Where’s the Profit?

Text: Matthew 16:21-28

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

          I’m a bit of a stock market watcher. Not like some people whose moods seem to change as quickly as the stock indexes. Which is good because the swings can be pretty wild sometimes. Which is why they say that the best strategy is to be in it for the long haul. Make a long-term commitment and stick with it. As a financial advisor during the 2008 financial crisis the advice was to not even open those quarterly statements. And for everyone who heeded that advice, held on to their positions and rode it out for the long haul, the reward seems to have been pretty good.

Because a long-term commitment is generally a better option than chasing a short-term gain. Not just in the stock market, but also in life. Cell phone companies realize this when they give you a free phone and just require that you stay with their service for at least three years. It works out for them because they’ve locked in a customer. And it’s potentially good for the consumer as well if they’re willing to stick with that company for the whole time and not get hit with early termination fees. The greatest profit is generally realized by hanging on and making it through the ups and downs. And that profit isn’t just related to financial gain, it’s generally true with relationships as well. The longer you know someone, the deeper the bonds you form are.

It works with friendships, but also in marriages. I recently realized that we have 11 couples in this congregation who have been married for over 50 years, and 2 more who will hit that milestone in the month of October. And in talking to these couples they haven’t made it that long because every day of their married lives was all sunshine and roses. They’ve weathered the storms. They’ve fought the good fight. And they reap the rewards of relationships that have stood the test of time. That’s how it is with our life in Christ as well. The long-term life-long commitment to discipleship isn’t promised to be a smooth road every day. We’ll have crosses to bear. We’ll have wins and losses. We might even miss out on some short-term worldly gain at times. But the reward promised at the end is far beyond anything that this world could offer. Which is what Jesus teaches His disciples when He asks the question,

“FOR WHAT WILL IT PROFIT A MAN IF HE GAINS THE WHOLE WORLD

AND FORFEITS HIS SOUL?”

          I had a friend in high school who had a poster on the wall in his bedroom that had pictures of a beautiful mansion, an expensive sports car, and probably a bunch of other things that the world would consider signs of success. The caption at the bottom read, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” Can you think of anything more ridiculous than that? No sports car, no mansion, no worldly good is going with you when you die. Which is exactly what Jesus is getting at.

And yet, the allure of worldly wealth and possessions is great. But not just wealth and possessions, but also prominence, prestige, and immediate gratification. Sin causes great short-sightedness. It causes us to think that the things of this world are worth striving for, when what really matters is the eternal life we’ve been promised through faith in Christ. People all over are forfeiting their souls to climb the corporate ladder and fill up their bank accounts. They’re forfeiting their souls by gossiping and lying to make themselves look better. Planning their schedules so tightly that everything on the list of things that will make them happy gets accomplished – leaving no room for the God who loves them and desires to be at the top of that list.

It’s the same poor thinking and sinful ideas that lead people to think that what really matters is doing the things that make them happy today. When what Jesus tells us is that we very well might live a life of struggle and sacrifice. Taking up our cross on a daily basis and losing our own lives for His sake. But He also tells us that the return on that investment is greater than anything we could reap here in this world.

Last week we heard Peter rightly confess of Jesus that, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” But what does being the Christ mean? What must the Christ do to usher in God’s kingdom? And what does that mean for us? That’s what Jesus explains to Peter in our Gospel for today.

“From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” That all makes perfect sense to us, looking at it all in hindsight. It’s the core of our faith. We have a Savior who knew the necessity of His own suffering and didn’t shy away, didn’t back down from it, even to the point of death on a cross. And then in three days He rose again, sealing the victory over death that we all now participate in. We get it. But for the disciples who are hearing this plan for the first time, it’s nonsense. And more than that, it’s deeply troubling to them. Especially Peter, who “took [Jesus] aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’”

The same Peter who made that bold confession of faith, now questions God’s plan. He can’t see the big picture beyond his own expectation that life with Jesus is going to be a walk in the park. Peter expected that this life he left his livelihood for was going to bring some immediate worldly gratification. Which makes it necessary for Jesus to “[turn] and [say] to Peter, ‘Get behind me Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man’” Those are harsh, but necessary, words. That reference to Peter being like Satan always really bothered me until I understood that Peter’s attempt to dissuade Jesus from His mission is the very same thing that the devil did during Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Both are tempting Jesus to think that God’s Son shouldn’t have to go through this. That if God was merciful, He would spare Him. But the exact opposite of that is true. Christ’s suffering and death for us is actually the proof of God’s mercy.

Jesus also calls Peter a hindrance to Him. Which is a very mild translation of a word that really means a snare, or a stumbling block. Something that one would get caught up in or that would cause a person to fall. And both those things signify idolatry and other temptations that can lead to eternal death. Because we’re not talking about tripping over a rock and skinning your knee here. We’re talking about a fall of faith which is a fall in the absolute sense. And that’s a fall that God does not cause. The only snares, the only stumbling blocks in our path of faith are of our own creation. And they come from the rebellion our pride generates as we have our minds “on the things of men” rather than “on the things of God.”

Jesus then lays out for Peter and the rest of the disciples what the true marks of discipleship are. What this long-term commitment consists of. He doesn’t do it using legalistic language. He invites and beckons His followers to remain faithful, and this is what that looks like. Faith doesn’t come by coercion, but rather by the drawing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says to “deny” oneself and to “take up [your] cross and follow [Him].” Those verbs deny and take up indicate an action begun at a singular point in time and continuing throughout life. Just as in Baptism we renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways and then continue throughout our lives denying his attempts to draw us away from the Lord, we also take up our cross as Jesus’ disciples and don’t put it back down, no matter how heavy it may feel at times. Discipleship involves a lifetime of constant effort to follow Jesus as daily we return to our Baptism, until finally we lose our life for him—and thereby find it.

And not just find our life, but “gain the whole world” Jesus says. That statement means that in the end, those who have remained faithful – those whose long-term commitment of faith is still in tact – will receive all the benefits of the new heavens and the new earth that is being prepared for those who don’t give in to the short-term gain that the things of this world might provide. And even if you’re one of those who has done your suffering, has endured to this point, kept the faith, and are holding on to it with all your might. If the riches and health of this world are over, that’s ok. That wasn’t the prize you were running to win anyway.

We must see the forest beyond the trees. There’s so much more to be gained, and so much that could be lost, that weathering the storms and the struggles with Jesus is the only way to go. And when we do, we have the promise of Jesus that “the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done.” And all that means “what he has done,” is to have kept the faith. The faith given to you in your Baptism, nourished in you through Word and Sacrament, and that you now are privileged to share with others for the sake of Him who has given you life here in this world. And who through His suffering and death has assured your life in eternity. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.