A sermon on Mark 8:27-35

By Fr. Mike Paraniuk
St. Mary Catholic Church
St. Benignus Catholic Church 
St. Mary Queen of Heaven
and Holy Trinity Catholic Church

I was cutting the grass at my Batavia trailer when a little boy suddenly appeared. He looked like one of the kids from "The Sound of Music," blond hair, blue eyes and about 8 years old. He was holding a small brown suitcase. 

I stopped my mower and asked him, "May I help you?" 

He blurted out, "I'm running away from home. Can I live with you?" 

I replied, "Well, that would not be possible. I am too old to care for a little boy like you." 

He looked me over and said, "You're right. You're too old." 

I asked, "Why are you running away from home?"
 
He replied with great indignation, "My mother doesn't listen to me. She bought a whole box of Twinkies. When I asked for one, she said 'no.'

"So, I stole the box and put it in this suitcase. I can live off Twinkies." 

I did my best not to laugh.

I looked down the street where I caught sight of a woman repeatedly calling out the name, "Bobby." 

He said that was his name. I brought him to his upset mother, who was angry, but relieved to find him. She unloaded on me her problems with Bobby. 

"I am a single mom working two jobs to make sure Bobby has a home, nice clothes for school and good food to eat. Bobby is angry his father left us with nothing. He takes his anger out on me. I love him so much. I'll give up everything to make sure he is happy." 

This mother's story explains what Jesus meant when He said, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." (Mark 8:34.)

Jesus taught that if you truly want to follow Him, you must walk the road that leads to him. That road is called "sacrifice." 

Sacrifice means, "to give up something that is valuable to you in order to help another person." 

This mother is giving up simple joys in her life to make her son's life better. She lamented, "I can't afford a perm because Bobby needs shoes." 

Then she added, "It's OK. When he's happy, I'm happy." 

Jesus calls His disciples to carry the cross of sacrifice. Your small sacrifices for another make God happy. 

When you profess to believe in Jesus, your faith has to be lived. God clearly says in James 2:18 "and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works." 

You cannot earn salvation by your works. It is a pure gift from God which you do not deserve. Our response to this gift of God should be a faithful life of daily sacrificial good works for the Lord. I share with you the story of a 21-year-old young man who sacrificed everything.

His name was Lincer Lopez. He was so excited to be baptized that he couldn't hardly sleep the night before. Lincer and several others were baptized in Lake Waxahachie, Texas as he declared his faith in Jesus. Church members celebrated by swimming in the lake. 

A teenage girl struggled to stay afloat. She began to drown. Without hesitating, Lincer swam over to save her. A nearby boater saw what was happening and grabbed the girl from the water. 

Lincer could not be found. The boater found him deep down in the lake. By the time Lincer was brought to the shore, he had already passed away. Lincer had made many sacrifices by working hard in construction to send money to his family in Mexico. Just one hour after his baptism, he made the ultimate sacrifice to lose his life in saving another's. Lincer's faith in Jesus compelled him to do this good work. 

I explained to the little run-away, Bobby, he should appreciate his mother more. Mom bought you those Twinkies as a treat. You can't eat them all the time. I said, "If you eat too much, you'll get fat." 

He looked at me and replied, "Sir, did you eat too many Twinkies?" 

Mom got embarrassed. I laughed. I think we made Jesus happy that day. I believe Jesus will make Lincer happy in Heaven for many days to come.