Getting behind Jesus - and staying there (A meditation on Mark 8:31-37)

Jesus and his disciples headed out for the villages around Caesarea Philippi. As they walked, he asked, “Who do the people say I am?”

“Some say ‘John the Baptizer,’” they said. “Others say ‘Elijah.’ Still others say ‘one of the prophets.’”

He then asked, “And you—what are you saying about me? Who am I?”

Peter gave the answer: “You are the Christ, the Messiah.”

Jesus warned them to keep it quiet, not to breathe a word of it to anyone. He then began explaining things to them: “It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the elders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and after three days rise up alive.” He said this simply and clearly so they couldn’t miss it.

But Peter grabbed him in protest. Turning and seeing his disciples wavering, wondering what to believe, Jesus confronted Peter. “Peter, get out of my way! Satan, get lost! You have no idea how God works.”  (Mark 8:27-33, The Message)

When it comes to pastoral ministry, disappointment and, at times, disillusionment, comes with the territory. You promote and plan a week of inspirational meetings and only a handful – and the usual suspects at that – turn out. You share a series of messages that are burning in your soul and the faithfuls' eyes seem to glaze over with boredom. Call the people to prayer and many beg off on account of other plans or your plea simply falls on deaf ears. You invest in an individual who shows promise only for them to wander off or their enthusiasm for Jesus to fade  on account of other looming priorities in their life. 

The end of our search for a church for over 30 years now

Mind you, these aren't complaints. It's just the lay of the land. As people are wont to say these days, “it is what it is.” 

I don't really remember anymore what I thought pastoral ministry would look like when I was a student in Bible college now some 40 years ago but I recall it had something to do with steady congregational growth and vibrant worship gatherings marked by inspiring music and articulate preaching in a facility that wowed the town. The fact that I thought that way was part-propaganda my seniors in ministry were promoting (i.e., “You too can build an inspiring church!”) and part-youth who are always prone to “see visions” (Joel 2:28, et. al.)

Thirty years into my pastoral career reality has been very different. The fellowship I've served for over three decades hasn't grown. In fact, it's diminished numerically since when I first assumed leadership back in 1991. Not precipitously but (for the few that remain from those days) noticeably. We used to average between 50-60 a Sunday gathering. These days, our weekly average is more like 30-35 all heads counted. Despite my best efforts to the contrary, despite my many prayers and simply showing up day after day after day and doing the work, the church isn't growing in the ways that we are prone to measure it (e.g., weekly attendance and facility expansion). 

For those who are not pastors you have to believe me when I say most pastors from time to time faced with their reality conclude, “Maybe it's me.” Or maybe it's because like Peter we have “no idea how God works” (v. 33). Where is it written that if we pray and believe we will enjoy fantastic results? In no Bible that I have read has it ever said that. 

This is more of Peter's style

When Peter exclaimed, “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:30) he is spot
on. But at this moment in his discipleship his head is full of all kinds of wrong ideas about “messiah”. He's thinking kingship. He's thinking the reestablishment of David's throne. He's thinking of the Romans driven decisively back into the sea that brought them. He's thinking “Kingdom come.” Jesus, on the other hand, is thinking of way bigger things than the solution to a geopolitical and historical problem. He's thinking, well, of the salvation of the world. And such a great salvation was not going to ever come through military or political means but through just opposite and counter intuitive ways – rejection, suffering, death but three days later, vindication through resurrection. 

I know from my days when I was subbing regularly at Roselawn Elementary that being “the line leader” for the day is a pretty big deal. If you're the line leader you lead the way to specials, lunch, recess and even to the bathroom. If one of your fellow classmates tries to budge and take advantage of a sub not knowing who's who, a great hue and cry is raised until the matter is rectified. After all: being at the front of the line doesn't happen every day. So what Jesus is saying sternly to Peter, to the rest of the Twelve and really, to all of us, is “take your place; get back in line; I am the line leader first and always.” 

Most of us are more familiar to the NIV's translation of that same verse: “Get behind me, Satan!” New Testament scholar Timothy G. Gombis has this to say about this rebuke:

After calling Peter “Satan,” Jesus exhorted him to “get behind me,” a call for Peter to take his position behind Jesus, listening to him and following his agenda as he takes the road to Jerusalem to be betrayed, rejected, and crucified. The connection between his words to Peter and his teaching in this passage is clear from the Greek text. Jesus tells Peter to “get behind [opiso] me,” the same term that he uses to describe “whoever wishes to follow behind [opiso] me,” (v. 34, lit. translation).  Peter and the disciples have minds and hearts shaped by their culture so that they desire to see God's kingdom only come in glory and triumph. They want God's purposes fulfilled, but they do not understand that in God's wisdom, glory only comes through suffering and death. Beyond merely failing to grasp Jesus's mission, Peter actually rebukes Jesus for talking about it. (The Story of God: Mark)

Of course, we have to go easy on Peter. We know the rest of the story. But how often do we struggle with disillusionment and disappointment in our lives because we were so certain God was in something or he was leading a certain way and our hopes and expectations were dashed when things didn't pan out? I won't speak for anybody else but I confess that at times I don't have a clue how God is working. At those moments life dishes me up a piece of humble pie and insists that I eat it.

Am I saying that thirty and a half years into my posting to this community I'm disappointed and feel a bit ripped-off? Absolutely not. The faith-community I serve is a wonderful extended family that I love and am blessed to be a part of. What's more, the community we live in is a wonderful place to be and we are grateful to be here. But when I find myself discouraged in the apparent lack of impact of my ministry more often than not it's because my expectations are not being met. Expectations that are more motivated by the values of the culture I live in rather than the values of the kingdom of God. 

What's the solution to my discouragement when I get that way? Easy: get back in line behind Jesus. He's the line-leader and I'm not. He's God and I'm not. He's never been coy with any of us of what we should expect in our determination to follow him. He spells it out not just to the inner circle but to everyone who wants to be his disciple: 

“Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for? (Mark 8:34-37, The Message)

So the best way for me to live is get in line behind him and trust that he will guide me well regardless if the fellowship I serve doesn't grow in such a way that garners me the attention I think I'm entitled to. After all, as the Baptizer once said so eloquently, “He must increase and I must decrease” (John 3:30, NASB)