Daily Devotion – February 25, 2021 – Pastor Erick Thompson
Mark 8:31-38
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel,[a] will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words[b] in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
In the gospels, the humans just don’t seem to get it sometimes. Over and over again we see Peter focused on the wrong things. As humans, we do this all the time. We all have our own agenda, and often, we’re not listening to what’s really happening. Jesus’ openness about his own suffering, death, and resurrection was more than Peter could handle. He had finally figured something out and didn’t want anything to wreck it. He put his own needs before others.
So, what are divine things? Too often we believe divine things still have to do with us. We have come to look at Lent as a chance for us to focus on our sins and see how really bad we are. We adopt a Lenten discipline, but it usually plays itself out as a chance to tell others something superficial about ourselves: I like coffee too much, or I eat a lot of chocolate. When Jesus really starts to teach them about God’s love, Peter and the other disciples get scared. How can God’s love be shown in someone dying? Peter completely underestimated the depths of humans’ need for safety and control. The elders, chief priests, and scribes weren’t about to lose their control. They provided a predictable outcome for the people, and Jesus was going to mess that up.
But, God is up to something that we don’t understand. And, unless we’re willing to set our minds on divine things, we’ll never really get it. We’ll lose our lives by not really living. Sure, we’ll be alive, but our lives won’t have God as a part of them. Our lives will be forfeit. Unless we’re willing to listen to God’s daring risk in Christ Jesus, we’re not really ready to live. Until we’re willing to see that God was willing to become weak, to be poured out so that Jesus could be killed, we won’t get it. The power of God is found in this weakness. The power of God is found in giving up control. The power of God isn’t safe, and that means that we might begin to stand up to prejudice in our community. The power of God speaks truth to the powerful, even if those in power don’t want to hear it. When we set our mind on divine things, we start to lose sight of ourselves, and instead begin to see what God is up to in our community and in our world: creating peace, pouring out grace, loving neighbors no matter who they are, and not being ashamed speaking a truth that begins in God’s love for all people.
Prayer: Mighty God, help us to look to you for a power made perfect in weakness, and then lead us out into the world to share that good news with all people. Amen.
