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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
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2nd Sunday in Lent (B) When doing research for this sermon, I ran across an article in the New York Times about a fruit called “Miraculin”. The fruit is native to West Africa and has been known to Westerners since the 18th century. The technical name of this fruit is “Synsephalum dulcificum”. It looks somewhat like a cranberry, and when unripe like a coffee bean, and it has a slightly citrusy taste. But the common name for this fruit is “Miraculin” (or “Miracle Fruit”) – not because of what it tastes like, but because of its ability to make everything else that you eat afterwards taste differently. Apparently there is a protein in the fruit that acts on the taste buds and fools the brain into thinking that bitter and acidic foods taste sweet. Under the influence of Miraculin, vinegar has been described as tasting like Mountain Dew – and a Salami sandwich can taste like a Sara Lee coffee cake. The New York Times article described a “Miraculin Tasting Party.” Let me quote from it: (By PATRICK FARRELL and KASSIE BRACKEN - Published: May 28, 2008) “Carrie Dashow dropped a large dollop of lemon sorbet into a glass of Guinness, stirred, drank, and proclaimed that it tasted like a chocolate shake. Nearby, Yuka Yoneda tilted her head back as her boyfriend, Albert Yuen, drizzled Tabasco sauce onto her tongue. She swallowed and considered the flavor: “Doughnut glaze, hot doughnut glaze!” They were among 40 or so people who were tasting under the influence of a small red berry called “miracle fruit” at a rooftop party in Long Island City, Queens. The berry rewires the way the palate perceives sour flavors for an hour or so, rendering lemons as sweet as candy. The host was Franz Aliquo, 32, a lawyer who styles himself “Supreme Commander” (Supreme for short) when he’s presiding over what he calls “flavor tripping parties.” Mr. Aliquo greeted new arrivals and took their $15 entrance fees. In return, he handed each one a single berry from his jacket pocket. “You pop it in your mouth and scrape the pulp off the seed, swirl it around and hold it in your mouth for about a minute,” he said. “Then you’re ready to go.” He ushered his guests to a table piled with citrus wedges, cheeses, Brussels sprouts, mustard, vinegars, pickles, dark beers, strawberries and cheap tequila, which Mr. Aliquo promised would now taste like top-shelf Patron.” The “Miraculin” tasting experience – it sounds very interesting but also quite disorienting. What is just plain fun and freaky for your mouth is termed “cognitive dissonance” for your brain. We expect items of food to taste like we think they should. And if they don’t, eventually that “cognitive dissonance” could drive us crazy. Peter in our gospel reading was also experiencing “cognitive dissonance.” Just before today’s text, Peter had confessed Jesus to be the Messiah. Peter, like almost all people of his day, expected that the Messiah would someone who was exalted and powerful. But now Jesus began to teach them that “the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. (And) he said all this quite openly (that is, quite plainly).” Talk about “cognitive dissonance”! Jesus’ description of what would happen to him went against every concept of Messiahship that Peter had ever known. He, like all people of his day, expected that the Messiah would be like what was described in the seventh chapter of the book of Daniel: “I saw one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.” (Dan. 7:13-14) No wonder why Peter was experiencing cognitive dissonance! What he expected about Jesus and what he was now hearing from him were completely at odds – like Miraculin altered foods tasting completely different from what we are used to. In order to comprehend the true nature of Jesus’ Messiahship, Peter and the others would first have to “unlearn” their previous assumptions of who and what the Messiah was. And that “unlearning” did not come about easily for Peter – it was no wonder that he balked at what Jesus was telling him and refused it completely. With us it is different. Centuries of Christian history have made us familiar with the idea of a suffering Savior. We accept it. We readily sing songs like “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and “In the Cross of Christ I Glory”. And yet, I wonder if we are really that different than Peter was. In the deep set of our minds, in our attitudes and actions, we rebuke Jesus just like Peter did. We may talk about the cross, but in reality we expect our discipleship to be comfortable. We want our faith to always be – as we say at Pella – “a place of refuge”. The idea of our discipleship and faith as often involving sacrifice and suffering is not one that we like anymore than Peter did. We, like Peter, would prefer that Christianity be something which always “feels good” and which demands little commitment on our part. But that kind of view, Jesus says, is of Satan. It is setting our minds on human things rather than divine things. The idea of everything tasting sweet all the time as food would under the influence of Miraculin might sound good at first, but I am sure that eventually we would miss the “sours”, the “bitters”, and the “spicy” tastes that we are used to. We know that the non-sweet tastes are an essential part of what we eat. In the same way, Jesus wants Peter and us to understand that experiencing life – God’s life – involves much more than just a “sweet”, “no commitment” kind of discipleship. We only fully experience God’s life when we are ready to “deny ourselves”, and “take up our cross” in the same way that Jesus did. Only when we are ready to lose our life do we then begin to really and truly live. This may seem like “cognitive dissonance”, but it is most certainly true. I know that for myself, the times when I have most grown in my faith have not been during the easy times – but rather the hard and testing times. When I am hurting, afraid, and full of doubts, THAT is when I am most aware of my need for God’s grace. And looking back, I thank God for the bad times in my life – because they have helped me to better understand and appreciate God’s love and forgiveness. And I believe that the same is true for many of you in your lives as well. We might like the “sweet” and “easy” times of life, but the “bitter” and “suffering” times are what help us to really grow as the people of God. No, following Jesus is not always sweet and easy. It often involves suffering and bearing a cross. But Jesus does promise to always be with us – even in the midst of those times when we must go through suffering or even death. And in the end – Jesus promises that just as he rose again, so will we. He will be with us through whatever sufferings, cross-bearing, doubts, failures, or whatever else we may endure, and bring us to eternal life. May God bless us and help us to believe this promise – and give us the faith and commitment we need to follow Jesus even during the hard times of life. Then our lives will not just be “Miraculin sweet” – but we will know Christ’s joy and happiness to the deepest depths of our souls – forever and ever. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! -------------------- Pastor George Karres 418 W. Main St. Sidney, MT 59270
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