Missing the Point

Mark 8:31-39 There is something about getting to the end of the story that helps us see parts of it that we missed along the way.

I'm reminded of great movies like No Way Out, where it's not until the end of the film that we learn the truth about Yuri; or The Usual Suspects, where we finally figure out who this Kayser Söze character is and the whole film comes into clearer focus; or just about any Hitchcock movie, where just enough of the story is off camera for us not to know the full story until the precise moment the director wants us to.

There is something in this gospel lesson that fits that pattern. Immediately preceding this text, Jesus has fed the masses, healed the lame, confronted the Pharisees and the disciples, and has asked his disciples about himself. It is immediately before this story that Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah. Then, as Jesus is explaining what all of this means, Peter pulls him aside to correct him on this point about crucifixion. Peter, after all this time with Jesus, is still missing the point.

I can't help but wonder what Peter must have thought at the foot of the cross. Did Jesus' words become clearer to him at that moment? Perhaps...but it was during the trial, even, that Peter was denying that he knew Jesus at all.

There is a larger point in the greater story arc of Peter. And it is simply this: we are all teachable. We can all grow. Even those of us who might deserve the nickname "Satan" from time to time can still end up being rock-solid.

We are living with the cultural assumption that changing our minds is a sign of weakness. For politicians, it is perilous to do so, because you are a "flip-flopper." For the rest of us, there is an assumption of imperfection if we admit a wrong or go back on something we've said. Have any of you ever changed your mind about something? I can think of any number of subjects on which I was convinced I was in the right only later to get more information and change my mind. There are any number of issues of the day where I could talk about how my own perceptions and how they've changed, but let me offer a frivolous one: country music.

As a kid, I hated country music. I didn't ever want to listen to it. I thought it was beneath me. I held to this all the way through college until I got to seminary. Living in Chicago, there were these bands that performed country music with a frenetic energy to the point that I got intrigued. The name for this genre of younger rock n' rollers playing traditional country was Ya'llternative. Through these bands, I learned about and went back and listened to Hank Williams, Sr., and Webb Pierce. From there, I stumbled across newer acts like Dwight Yoakam and BR-549. I even uncovered whole genres like bluegrass that I had missed somehow. The point, however frivolous, is that my experience of something I had written off in a whole new way opened me up to enjoyment that I never would have found otherwise.

Can our faith life be the same? Do we have assumptions about Jesus, just like Peter, that close us off to the fuller truth of his life and ministry? Do we want to pick and choose, to take the parts that only talk about victory and resurrection so that we can somehow fool ourselves into thinking that success and faith are somehow intertwined? Or, on the other extreme, are we so comfortable with our own martyrdom that we clutch onto crucifixion with all of our might, refusing to let go even when the cross is empty? Are there parts of faith that we have eliminated for the sake of convenience? Or is the point more personal, that there are places in our lives or relationships where we need to admit we have been wrong? Are there apologies we have not wanted to give because we don't want to be seen as weak? Are there points of view we have missed because we need to portray ourselves as strong, no matter what?

It could be that we're missing the point. But there are none of us, not even those of us worthy to be called "Satan" from time to time, that are beyond redemption.