Mark 8:31-9:1
Have
you ever received uncomfortable news? I am talking about news that makes you
squirm a little bit. The squirm could be because of imagined physical
discomfort or anticipated moral discomfort. The squirm could be for you or for
someone else. Uncomfortable news is news you would rather not hear.
I
am over 40, and as a male I have gone through certain rather uncomfortable
procedures. I have had cameras in places where the sun don’t shine, if you get
my drift. I have had fingers put pressure on things I would rather not relive.
(Happy place, happy place, happy place.) I have even had the female squishing
camera routine. Am I making you uncomfortable yet?
I
have also faced election nights when I dreaded the direction of our country. I
became concerned for the welfare of my children and grandchildren. I pondered
the progress of the Gospel in a culture where Truth no longer mattered, where
people did what was right in their own eyes, to quote a repeated theme from the
Old Testament. My spirit became uncomfortable and I was driven to prayer.
Jesus’
disciples are given some uncomfortable news, news they would rather not hear,
news that changes everything they had envisioned about the future. And they
don’t take the news well. In fact, one of the disciples takes Jesus aside and
gives him a good tongue lashing. But Peter gets more than he bargained for. He
gets rebuked.
Then
Jesus puts the cost of ignoring this new information in very stark terms. If
you don’t like this news, and can’t accept it, you are out on your ear. If you
can’t take a little bad news in the middle of some great news, then you don’t
get the benefits of the great news.
Did
you notice from the text that the disciples missed the great news? They missed
that Jesus rises from death. They get stuck on the bad news portion, that He
dies. Newly diagnosed cancer patients often miss everything the doctor says
after the words, “You have cancer.” They have learned to make sure someone else
is there, that they give you the next steps in writing, and that follow-up gets
scheduled. They try to go slowly through the next few sentences to give you
time to catch up. They will sometimes send someone else back into the room to
answer any other questions.
So
next time you have to give some uncomfortable news, remember that the person on
the hearing end might not be able to continue processing after the initial
shock. Like the disciples them might only hear part of the message. They might
miss important pieces, pieces that lessen the blow of the bad news.