The Greatest Show On Earth

The Rev. Joseph Winston

September 13, 2009

Sermon

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1
Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, children of all ages, step right up. Come
and see the greatest show on earth. In ring one, we have enormous elephants from
the deepest, darkest part of Africa. These majestic mammals will entertain you
with their breathtaking feats of raw strength along with their incredible intelli-
gence. Way above this fabulous show, working with out a single safety net, is the
death defying high wire act. See the trapeze artists twist and turn as they throw
themselves from the security of their swing to the tiny cable stretching from one
side of the big top to the other. And in ring three we have the clowns in their crazy
clothes. Their antics will make you laugh to hard that you will cry.
For a very long time, circuses have entertained the civilized world. The fifth
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3.

1
king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (c. 616-c. 578 BC), established the first
circus in all the world some six hundred years before the birth of Christ.2 This
circus located in Rome hosted the annual running of the horses along with box-
ing tournaments. Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) then enlarged this circus during his
reign. He made the racetrack almost one-half of a mile long and about one football
field wide. He also added enough seating for two hundred and seventy thousand
spectators.3
Sometime after the death of Christ, the Emperor Caligula (AD 12-41) started
another circus in Rome that Nero (AD 37-68) finally finished.4
A well-respected Roman historian named Tacitus (c. 56-120) tells us about
the amusement Nero provided for his citizens in the circus.5 In 67, the Emperor
Nero competed in a race held inside the circus that bears his name. For added
entertainment, Nero had Christians executed during this event. One of these was
Peter, the one who confessed Jesus as Messiah in today’s Gospel lesson. Near the
middle of the racetrack, Nero executed Peter by hanging him upside down on a
cross.
Tradition tells us why Peter chose this strange way of execution. He did not
want his crucifixion to be the same as Christ’s death on the cross. Given this
information, you can easily imagine the discussion happening in the stands during
2
Anonymous, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Lucius_Tarquinius_Priscus.
3
Idem, Circus Maximus, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_
Maximus.
4
Idem, Circus of Nero, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_of_Nero.
5
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, Annals, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/
cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Tac.+Ann.+15.44.

2
the race. “Why is that man’s head pointed at the ground and his feet in the air?”
“They say that he does not want to die life his leader, Jesus.”
The early church knew this way of dying first hand. Nero started his hostile
treatment of Christians two years earlier. This violence against them did not stop
the Christians.6 They continued to witness in the circus.
It is widely reported that Mark Twain once wrote the following:

Many people are bothered by those passages in Scripture which they

cannot understand; but as for me, I always noticed that the passages
in Scripture which trouble me most are those which I do understand.

Today’s Gospel lesson certainly falls in this category. It is full of easy to under-
stand ideas that we want to dismiss out of hand because they are too hard. Take
for example this part of the lesson where Jesus tells the crowd, which includes
us7 , and his disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow after me, let that person deny
himself and take up his cross and follow me (Mark 8:34).”8
If you listen to what Jesus is commanding and you try to do what He tells you,
you soon will see that these words are very troublesome.
Deny simply means to saying “no” to yourself. If you are like me, this com-
mand from Jesus is absolutely impossible to follow. There are hundreds of reasons
6
Officially recognized persecution of Christians started in 249 when Emperor Decius forced
the Christians to worship him. Joseph H. Lynch, The Medieval Church, (Longman, 1992), p. 9
This aggression lasted about eleven years and the Christians had forty-three years to regroup be-
fore Emperor Diocletian attacked them again. Henry Chadwick, The Early Christian Church, Re-
vised edition. (Penguin Books, 1993), p. 121. The official persecution of Christians ended in 312
when Constantine became the new emperor.
7
John R. Donahue, S.J. and Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.; Idem, editor, The Gospel of Mark,
Volume 2, Sacra Pagina, (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002), p. 263.
8
Ibid., pp. 259, 263.

3
why. I want to have time to myself. I want to control how my money is spent. I
want to decide my future. I want, I want, I want. Christ’s answer to every one of
my demands is, “No.” His followers must do what Jesus wants. That is the only
way that we will become His sisters and brothers (Mark 3:35). I cannot do that.
Neither can you.
In some “mainline” churches, there is this idea that “good” Christians give
one-tenth of their income back to God. The popular name for this type off behavior
is tithing. If only this were true! Jesus tells us that everything belongs to God. This
includes our life. That is what it means to take up your cross.9 At any moment, we
need to be ready to give up our life for the most unworthy person of all. Most of
us cannot even conceive of acting in this manner.10
Finally, there is this whole idea of what it means to follow. A disciple in the
Gospel according to St. Mark is a follower of Jesus.11 This way of life advocated
by Jesus comes with its peculiar own set of problems. Jesus is always quickly
moving from one place to another. This rapid change of scenery is for a good
reason. People need help. There are illnesses to heal. There are lives to save. There
are captives to free. Nothing is keeping Jesus from this work and if you expect
to follow Him the same idea applies to you also. That is why Christ’s disciples
gave up their businesses (Mark 1:18; 10:29). Many people cannot travel this light.
9
Arthur C. McGill; Charles A. Wilson and Per M. Anderson, editors, Death and Life: An
American Theology, (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1987), p. 56.
10
William J. Abraham; Carl E. Braaten and Robert W. Jenson, editors, Chap. On Making Dis-
ciples of the Lord Jesus Christ In ‘Marks of the Body of Christ’, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999), p. 151.
11
Since the first call of the disciples, Mark’s favorite word for becoming a disciple is follow
(ἀκολουθέω). Donahue and Harrington, Mark, p. 263.

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Others of us cannot stand the fact that Jesus comes for the people that actually need
saving. That means that He normally is found in places where we would rather not
be (Mark 2:15). Then there is the logical conclusion of following someone. You
expect to arrive at the same place as your leader. If your leader happens to be a
champion, then normally a part of your leader’s fame and fortune rubs off on you.
The inverse also holds. If your leader fails, then you are forever associated with a
looser. Both history and the Bible tell us that the world’s superpower killed Jesus.
That is the destiny for Christ’s followers.
Mark Twain was right. There are easily understandable parts of the Bible that
really bother us. Our response to this problem has been this. For far too many
generations, we have kept Christ to ourselves. It is easy for us to do this because
we do not have to change. We do not have to deny ourselves. We do not have to
pick up our cross. We do not have to follow Jesus.
It was not always this way. At one time, the church was known as the circus.12
Perhaps this association came from the similarity of the German word for church
(Kirche) and the Latin for circus (kirkos).13 More than likely, this memory came
from what Jesus did. He spoke the Word in the middle of all the craziness that
is life in the big top. He came to people with all their big problems in that first
ring, the ones so large that no one else would even tackle them, and He said to
those elephants walking around in the room, “Be gone.” They left and people
were healed. Even though others laughed at the men and women in the third ring,
12
Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, editors, Deutsches Wörterbuch, Volume Vol. K - kyrie,
(Leipzig, Germany: Verlag Von S. Hirzel, 1873), p. 790.
13
Theodore G. Tappert et al., editors, The Book of Concord, (Fortress Press, 1959), p. 416-417.

5
Jesus ate and drank with all the people who dress and act a little bit differently
than the rest of society. He told them that God loved them. Most of the world
believes that Jesus is that safety net that protects us from slipping. Jesus is not a
catch us when we fall down type of guy. Instead, Christ is the One who calls out
to everyone balancing all the things life throws at us and says, “You can do that!
You can live the way God intended.” When we fall down on the ground, as we
always do, Jesus is there to pick us up. He gives us that push up the ladder to try
one more time.
The early church, empowered by God’s Spirit, remembered what Christ had
done in the big top. They continued to be right there in the circus. They helped to
poor to overcome problems associated with the lack of money.14 They reached out
to the women whom society ignored and told these females that God loved them
just as much as the men.15 Just like us, these early members of the church fell flat
on their faces. Jesus lifted everyone up one more time and sent them on their way.
That is what the church was: Christ in the circus of life. That is what the church
is becoming once again: Christ in the circus of life.
Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, children of all ages, step right up. Come
and see the greatest show on earth. Appearing right now in ring one, we have a
home-schooled child forced to enter fifth grade last week against her mother’s
wishes. Her father and the state of New Hampshire want her in public school. The
judge in Family Court says that the child’s faith in Christ needs some “shaking
14
Chadwick, The Early Christian Church, p. 56.
15
Ibid., p. 58-59.

6
up.”16 By special engagement, you can catch the action that is just beginning in
ring two. We have a seventeen-year-old girl that was secretly baptized one year
ago. She recently left her home in Ohio and went to Florida since she actually
fears for her life.17 Her Muslim parents want her to come back home. She does
not want to go. She is afraid that she will be murdered for her faith in Jesus.18
In the center ring of the circus, between these two other fabulous shows Christ
calls you to the place where you walk on the high wire carefully balancing all the
demands of this life. That is your place, up there in the spotlight. Soon enough the
world will grow weary of your act. When that happens, the world kills you.
Do not be afraid. When you fall down off the wire, He will pick you up. He
has done that every time in the past and He will do it again in the future.
As you gather the tools of the trade, your thin shoes along with the pole that
gives you balance on the wire, you notice that the pole reminds you of the cross
He carried for you. Pick it up and follow Him.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”19
16
William McGurn, Christian Girls, Interrupted, (http://online.wsj.com/
article/SB20001424052970203440104574398963953876266.html,
September 2009).
17
Nidra Poller, Sharia-Sanctioned Death Vs. Western Toleration: Five thousand honor
killings testify to the danger Rifqa Bary faces. (http://online.wsj.com/article/
SB10001424052970203440104574398290365247498.html, September
2009).
18
McGurn, ‘Christian Girls, Interrupted’.
19
Philippians 4:7.

7
References

Abraham, William J.; Braaten, Carl E. and Jenson, Robert W., editors, Chap.
On Making Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ In ‘Marks of the Body of
Christ’, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
1999), pp. 150–166.

Anonymous, Circus Maximus, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_

Maximus, Last checked on September 12, 2009.

Anonymous, Circus of Nero, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_

of_Nero, Last checked on September 12, 2009.

Anonymous, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Lucius_Tarquinius_Priscus, Last checked on September 12, 2009.

Chadwick, Henry, The Early Christian Church, Revised edition. (Penguin Books,
1993).

Donahue, S.J., John R. and Harrington, S.J., Daniel J.; Idem, editor, The Gospel
of Mark, Volume 2, Sacra Pagina, (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press,
2002).

Grimm, Jacob and Grimm, Wilhelm, editors, Deutsches Wörterbuch, Volume Vol.
K - kyrie, (Leipzig, Germany: Verlag Von S. Hirzel, 1873).

Lynch, Joseph H., The Medieval Church, (Longman, 1992).

8
McGill, Arthur C.; Wilson, Charles A. and Anderson, Per M., editors, Death and
Life: An American Theology, (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1987).

McGurn, William, Christian Girls, Interrupted, (http://online.wsj.com/

article/SB20001424052970203440104574398963953876266.

html, September 2009), Last checked on September 11, 2009.

Poller, Nidra, Sharia-Sanctioned Death Vs. Western Tolera-

tion: Five thousand honor killings testify to the danger
Rifqa Bary faces. (http://online.wsj.com/article/
SB10001424052970203440104574398290365247498.html,

September 2009), Last checked on September 11, 2009.

Tacitus, Publius Cornelius, Annals, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/

cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Tac.+Ann.+15.44, xv. 44.

Tappert, Theodore G., editors, The Book of Concord, (Fortress Press, 1959).