Proper 17 A

Matthew 16: 21-28

Compassionate Listening
I have a friend who was ordained when I was, and I admire him for many things bt most
of a!! be"ase he has done something with his !ife whi"h I don#t be!ieve I "o!d ever do$ %e is not emp!oyed by
any parish or "o!!ege in his dio"ese$ &hat he does is go into prisons in the state system of 'eorgia and sits with
the most vio!ent offenders, sa!!y those on death row$ %e doesn#t ma(e promises, doesn#t ta!( abot the idea of
"apita! pnishment, thogh I (now he has an opinion abot it) he doesn#t te!! them how be!oved of 'od they are,
thogh I (now he has an opinion abot that too$ %e doesn#t even ta!( abot gi!t or inno"en"e$ %e simp!y sits and
!istens, often in the si!ent moments before e*e"tions, !istens after a!! the +dgment is over, a!! the senten"es
passed$ %e !istens as deep!y as he "an, not be"ase he fee! he "an win more time for these peop!e, these peop!e
who have been "onvi"ted of a"ts abot as heinos as yo or I "o!d imagine$ %e !istens be"ase they are hman$
,or those of s who have !ived in these states and seen protests otside of these prisons on te!evision, sa!!y
after the fa"t, mobs of peop!e s"reaming at ea"h other abot !ife and +sti"e with p!enty of inve"tive, the tension
wo!d be nbearab!e$ -t my friend see(s ot that tension$ %e is an nsa!!y .iet man and wo!d never thin(
of p!aying to a "amera$ %e +st be!ieves that fear, the (ind !imbi", repti!ian fear that penetrates these p!a"es, is
a!ways the enemy of the gospe! and whenever he fee!s it he (nows he is in the right p!a"e, be"ase he be!ieves it
sho!d never go n"ha!!enged$
/n!ess we are deaf, we "annot he!p bt fee! the fear that penetrates the aftermath of
Peter#s "onfession, when he pro"!aims 0ess as 1the Messiah, the 2on of the !iving 'od3$ -t he is not the
Messiah that Peter e*pe"ts or nderstands$ &e see him open-mothed as 0ess te!!s him that sffering and death
were part of the pi"tre, that b!ood and pain and hmi!iation were what was ahead of him$ And so Peter, who has
not rea!!y heard 0ess, says the on!y thing he "an, the thing we a!! say, even if +st to orse!ves, when or who!e
wor!d is threatened: 1'od forbid it, 4ord5 6his "annot be35 It#s a "ry abot +sti"e and abot inno"en"e, bt
most!y it is abot fear$ After a!!, if something so awf! "an happen to 0ess, if it fina!!y is abot death, then this
death is rea!!y abot s, and we fee! the fear in s rat"heted-p so high that none of s "an bear it$
6hat is why, when we hear 0ess "a!! Peter 2atan, we begin to nderstand how big a
temptation that fear, and the para!ysis it brings, is for a!! of s$ 7o one needs to say how easy it is to !et fear rn
yor !ife and if there is something worse than death, that#s what it is$ 6he measre of everything we do be"omes
how m"h it s"ares s and whatever we do is based on avoiding threat$ 2o we spend or days in .iet, "aref!
avoidan"e nti! we "ome to their end and find that we have never rea!!y !ived at a!!$
6his s"ene with 0ess and his dis"ip!es forms a (ind of pivot, a f!"rm on whi"h the
entire gospe! rests$ In fa"t, it represents a (ind of trning point for a!! of s$ ,rom this point onward, 0ess8 fa"e
is set toward 0ersa!em$ ,or s, it is abot re-orienting one8s !ife so that it is not "entered on the se!f and its fears,
or preo""pation with or !ives, or "areers, a!! the stmb!ing b!o"(s that are so fami!iar to s$ It is
"ommitment to one another, to the ro"( of the "ommnity on whi"h the "o!!e"tive !ife of the "hr"h is bi!t$ It is
a reminder that "ertain things, maybe the most important parts of or !ives, are !earned on the way, that or
sa!vation is bond-p with things we "annot nderstand$ And it is easiest to a!!ow fear to rn or !ives when we
"annot "ontain it in a "on"epta! bo* of or own ma(ing$
&hat 0ess offers a!! his dis"ip!es is an a!ternative, when he te!!s them to pi"( p their
"rosses and fo!!ow him$ 6he on!y "rosses they (new were the ones that !ined the way to 0ersa!em, whi"h were
remar(ab!y effi"ient be"ase they were both means of death and vehi"!es of fear, fear of 9ome, fear of the
power of athority$ &e have a "hoi"e, 0ess said, of worshiping that fear or something e!se$ -t we have to be
ab!e to !isten, to !isten to that voi"e whi"h says, 1:o not be afraid3$ It is the response to the voi"e that spea(s to
s when or heads are on or pi!!ows and as(s s what we are going to do when the parents are gone, wi!! or
!oved one srvive the operation$ 6he fa"t is that we a!! have "rosses, whether we want to a"(now!edge them or
not, and we "an either tiptoe arond them or pi"( them p$ 6hey don#t promise s freedom from sffering$ &hat
they do promise s is re!ief from fear$ -t we have to be the ones to p!! them ot of the dirt, to ta(e them ot of
the p!a"es we wo!d !i(e to (eep them, ot of sight and !oo( at them$ &e have to be ab!e to ho!d them, to see
what they are, to note that they are not so heavy on"e we are sre or grip is on them and that we do not have to
"arry them a!one$
&e have reminders a!! the time abot how diffi"!t that "hoi"e is, what effe"t it has on
the rest of or wor!d$ 7ot !ong ago, I read a boo( by a photo+orna!ist abot time she had spent with the 2isters
of Mer"y, the "ommnity that Mother 6heresa had fonded in ;a!"tta$ 2he spo(e with a woman who was
wor(ing as a vo!nteer there, a nrse who was offering her time in the <a!ighat, the home for the dying$ 1In the
/nited 2tates3, she said, 1peop!e ta!( abot "ompassion, bt they on!y ta!( abot it$ 6hey don8t pt it into a"tion
be"ase of their fear$ 2ometimes they don8t even (now they are afraid$3 It is that fear we hear in Peter8s voi"e,
fear that this sffering Messiah wi!! "hange s in ways we "annot predi"t, and maybe "hange the wor!d in the
pro"ess$ It is when we admit to that emotion and wor( throgh or fear and para!ysis that we are "apab!e of
giving "ompassion and !ove$ And "ompassion, to !itera!!y sffer with the ;hrist in the other, is what we are a!!
"a!!ed to do$
2o do not be afraid$ 6he fa"t is, as my friend has reminded me abot the p!a"es
where he wor(s, is that none of s gets ot a!ive, if !ife is simp!y abot preserving what we thin( we have and
staving off the fear that someone or something "an ta(e it from s$ It is then we start to do anything to avoid or
"rosses, and the on!y garantee is that, if we (eep it p !ong enogh, they wi!! do s deep and irreparab!e harm$
6he a!ternative is to pi"( p what we have been given, in"!ding the things we are most afraid of, to !oo( at them
hard and de"ide what to trst more, or fears or the 'od that !eads s throgh a!! of them$