Jesus says that if you want to be a follower of Jesus, you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and then follow him (Matthew 16:24). I don’t know about you, but I sometimes wonder if maybe it’s just easier to be a Christian these days than it was in Jesus’ time. Let’s be honest, the most days I only take up my cross is when I pick up my little metallic cross and pin it to my shirt. And as far as self-denial goes, you just need to look at my waistline to see that it’s not a huge feature in my life. For most of us, being a Christian simply involves trying to be nice to people and basically not acting like a complete jerk. And honestly, that’s not that hard to do. I don’t know that I’d compare that to carrying a cross. Or does being a follower of Jesus mean more than that?
When we look to the teachings of Jesus, then actually some of his stuff is pretty challenging. It’s a hell of a lot more than simply being nice. When we look at what he says about loving your enemies, about blessing those who persecute you, about turning the other cheek, about giving to those who have nothing, about putting unpopular people ahead of our friends and family, about giving away our wealth … anyone else starting to get uncomfortable with this list? I sometimes feel like we’ve managed to adjust our faith to suit our own lifestyle, rather than the other way around.
It’s not far from the truth. I was reading an article recently about some of the pushback that preachers in the States are getting for preaching some of Jesus’ teachings. In a recent interview, Russell Moore who used to run the Southern Baptist Conference said, “Multiple pastors tell me, essentially, the same story about quoting the Sermon on the Mount, parenthetically, in their preaching—’turn the other cheek’—[and] to have someone come up after to say, ‘Where did you get those liberal talking points?'” “When the pastor would say, ‘I’m literally quoting Jesus Christ’ … The response would be, ‘Yes, but that doesn’t work anymore. That’s weak,”
Jesus says, “If any want to become my followers …” Notice he says “If”. Jesus recognises that not everyone will want to follow what he’s teaching. Because if we’re going to take those teachings seriously, then that becomes a hard road to follow. Suddenly we’re not making decisions about what’s best for me and my family, but instead we’re having a Christlike outlook that wonders instead what is best for the poorest, the most broken, for the least of us.
It’s a lot easier to be nice and polite to people and go to church on a Sunday and sing praises to Jesus, and then call ourselves “Christians”. To put it another way, it’s a lot easier to be a fan of Jesus than it is to be a follower.
We shouldn’t find it all that surprising then when we look at our story for today (Exodus 3:15) and we see the hesitation that Moses has when God calls on him. In the story, God talks about the people who are suffering. God says I have observed their misery; I have heard their cries; I know their suffering. There’s no mention of the people praying to God, asking God for help. They are suffering and God knows about it. But the way God responds to this suffering isn’t by going in and freeing them all or by going in and wiping out the Egyptians. No, God’s response is to call on Moses, to commission Moses to speak and act on God’s behalf.
And of course, Moses responds in the same way that I suspect most of us would: I’m not good enough. I don’t have what it takes to change anything. Who’s going to take any notice of me? Surely there’s someone else more capable to do this. And God then says to Moses, “I will be with you.”
I wonder why God chooses to it this way. Surely it would be much more efficient if God simply answered their prayers from on high, if God responded with a simple snap of the fingers and just made everything okay. But instead God calls on Moses to speak and act on behalf of God. I suspect that we’d become incredibly infantile if God just fixed everything for us with a snap of the fingers. Instead God calls on us to be their voice and hands, to act and speak on God’s behalf.
These days, not many of us get burning bushes that speak to us. In fact, there are lots of times when I’m envious of Moses because he gets his directions from God so clearly. God gives Moses a sense of purpose for his life without him having to search for it. And yet, I know that God is constantly prompting me to see some of the hurt in this world, to feel some of the pain of those who are suffering, to hear some of those cries. And the way God responds with Moses, the way God responds with us, is to say, “I have heard their cries so I am sending you.” Now I don’t know about you, but when I hear that, I want to respond the same way as Moses: Don’t send me. Who am I to do this? But God responds the same way as well: “I am with you.”
I believe that there is some suffering in this world that you’re especially aware of. I believe that God has touched your heart making you especially aware of the cries of some particular group. I believe that God is saying to you right now, “I’m sending you to be my voice and my hands.”
I don’t know exactly what that looks like. It might be like Moses, approaching your government official and speaking out for those who are suffering. It might be getting to know more about what’s happening with those who are suffering. It might be giving up your money, your time, your energy, to help those in need. It might simply being someone who spends time with and listens with those who are suffering. I don’t know what it looks like for you, but I know God is calling you.
How will you answer that call?
Amen.