Thorns and Crosses
Christy RamseyCrosses and Thorns
Crosses and Thorns
a sermon homily by Rev. J. Christy Ramsey
Audio from worship at the 10 AM Worship Service September 15, 2024
at St. Peters Episcopal Church at Carson City, Nevada
edited from a flawless transcription made by edigitaltranscriptions all errors are mine.
Mark 8:27-38
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This is a homily, not a sermon. Father Mike was very emphatic on that fact. You may not know the difference. Michael was concerned that I did not, that somehow, three years of seminary, that didn’t come up. But for the rest of you, let me see how I can explain this. A sermon would be a segment on “60 Minutes.” You know? And a homily would be a Public Service Announcement. The more you know. For those of you under 50, thanks for coming. A sermon would be a YouTube video by MrBeast, and a homily would be a TikTok video. I worked all night on that. Okay.
Another thing that people get confused is between thorns and crosses. Now, thorns we find in 1 Corinthians 12, and of course crosses that we bear are here in Mark 8. People get those confused. They think a thorn is a cross, and that’s not true.
Now, a thorn in the side of Paul is something annoying. It could be a physical malady, some kind of sickness, some kind of chronic thing. Or it could be a person, you know who you are, don’t look around. Could be that, too. But something that annoys you, that puts you off, that reminds you that you are not in control of everything, and basically you’re not God, and that there’s other things going on than you. For those that aren’t God people here, it’s not – the world does not revolve around you. That’s a thorn. Something annoying, something painful, something that puts you off – you, you, you, you, you – that tries to remind you you’re not all that. That’s a thorn.
A cross, totally different. Have you ever seen those ads that say whatever, and then it goes “Serious inquiries only”? That’s what cross says. Cross is serious inquiries only. It’s not about suffering. It’s not about pain. It’s not about discomfort. This is not that idea of the cross. That is not what Christianity, Jesus Christ is about healing, reconciliation. It’s about making the world better, about redeeming creation on God. It is not about the pain and the suffering and hard. That’s a thorn.
If you see what I mean, if you go with the cross and the pain, you’re still about you, you, you, my pain, my upset, oh, oh, oh. That’s not a cross. And also notice that the cross is something you pick up. It’s not something that picks up you. Something that you choose. It’s a vocation, a choice, something that you want, you’ve decided to do. There’s going to be troubles, there’s going to be suffering, it’s going to be long term, sure. But it’s not a thorn. It’s not something that’s done to you. It’s something you do for others. And there’s a test. If it’s about you and yourself, it’s a thorn. If it’s about others and creation, the community, and the kingdom of God, then it’s a cross.
Elizabeth Johnson said it this way:
Jesus speaks of losing our lives for his sake and for the sake of the gospel. Taking up a cross means being willing to suffer the consequences of following Jesus faithfully, whatever those consequences might be. It means putting Jesus’s priorities and purposes ahead of our own comfort or security. It means being willing to lose our lives by spending them for others using our time, resources, gifts, and energy so that others may experience God’s love made known in Jesus Christ. Elizabeth Johnson.
Hamilton City, California. Jose has a thorn. Every time it rained, being fire chief, he got out, out of his bed, and went out to the levee because it was a hundred years old, and every rain threatened to undermine it and flood the town. And he was out there stacking the sandbags, hoping that this wouldn’t be the time that the levee failed. That’s a thorn. That’s a pain. That’s annoyance. That’s interruption to your life. That’s a reminder that you are not in control. Thorn, thorn, thorn, thorn, thorn, all the way down.
Jose decided to stop the flooding. He got the Army Corps of Engineers out there. He got the project done, how to restore the wetlands, how to make a floodplain so that it could flood without destroying the town. He had all this done. It only took him 25 years. Hundreds of tamales to raise money to hire the experts that they needed to get the environment. It only took him multiple cross-country trips on the red-eye there and back to save a hotel room night, to lobby it, to go every year to try to get and do the budget. It only took him 25 years of working so closely with others, he actually married the one that was working on it. And I don’t know, I think their time together might have been reduced. 25 years.
He was asked, other people come and say – because it was finally done. Finally, after 25 years, it was done. The floodplain was restored. The wetlands were there. The river was tamed again, and the levee was gone from a hundred years ago, and the town was protected. And from all over people came and said, “Jose, how did you do it?” And he goes, “Are you sure? Are you sure you want to know? Because I tell you, 25 years ago, if someone had told me what it would take to get this done, I don’t know if I would do it.” That’s cross. That’s vocation. That’s giving yourself, your time, your life for others, for the restoration of creation, for building community and healing. That’s taking up the cross. Throwing another sandbag on the riverbank is a thorn. But now, when the rains come, Jose and the rest of town can turn over and go back to sleep. That’s what happens when you bear a cross.
Now, this suffering isn’t suffering for pain or for heartache or anything like that. It’s suffering of the consequences of restoring creation, of giving yourself and your life for others. September 11th was about a year or two after Mr. Rogers did his final show of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. He didn’t have a farewell tour, a closing finale or anything. It’s just another day, and he didn’t want to upset the children. And he just left it, and lights were turned off, and the set torn down and delivered to the Children’s Museum in Pittsburgh.
But then came 9/11, and the country was at a loss. And Mister Rogers came back to TV with a PSA. Even in the aftermath of 9/11, Mister Rogers maintained his fidelity to his principles that drove him: Love your neighbor and love yourself. Here’s the inspiring words of Mister Rogers after September 11th: “No matter what our particular job, especially in our world today, we are all called to be tikkun olam, repairers of creation. Thank you for whatever you do, wherever you are, to bring joy and light and hope and faith and pardon and love to your neighborhood and to yourself.
