Sermon - Lent 2
2024 Lent 2 (B)
Romans 5:1-11
Mark 8:27-38
“To Die For”
When reading through the passage from Romans I suddenly had a song running through my head from yesteryear. I am sorry to say that it was not a hymn or a camp song or even a part of the liturgy. Good, Churchly, Christian music does regularly run through my head and pass through my lips. However, not this time.
It happened somewhere along verses 6-8 of Romans 5. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The song, specifically, the refrain of the song, that was bouncing around and then taking me back into another decade was the song sung by Prince and the Revolution: I will Die 4 U. It took me a while to figure out what was that and why.
First, the refrain. Prince sings, “Cause you, I would die for you, yeah, Darling if you want me too, you I would die for you…” Second, the reason this happened is because back in 1984 when the Purple Rain album and the movie came out, I was putting in a lot of hours in the kitchen of the local Pizza Hut. The same music that was played in the dining room was also played in the kitchen. People fed a lot of quarters into the jukebox that year to listen over and over to Prince’s music. Regardless of my personal preferences that song stuck.
Thanks to the Internet, I was able to access the lyrics and the time frame. Looking at the lyrics, I was struck by its use of religious language. However, he is not singing about Jesus. He is singing about his role as his girlfriend’s savior.
Our culture is familiar with the phrase “to die for.” It is sometimes used to emphasize how good something is. For example, that pie was “to die for.” Or that vintage car, was “to die for.” There is quite a bit of exaggeration in that use of the phrase.
But there are noble uses of the phrase too. We get chills when we hear stories about how soldiers sacrificed their lives for one another on the battlefield. Someone will cover someone else with their body or jump on a live grenade so that their friends can make it home. We are all grateful for the commitment of the Secret Service knowing that they will sacrifice themselves for the President and others under their protection. We are proud of the dedication of our police and firefighters who enter into dangerous situations, sometimes sacrificing their lives in order to preserve the lives of others. We are grieved when those sacrifices are forced upon them. Their families and communities suffer because of their heroism.
But, as we reflect on what God is saying to us through the Apostle Paul, I am aware that what is said here about Jesus goes beyond even the noblest expressions of that phrase “to die for.” All the examples I have listed have a pre-existing common bond of some kind: romantic love, deep appreciation, family, bond of friendship, a responsibility for others, strong sense of duty, or citizenship.
What the Apostle Paul is talking about is something even more extraordinary. Before the living God, we are sinners. We are ungodly. We are wicked. We may improve or progress in so many ways over the course of our lifetime. We may learn to eat better, be more cheerful, use better language, gain intellectual sophistication, be a better parent or child, remove racist or sexist attitudes and thoughts, kick the drug or alcohol habit. We may progress in so many ways, but we will never, ever stop being sinful. We will never be completely pure. We will never lose that innate selfishness. The impulse, no matter how well hidden, to sin in thought, word, or deed, will never leave us. Because of sin’s pervasive presence, we will always be God’s enemy.
There will never be a time when we can be righteous enough, on our own, to be in God’s presence. We will never have the moment when God will say to us, “your best efforts have paid off. How did you do it? You are free of sin.” Despite this fundamental problem of ours, our Lord Jesus Christ, dies for us, the ungodly, the wicked, the sinner, the enemy. He dies for us. He dies for you and for me, so that through the suffering and the death of the cross, he will justify us before our heavenly Father.
Jesus is moved to do this because of our heavenly Father’s love for us. He sends the Son to help us because we cannot help ourselves. He dies for you. His suffering and death on the cross justify us before the Father. The punishment we deserve was conferred upon the Son, Jesus, on the cross. On account of Jesus’ sacrifice, we are no longer called sinner, ungodly, wicked, enemy of God. God’s justice is meted out on the Son as a substitute for our own failure. He that is without sin dies in our stead so that we may be absolved, forgiven, declared righteous, and thereafter enjoy God’s benevolence and live into His promises for us.
As a people who are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, we are grateful for the unmerited gift of grace that is extended to us. We receive His gift with faith. In faith, we follow Him. When we hear Jesus say, “take up your cross and follow me.” Whatever that means at any given time, we are grateful for the opportunity. We confess that Jesus has saved us by His cross. For no reason, other than the Lord’s mercy, we receive unearned, the gifts of forgiveness, life, and eternal salvation. As love moved our Lord to save us, in love we respond by following Christ. Our life is not ours. Our life belongs to God. He died for you.
… The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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