But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." (Mark 8:33)

Twenty-odd years ago went to in Portugal and we visited the religious site of Bom Jesus. It’s part of the pilgrimage trail that finishes up at Santiago de Compostella. I remember a massive church at the top of a hill. Leading up to the church was a stone staircase of twenty thousand step. At least that’s what it felt like as we climbed. Still, I was younger then. And we didn’t climb it the way that pilgrims climb it - on their knees.

Which must be pretty uncomfortable. At the time I didn’t get it. It seemed a bit self-flagellatory. I mean, why would you do that. I mean, I know we’re all sinners to some extent and I know that when we approach God we’re supposed to accept that - especially in Lent. But still, they could surely have installed some escalators, right? Now maybe I get it a bit more - though I’m not sure my knees could take it these days.

Let’s take our text this morning. Jesus has been teaching that he would have to suffer, be rejected and be killed. Peter takes him aside and says, “What are you talking about? Don’t talk like that!” Maybe Peter has in mind a different outcome when they get to Jerusalem. Maybe he sees a triumphal entry of the Messiah into the city. Just before the passage we heard today Peter proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah. Maybe, in his mind, it’s all going to be plain sailing. They’ll rock up in Jerusalem and the crowds will flock to their cause. Easy. Jesus will take on his role as great High Priest and be proclaimed king - the successor of David. Easy. Then it’ll be time to drive out the Romans. Easy. This is, after all, what a lot of Jews were expecting from the coming Messiah.

Jesus’s response is shocking. He turns to Peter, the man he renamed as “The Rock” - the rock on which he will build his following, and says “Get behind me Satan!” That’s a bit steep, isn’t it? Maybe not. When Mark wrote about the baptism of Christ he talked of him being driven into the desert to be tempted by Satan. The gospels of Matthew and Luke go into more detail about those temptations. “You’re hungry?”, asks Satan. “Turn those stones into bread.” Easy. “You want to convince folk you’re the Son of God? Jump from a high tower and bring in the angels to save you” Easy. You want to bring the world to God? I’ll give you an army to make it happen.” Easy.

But life isn’t easy. You know that. I know that. We all go through hard times. We all have tough choices to make sometimes. When God came into the world he shared the life of a human being and faced all the hard times we face; knew tougher choices than any of us here, I hope, will ever have to face, including going to the Cross for the salvation of humanity and, throughout his ministry, issued the challenge to his disciples: take up my cross and follow me. A challenge he makes to his disciples today.

Maybe we’ve forgotten that. Maybe we’ve made Christianity too easy. I remember when I first became a Christian and was attending communion classes and the Minister said that what was asked of me was that I read the Bible, that I come to church on a Sunday and that I contribute some of my cash to its work. Even then I found myself thinking, “Is that it? Read the book, plant my bottom on a pew and stump up the cash?” Where’s the challenge in that? Where’s the “Take up my cross and follow me” in that?

We talk about temptation, especially during Lent, and sometimes we think it’s all about the stuff we mostly avoid succumbing to - axe murder and that sort of thing. But perhaps the most insidious temptation - the temptation Peter offers to Jesus -  is to take the easy way, to have an easy life, to not make the hard choices. I’m not sure I’ve always avoided that temptation. No. Strike that. I’m sure I haven’t. But when I have leant on God’s strength to do it, it’s made me stronger. I used to be a union rep and there were times when I had to face down my boss and just say, “You can’t do that.” That was never easy but every time I leant on God’s strength and did it it made me stronger.

We face choices in our everyday lives. Do we drop some food in a food bank or save up for an iPhone 14? Do we call out our friends when they are casually hateful of those whose skin colour is different, or those with different beliefs, or those - heaven forfend - who support the wrong football team. Maybe that’s the point of the staircase at Bom Jesus. The climb is supposed to be hard. The Christian life is supposed to be challenging - it’s calling us after all to reach for Heaven, for God. It’s supposed to make us climb. Not because we have to ‘earn’ our place in Heaven, but because we are supposed to yearn for it and to want to live here and now as its citizens

Every time we take up the Cross and stand up for what’s right we take a step toward Heaven. We climb. With every time we trust in God in hard times we take a step toward Heaven. We climb. With every time we take the hard choice because it’s the right thing to do we take a step toward Heaven. We climb. And maybe we do it on our knees because of all those times we succumbed to the temptation Peter offered Christ, but we climb.

We climb in the faith that when gather in glory we will look back and see that every time we did what was right - however hard that was -  and every time we took up Christ’s cross, we were light to the world and salt to the Earth. And we encouraged those around us to climb.

Lord, we do not pray for an easy life, but for a life in which we reach for you. Step by step may we walk in the world bearing your Son’s cross and so revealing him to others in us

Preached at Eaglesfield parish church

Complete service