The Scripture Readings this week are:
- Genesis 17:1-27
- Mark 8:34-37
The Sermon title is Promises with a Price
Early Thoughts: What price might you be willing to pay? What might seem too much to ask?
Abram/Abraham is once again reminded of the promise and God makes a covenant. This sign of this covenant is that Abraham and all the males of his household (meaning Ishmael [born of the slave woman Hagar] and slaves and servants since the promised son [Isaac] has yet to arrive). The male who is not circumcised will not be a party to the covenant, will not be a member of the household. The male who is not circumcised will not be a part of God's Chosen People.
The promise comes with a price.
Then we have Jesus. Peter and company have been invited into a new way of being, they have been invited into the company of the Kingdom. Jesus is sharing the promise of a renewed world. Peter has just professed that Jesus is the Messiah, the Chosen One of God. In response Jesus predicts his death and rebukes Peter for questioning that. Now Jesus tells his friends that to follow Jesus means being willing to give up their lives.
The promise comes with a price.
What price are you willing to pay to be a part of the promise?
WE are invited to be a part of God's beloved community. We are invited to be heirs to the promises of abundant life and hope and love. But there may be a cost associated with that invitation. One of the hymns in More Voices (one we sang earlier this year) talks about different invitations to follow Jesus and includes the line "lives will never be the same again". That could be a promise, it could be a threat, it certainly suggests there is a price to be paid.
Following The Way of Jesus means to follow a different path than the rest of the world. IT might not cost our lives in terms of hanging on a cross but it will come at a cost. IT pushes us to "deny our very selves", to have a different set of priorities.
What price are you willing to pay to be a part of the promise?
--Gord
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