Blessings for Curses
“Matthew 16:22…Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.”
23But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.””
When Jesus shares the stressful news about some upcoming events, Peter’s instant reaction is denial… God-Forbid it… not some.. “I Love You Jesus, thank you.” No, it’s, “God Forbid it, Lord….”
It actually sounds like Peter is cursing here…God Forbid it…
How is it that God’s name is so often next to curse words?
Quite literally Peter is saying…
God-Dammit, Christ! God Forbid it Lord. I’m not goin to let this happen to you!
You can hear the curse now, right. Sometimes, the curse is in just how you use the words.
Well it turns out that Peter is actually cursing at Jesus here… “God Forbid it” is definitely a curse, and Jesus even calls it out as such… Jesus even explains why it’s a curse to say, because it’s actually inspired by Satan. And Satan loves to take good things and curse them bad: Instead of “God Bless It”, here is Satan saying “God Curse it…”
Jesus calls it out that Peter’s response is sounding like Satan, like when Jesus was tempted in the desert. “(The Devil) took him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle (Stone) of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here… for his angels…will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” 4.12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Luke 4
Sticks and Stones may cause me to stumble or break my bones, but Satan wants cursing words to break our Spirit and damage your Soul.
In Sanctuary Yoga this last wed. the topic of contemplation during Yoga was Stress. We were invited to recall times, situations ,etc., where we get stressed out on a predictable basis…. Then, we were invited to breathe slowly out the simple words, “I Love This”. The next day, I was thinking of the words I sometimes say while driving, and then I used “I love This” instead, and I actually felt more relaxed, though still a bit hypocritical.
But instead of curses: breaths and blessings: “I love this,” and irony is allowed.
The stressful situation with Peter cursing and the disciples afraid is a time where Jesus allows some irony and word play to be used in a teaching moment.
Peter’s name means the “rock”, the “cornerstone” of God’s church, but now the rock-Peter is stonewalling Jesus from the way of the cross; Peter “the rock” is acting more like a rock in the way. So, Jesus calls Peter a stumbling rock instead.
Moreover, Peter is acting like the stone that was rolled in front of Jesus’ gravesite. But, like on the third day, Jesus would come out in front again.
Jesus wasn’t going to let a stone in the path stop him from rebuilding God’s temple… rebuilding God’s temple in our hearts. Yet, that rebuilding of the temple in our souls is going to take some sacrifice, and if not our own, then Jesus’ own.
“24Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Jesus insists that our lives will be best when we get over our selfish desire for the easy life and instead sacrifice what we want and need in order to help someone else. Even children need to hear examples that it’s loving and sometimes best to give up their TV show so that another family member can watch a favorite; or, do the most hated job in the household for another family member…”
“26For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?”
“Take up their cross and follow me”
Jesus had literally been around those who suffered…his whole life, and now he was going to suffer, greatly suffer, and not even God would help him off the cross. Yet, instead of cursing life for all it’s worth, Jesus encourages us to look at situations differently.
Yet, instead of giving us rose-colored glasses through which to look at the world, Jesus invites us to remember our crosses that Jesus takes as his own… giving us forgiveness instead, so that we can then forgive. Jesus reminds us to think about forgiveness, when we’re in situations where stress and pain are still present and holding us back. To finally move past the roadblocks, Jesus says just, “Follow Me”
When I’m learning new yoga moves, like breathing “I Love This”, or snowboard or Tango dancing moves, mentally I follow what I have seen done before, what I imagine myself doing- like others, starts in my mind. In the beginning God gave written instructions- The Torah, the law. But there’s a difference between reading about it and doing it… So, through Jesus, God has given us the ideal person to imitate and not just the words.
But this way of learning to be the best person we can be, can take some time, some pain, endurance, and suffering to say the least, but the rewards are great. Jesus says, just “Follow Me.”
“In the 1980s, Nike challenged athletes (and would-be athletes) with this straightforward motto: Just do it… “Nike’s… televised images that illustrated the slogan suggested pain rather than comfort, strenuous effort rather than relaxation, sacrifice rather than self-indulgence, yet, TV viewers seemed to welcome the challenge and the sense of empowerment.” Well, at least until the next commercial…
But, “Nike has now become a company that not only influences the sporting world, but has also come to define popular culture as we know it.”
What if we could help our Lutheran Church do the same with the sign of the Cross?
What if we followed God’s lead and took on the human curse of the cross and instead responded to it with a blessing, the blessing of God that says,
“I love you”, and “I love this.”
