“My Way!” We all know the famous song by Frank Sinatra that delighted Americans across the country and became the signature song of Sinatra’s career. It is also the quintessential song of self-actualization and self-reliance that often defines American culture. Did you know that the song’s lyrics were not written by Sinatra at all but were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on a French song called “Comme d’habitude” composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux? Did you know too that Sinatra, though he made the song a hit, grew to hate it the more he sang it? Why? Rather humble as a musician despite his fame, Sinatra despised the “me, me, me” sentiment that the song represented. Yet America loved it, especially in the victorious aftermath of World War II.
Self-assurance is not a bad thing in itself. We all need a healthy self-esteem in order to function well as human beings on our own and in our relationships. But when we dare to believe that we are entirely capable of directing our own lives and forging our own path without the help of God, our self-reliance can become toxic both to us and those around us.
This is the kind of super-charged self-certainty and brash individualism that can cause those in positions of power to wield it precariously over others, that can allow one person to push ahead like a bull with one’s own agenda, no matter who gets stepped on along the way, or that can convince some to assert their competitive plans for self-satisfaction without taking into account those around them. That’s just the human fall out. We haven’t even mentioned what happens when we ignore God’s voice!
You know the old adage, “Life happens when you’re busy making other plans.” Despite our most determined efforts, sooner or later, we come to the conclusion that we are not in as much control of our lives and our world as we thought we were. Sometimes, no matter how detailed and determined our plans, life smacks us in the face, and we are brought to our knees and faced with our human limitations.
That’s when we realize we need God.
The trouble with many of us is that when things are going well, we believe we can forge ahead on our own. Who needs God when we feel we can achieve everything in life that we want all on our own? But the moment we realize we can’t, we become humbled. For some, that’s when our faith kicks in. Others never get it and will continue to strive forward alone for the rest of their lives, never realizing what they’ve forfeited in their lives in order to sell their soul for that little bit of ego and power.
Human beings again and again, throughout the scriptures and still today, love to believe that we can be masters of our own ship. Jesus however would have us think differently.
Some time back, a popular bumper sticker graced many a car and truck in America. It read, “Jesus is my co-pilot.” I want you to think about that for a moment, cause the way I see it, if Jesus is your co-pilot, someone is in the wrong seat!
For us to be on board with God’s mission and not our own, Jesus needs to be the pilot of our planes, our lives, our churches, our world. We follow his lead. He does not follow ours. We assist him and support his flight plan. He does not defer to ours.
This is where American individualism can mess us up as people of faith. How do we act as disciples and followers of Jesus in a world that tells us that we must be in charge? That being in charge makes us worthy? Whose voice do we listen to? His? Or our own?
And where does our worthiness come from? Ourselves? Or from God?
From our time in the garden, we have always been challengers of God’s leadership in our lives. We have an inner impetus that drives us to go our own way. To be a disciple of Jesus however requires us to be not a good leader but a great follower.
Now this doesn’t mean that we should never act within a leadership role. It does mean that our leadership is always subject to our followership of Jesus, that our plans, our behavior, our mission is always a subtext to Jesus’ mission, God’s mission for the world.
In our scripture for today, Peter, the “rock” of the future church is acting not as a follower of Jesus but as a disapproving critic of Jesus. He thinks he knows better than Jesus, has a better plan, knows a better way, and he wants to assert that way even if he gets in Jesus’ way by doing it! That’s what it means to “rebuke” someone, to think you know better and mean to chart a “better” course, despite that person. As we see, this does not go over well with Jesus.
As a disciple, Peter may be a great leader of people, he may have a spectacularly bold voice, great ideas, and a rock-solid loyalty to Jesus, but in his humanness, he has forgotten not only who he is (a disciple and follower of Jesus) but who Jesus is! Son of God, Messiah, and Lord. And this, just after their experience of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain!
Peter wants to take the “easy way out!” Sound familiar? Just as Jesus was tempted in the wilderness to take the easy way out and alter God’s mission for him within the world, Jesus sees that same “voice” of dissention and temptation coming from his own disciple, the foundation and strong leader of the bunch, Peter.
Now, this is important to understand: Jesus does not need Peter to change who he is. He chose him for exactly these qualities. He’s headstrong, loyal, faithful, and has a voracious energy for God. But he doesn’t like what Jesus is telling him, so his first reaction is to disagree!
He may be the “feisty” disciple, but he still can’t out shout Jesus!
Jesus tells him what he tells every disciple: your place is not to define God’s mission but to follow it. Your role as a disciple is to follow me, not throw obstacles in my path. Listen to me. This is the mission. Like it or not, this is what’s going to happen.
Now help me prepare or get out of my way.
You see, the “way” is the mission, to establish God’s kingdom within the world, to establish God’s “way” for the benefit of the entire world.
Not our way, but God’s way. Not our mission, but God’s mission. Not our story, but God’s story. Or in other words, God is God, and we are not.
Jesus teaches us that discipleship is a high-risk mission. It’s not an easy fix. It’s not a “do it my way” kind of mission. It requires us to jump on board of God’s disciple ship and swab the deck while Jesus takes the wheel.
One of the oldest metaphors in the Christian church is the “ship.” The ship for early Christians represented the kind of adventure that discipleship is meant to be. Fueled by the gospel and out on the open seas, we sail away from the port and out of our comfort zones in order to take part in God’s grand voyage of love and mission.
Jesus needs his disciples to be on board with what he needs to do. Sometimes, they may not understand it. Sometimes, they may not like it. But they need to be on board with it and act as the crew he handpicked for this perilous but important mission –God’s mission.
Throughout the scriptures, whenever someone is called by God for a special mission, the humble response is always a special Hebrew word: “hineni.” It means, “here I am.” Or you might translate it, “I am ready.” The response appears eight times in the Torah alone! From Abraham, from Moses, from Samuel, from Isaiah, and others. It means, we are “there,” fully available to God, fully ready to engage in whatever mission God has in store for us. We are spiritually “all in.” We have put ourselves aside and our ears are pealed for God’s direction.
Today, as we contemplate our role in God’s mission during this second week of Lent, let us focus on “making ourselves ready.”
As disciples of Jesus in mission to the world, we may not like what God calls us to do. It may scare us. It may challenge us. But it may grow us too. But our answer to Jesus must always be….hineni.
I am ready.
Get ready people of God –for the greatest adventure you will experience in your life. Sign on to Jesus’ missional voyage, and your life will never be the same.
Say the word: hineni.
Say it out loud: I dare you. See what happens next.

And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I (hineni)! Send me.’ Isaiah 6:8
“Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: Here am I.” (Isaiah 58:9)