By Donald M. Tuttle

This is a Precious Moment figurine. Joan and I bought it nearly 20 years ago to adorn the top of our wedding cake. Although it never made it to the reception, we have had it perched on the dresser in our bedroom ever since.

Of course, this Precious Moment is only one in a series of collectibles. The smiling, childlike characters can be found in hundreds of poses--everything from playing to praying. And most are like this one--cute, sweet, completely innocuous. But not long along a Precious Moment evoked a stir. I don’t know if it was only proposed or if it was actually manufactured, but the plan called for a Precious Moment crucifix. The maker planned to hang one of these smiling, childlike figures on a cross. It was, they said, a crucifix for children.

Needless to say, the plan was roundly panned--and for good reason. A cross is not the place for a Precious Moment character.

While Joan and I were dating--and for a year or so after we were married

--we attended Mass at Roman Catholic Churches and worship at the Disciples Church each weekend. Both of the Catholic churches we frequented featured large crucifixes against the front wall. One was a tile mosaic; the other carved or cast. The figure in neither was a Precious Moment. The body on the cross was--as you can imagine--the anguished Christ, the one with nails through his feet and hands, a crown of thorns on his brow, and the hole in his side created by the soldier’s spear. On these crosses--and every such cross in every such church--we found the Suffering Servant, the Christ who suffered and died for the sins of the world. And that was the point--to remind us that Jesus suffered for our sins.

Of course, he did suffer. While some in the church and some outside of it debate the nature of his birth, and while some inside the church and some outside of it argue over the reality of his resurrection, no one seems to question the fact that Jesus suffered greatly and died on the cross. The manner of his death seems beyond doubt.

What has been more problematic is “why” Jesus suffered. Jesus himself said “the Son of Man must suffer greatly, be rejected by the religious leaders and be killed. But he doesn’t explain what he means by “must.” Why “must” Jesus suffer?

Some suggest it was destiny. They would argue that God had, more or less, programmed Jesus life so that suffering and death were the only possible result.

That is something of the view reflected in the great Christmas song “I Wonder As I Wander.” Do you remember the opening lines? “I wonder as I wander, out under the sky, How Jesus the Savior did come for to die…” It is as if his whole purpose in coming was to suffer.

Certainly that is a reasonable understanding. It fits well with the idea that Jesus was the Lamb of God. In Israel, the spotless lamb was sacrificed for the sins of the people. The author of Hebrews says the same of Jesus. He says that Jesus suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. That is certainly true.

But to simply declare that Jesus was destined to suffer and die fails to do justice to his life. What purpose was there in his life and teaching if only his death mattered? In fact, why teach at all if in the end only his suffering sufficed? Besides that, what is humanity’s role if Jesus’ death was pre-determined? Did we play no role in his rejection? Were we merely puppets manipulated by God without the free will to have embraced Jesus?

Of course, there is another option--one reflected in our text.

As soon as Jesus began to teach the disciples that he must suffer and die, Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes him. In response, Jesus turns to the disciples and tells Peter to get behind him. And then he gives the reason: “You are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.“ Or, as another translation puts it: “You don’t care about the things of God. You care only about things men think are important.”

Here is the “why” of the crucifixion! Jesus’ suffering and death was not pre-determined, but it was inevitable because his mind was focused on God and humanity’s mind was not. He cared about the divine will, while humanity cared only about its own lot. The conflict between the two would inevitably lead to our Lord’s suffering.

We see that in virtually every encounter the Gospels record.

Ÿ When he starts talking about going to Jerusalem, about being arrested and killed, his disciples panic. He’s talking about doing God’s will but they are concerned only to save his skin and theirs.

Ÿ When Jesus challenges the teachings of the religious leaders, he is attempting to restore God’s intention for God’s people. His mind is on the divine will. But the scribes and Pharisees are determined to maintain their power, their authority. With their minds on earthly things, they conclude Jesus must die.

Ÿ When Jesus is presented to the people as one who has done nothing wrong, it is so they can embrace him, ask for his release. But they yell, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” because they are more concerned with currying favor with their religious and political leaders than they are with God’s will.

Jesus suffered and died because his mind was set on God and those whose minds were not couldn’t stand it. They had to get rid of him. They had to play their last card--violence and death. It was inevitable. It was humanity’s final attempt to displace God.

Of course, even humanity’s best attempt to rid the world of God, to no longer have to even think of God, failed. That is the point of the resurrection. Jesus won the war. But while the war has been won, the skirmishes continue in the lives of all those who follow Jesus Christ. Jesus knows that our contrariness leads us to indulge ourselves, to avoid standing up for our faith, to travel the path of least resistance. He knows that we are most determined to save ourselves and gain the world and humanity’s applause. Like Peter and the rest, we often care more what men and women think that what God thinks.

That is why he admonishes us to a life of discipleship. That is why we are called to deny ourselves, take up the cross, follow him. That is why we are assured that the way of God is to give one’s life for the faith, for the ways of God. That is why we are to keep our minds on God and boldly live out the faith we have embraced. Jesus wants us to have a mind devoted to God, regardless of the costs.

Those who have such a mind, and suffered for it are legion. One such man is Bob Lupton. He is a member of a Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. More than 20 years ago, he moved into one of that city’s toughest neighborhoods. The reason was simple. He knew that the ministry he had there could never be genuine until he took up the cross, until he left his comfortable, even luxurious, suburban life. The cost was high. A week after the move his wife walked in on an armed robbery in progress. Years later his daughter-in-law was kidnapped at knife point and assaulted.

Yet Lupton could say he and his family had no regrets. Yes, they suffered. Yes, they paid a price that is higher than most of us pay. But after 30 years of work, Lupton has evolved from a social worker to a real estate developer, that slum has been transformed into a trendy, gentrified neighbor, and his little ministry has become a $6 million a year enterprise that hires 75 local employees and blesses the lives of many more. It was never easy. But through all that he and his family suffered, they knew that they had their minds on the things of God.

What Did Jesus Do? Jesus suffered. He suffered because of us. And he suffered for us. He suffered because his devotion was to God and God alone. As those who call him Lord, we are called to follow. Sometimes the path will be difficult. Sometimes we will suffer, maybe physically, but more likely in other ways--the shame of embarrassment, the pain of rejection, the awkwardness of isolation. But all of that pales when we know that our life is centered on God and that our minds are on that which is divine rather than human.