins forgiven and the gift of eternal life, Amen.