Sabbath Day Thoughts — “Stumbling Blocks” Matthew 16:21-28

What gets in the way of following Jesus? Faithful people have been debating that for years.

In his first miracle, Jesus may have changed the water into wine, but there are a number of Christian traditions that teach that alcohol and faith are incompatible. Mennonites, Amish, Seventh Day Adventists, Holiness Pentecostals, Wesleyans, the Church of the Nazarene, and a number of Baptist denominations expect their members to practice temperance. The Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr. was well-known as a teetotaler and banned student drinking when he founded Liberty College in the early 1970s. Falwell saw alcohol as a dangerous stumbling block to faithful living, perhaps because his father, Carey Falwell, had been a bootlegger who shot and killed his own brother during a drunken argument.

Some Christian traditions have seen dancing as incompatible with the life of faith. For the first five centuries of Christianity, the church opposed dancing. According to early church leaders and theologians, dance incited idolatry, lust, and damnation. Christians were expected to distinguish themselves from pagans and set an example of pious behavior amid a Greco-Roman culture where dancing was an important part of religious life. Augustine condemned pagan worship for “the rustling of dancers, the loud, immodest laughter of the theater; and voluptuous pleasures that maintained perpetual excitement.” Even Presbyterians took a long time to warm up to dancing. In 1649, the Scots Presbyterian Assembly voiced concern about the “scandall and abuse that arises thorow promiscuous dancing.” They recommended that Presbyteries exert care and diligence in disciplining dancers. Offenders could be fined or made to stand in the “place of repentance” at the front of the church, where they were rebuked during the sermon.

While Catholic churches are well-known for their Bingo and raffle fundraisers, Protestants have long seen gambling as a stumbling block. In the Protestant tradition, games of chance have historically been condemned as an abdication of responsible stewardship and an illicit opportunity for gain that comes at the expense and suffering of others, often the poor. Gambling can also be enslaving. Between 1% and 2% of the U.S. adult population, or 2 to 4 million adults, are compulsive gamblers who struggle with big losses and big debt. Another 3% to 5%, or 5 to 9 million people, will, at some point in their lives, report that their gambling has become problematic. As recently as 2000, the PCUSA reaffirmed its opposition to organized and institutional forms of gambling, and it called upon Presbyterians to refuse to participate in such gambling as a matter of faith and to join efforts to regulate, restrict, and eliminate it.

What gets in the way of following Jesus Christ? Drinking, dancing, gambling? Stumbling blocks abound. Just ask the disciple Peter.

In the verses leading up to today’s reading from Matthew’s gospel, Peter affirmed Jesus as the Messiah and Son of the living God.  For Peter, the title Messiah was packed with promise.  The Messiah was a charismatic leader and military strategist like David, who united the tribes of Israel and defeated the Philistines.  The Messiah was a king like Solomon, who ruled with wisdom and amassed untold wealth and countless concubines.  The Messiah was someone like Judas Maccabeus, who defeated Israel’s Greek occupiers, cleansed the Temple, and purged the nation of foreign influence.  When Peter affirmed Jesus as Messiah, Peter anticipated big changes for Israel.  Peter dreamed of a nation where Jesus ruled instead of Herod.  The yoke of the Roman Empire would be broken, and the purity of religious leadership would be restored.

With expectations like that, it’s little wonder that when Jesus warned his friends of the betrayal, suffering, and death that awaited the Messiah, Peter refused to believe it.  Peter pulled Jesus aside and tried to change his mind.  “Come on, man. A life lived in fidelity to God’s word could never bring such pain!  Surely, God would never allow his Messiah to suffer!  The cross? What’s wrong with you, Lord.” 

But Jesus refused to listen. Indeed, Jesus’ response to Peter’s well-intended counsel was harsh, “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.”   Peter, who moments earlier had been lauded as the rock upon which a church would be built, learned that his expectations of worldly power, wealth, and military might were a stumbling block.

When it comes to discipleship, the Christian tradition has devoted much energy and enthusiasm to decrying those moral stumbling blocks that keep us from following Jesus, like drinking, dancing, gambling, and more. At its best, that focus on moral stumbling blocks has prized holiness and a life lived in devotion to God.  At its worst, our preoccupation with moral stumbling blocks has made us judge, jury, and executioner of our neighbors. Our attention to the sins of others may even give us feelings of moral superiority and self-righteousness. We imagine that our purity earns us a seat at the table and place in the kingdom to come.  Without question, drinking, dancing, and gambling, when they preoccupy our lives and capture our hearts, are a danger. But I don’t think they are what Jesus had in mind when he brought Peter up short and called him a stumbling block.

Instead, Jesus characterized our stumbling-blocks as a failure to follow.  Peter’s words were a stumbling block because they exhorted Jesus to not follow God’s will for the Messiah. In Matthew’s gospel, discipleship is following. After all, Jesus called his friends with the words, opiso mou, “Follow me.”  Discipleship, following God’s will for humanity, found a blueprint in the life of Jesus. He associated with society’s outcasts. He healed those who were deemed unclean, untouchable, and unwelcome. He cared deeply about feeding hungry people. He spoke uncomfortable truths to power. He taught women and cherished children. If anyone wanted to be a disciple, all they had to do was follow Jesus, even though the cost to prosperity or social standing might be steep, even though it might take people like Peter to the cross.

I suspect that for most of us, our drinking, dancing, and gambling are not what gets in the way of following Jesus. Nor do we share Peter’s assumption that following the Messiah should lead to wealth, influence, political powerful, or military might, although there are plenty of adherents to a prosperity gospel that continues to teach that lie. Instead, our stumbling blocks are mundane and prevalent. We fail to follow because we are busy. We live over-committed, mile-a-minute lives that leave little time for the essentials of discipleship like prayer, worship, and service. If we aren’t too busy, we may think we are ill-equipped or insignificant. We think we don’t have the right words for prayer, we don’t have the right gifts to serve, or the Lord doesn’t need us or want what we have to offer. If we aren’t swept up in busyness or convinced that we don’t matter, we may be frightened about what following entails. It could change our values. It could threaten our priorities. It would get us out of our comfort zone. It might put us face-to-face with people whom we would prefer to keep at a distance. What gets in the way of following Jesus? What keeps us from living discipled lives?

As tough as this scripture lesson may be, there is good news for us this morning. First of all, although Jesus was bound for the cross and most of his disciples would face crucifixion or execution, no one worshipping here today is going to be crucified. That’s something to be celebrated in a world where Christians continue to face persecution and even death for their belief. Next, when we follow Jesus in a life of discipleship, we can trust that he is on the road with us. He is out there ahead of us, showing us what is needed and making a way. Following brings us closer to Jesus, now and forever. A last point, when we follow Jesus in his Way of welcoming, helping, healing, speaking truth, and living in love, we begin to embody his Kingdom, and we make it come alive, here and now. We are transformed, and so is the world around us. We begin to see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom, just as Jesus promised his disciples all those years ago when he invited them to pick up a cross and follow him. The coming Kingdom, that’s something I’d like to see. How about you?

As we go forth into this week, there will be stumbling blocks—drinking, dancing, games of chance, busyness, inadequacy, fear. May we dare follow Jesus. Amen.

Resources:

Bob Smietana. “Report: Jerry Falwell injured in fall while drinking according to 911 call” in Religion News Service, September 17, 2020. Accessed online at https://religionnews.com/2020/09/17/report-jerry-falwell-injured-in-fall-while-drinking-according-to-911-call-libertyuniversity/

Kathryn Dickason. “Why Christianity put away its dancing shoes – only to find them again centuries later” in The Conversation. Accessed online at https://theconversation.com/why-christianity-put-away-its-dancing-shoes-only-to-find-them-again-centuries-later-156369

“Why don’t we dance?” in Christianity, Stack Exchange Network, May 2012. Accessed online at https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/7061/why-dont-we-dance

Presbyterian Mission Agency. “Gambling” in What We Believe: Social Issues. Accessed online at https://www.presbyterianmission.org/what-we-believe/social-issues/gambling/

Richard Ward. “Commentary on Matthew 16:21-28” in Preaching This Week, Sept. 2, 2023. Accessed online at workingpreacher.org.

Audrey West. “Commentary on Matthew 16:21-28” in Preaching This Week, August, 30, 2020. Accessed online at workingpreacher.org

Matthew 16:21-28

²¹From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ²²And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” ²³But he 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.”

²⁴Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. ²⁶For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? ²⁷“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. ²⁸Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”