This past week, as one of our 40 Day Journey to the Cross Reflections focused on the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin, I thought back to one of my favorite scenes from Mel Gibson's film, The Passion. This scene was based on the mock trial that Jesus was put through. As the scene played out, you could see that the plot against Jesus had succeeded and those who opposed Jesus had turned the crowd against him. As the anger rose, so too did the fear that you could see in Peter's eyes as the fate of Jesus became more and more apparent. Suddenly in the midst of this angry and violent crowd, a young woman looks at Peter and cries this one was one of the followers of Jesus and Peter adamantly denies it. Within minutes, fearing the consequences of a truthful answer, he repeats this act of cowardice two more times and then runs out of the courtyard.
It is in that Biblical context that the Gospel story continues to describe the trial of Jesus and finally the moment for the vote comes. By then, it is abundantly clear what the outcome will be. The opposition had planned well and after the formality of a vote that was pre-ordained they would bring Jesus to Pilate who they knew would sentence him to death.
And so Caiaphas, the Chief Priest, calls for the vote and person after person falls into line and casts their vote against Jesus. Joseph of Aramithea and Nicole know that their two votes will not change the outcome. They saw the same situation that had caused Peter to deny the Lord. They knew that if they voted against Jesus, they would be safe.
Betrayal was not only the safe way to go, it was also the smart way but they knew in their hearts betrayal was still betrayal. And so as the tension built and the landslide victory against Jesus became more and more apparent, it finally came to be their moment to make a decision.
Their support for Christ in the past was known but surely they saw the realities of the situation and would fall into line like everyone else had. You could hear a pin drop. And then Joseph, followed by Nicodemus, showed a courage of their convictions and a willingness to pay the cost of their discipleship and they stood up and in a loud voice cast their vote not against but in support of Christ.
Yes, as the hymn we will sing in a few minutes puts it, their moment came to decide in the strife of truth and falsehood, and they chose good over evil. That was their moment of decision and the reality is that all of us face moments of decision not once but daily in our lives. Could there be a better example for us to consider this week than the young man in Afghanistan who is facing execution if he does not recant in his conversion to Christianity. Yes, two dramatic examples. One from our Biblical Record and the other from today's newspapers that illustrate the cost of discipleship and the decision to pay that cost.
But how do these dramatic illustrations relate to our lives? To answer that, let us briefly reflect on today's Scripture lessons and see what they have to say about the cost of discipleship.
The first thing we see in both of today's Scriptures is that no one is willing to pay the cost of Christian discipleship unless they are convinced that their sacrifice will fulfill the God-given purpose of their Lives. Moses' original response to the call to sacrificial leadership was "No Way!" Pick someone else with more gifts and abilities. But by the time we pick up his story in Numbers, we see that he has moved beyond this time of self-doubt and accepted the fact that whatever challenges or uncertainties he would face, he would be faithful to his calling to bring the Nation of Israel to the Promised Land. Once he had been uncertain and filled with fear. Now his vision was clear and his faith was strong.
And how about our Lord. Yes it is true that no person has walked on this earth who had a greater faith and commitment to God. But as the hour of the cross draws nearer when he would be lifted up on that cross to fulfill his mission to save us from our sins, even he is struggling with that purpose as he prays in Gethsemane. Father, if it is possible, take that cup of suffering from me. But after his time of prayer has renewed him in spirit and in the clarity of his purpose, he completes his prayers with his greatest prayer Father, not my will but your will be done.
Perhaps, we might still wonder, what do these Biblical stories have to do with our lives? The answer to that question is a resounding everything! For as surely as Moses and our Lord had a mission and a purpose for their lives, so too do we. Our mission and purpose is as unique as we are but perhaps I can remind us all of what our mission and purposes include by citing such examples of the commitments we have by repeating some words that are familiar to us all.
The list could go on and on but the truth is every day in countless ways we have opportunities to decide to fulfill our individual and collective missions and purposes as God's people.
Finally, this word of encouragement for those days when honoring our commitments is a struggle. Remember, we know Moses and our Lord fulfilled their Mission because we are reading their story after it has been completed. But don't you think that some days their faith journey must have been a struggle?
Moses had risked his life to bring the Nation of Israel out of Egypt and how did they say thanks, by complaining to him and about him almost every other step of their journey to the Promised Land. And we have already remembered our Lord's Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Yes, they struggled but they kept their faith in God and in themselves and so they kept and honored their mission and purpose.
Friends, there will be tough days for us also, but to quote the title of one of Robert Schuller's popular books, Tough Days Don't Last, But Tough People Do! Tough not in a sense of angry and gruff, but tough in the sense of having a faith strong enough to stay the course and fulfill the God-given purpose and mission of our lives.
Pastor Stephen Giordano — April, 2006