Pastor Chill Will drives home one clear message right away: following Jesus means heading toward Jerusalem—embracing suffering, death, and resurrection—and taking up a cross rather than building one. He unpacks Jesus’ blunt prediction that the disciples will witness rejection and the cross, and then explains that “taking up the cross” is a call to let go of worldly power and self-preservation and to follow a life of costly love. He teases out the tension when Peter balks—telling Jesus “no way”—and gets a sharp rebuke that reads like a holy traffic warning: slow down, pay attention, and don’t miss the promise of Easter. Using playful travel metaphors (roundabouts, speed-radar smiley faces, and a few tolls paid the hard way), he shows how the Holy Spirit guides the congregation’s direction and gives grace in the messy bits of everyday life. He also points to the transfiguration as a brief mountaintop glimpse of glory that fortifies them before the descent into the cross, and he invites the congregation to treat the altar as a “grace moment” that keeps them on the road the Spirit is leading. Finally, he highlights a hymn verse that captures the paradox of discipleship—joy and tears, sacrifice and new life—calling the people to keep asking “Where are they headed?” and to follow together with attentive, hopeful hearts.

Takeaways:

• He teaches that following Jesus means denying oneself and taking up a cross—practical self-sacrifice and service, not political power; discipleship flips worldly success on its head.
• He uses driving metaphors—traffic circles, GPS directions, and smiley-face speed radars—to remind the congregation to pay attention, slow down, and not exit the roundabout of faith too early.
• He emphasizes the Holy Spirit as an active, present guide in congregational life—like a GPS-cheerleader hybrid—shaping worship, testimonies, and everyday decisions with gentle correction and inspiration.
• When Peter rebukes Jesus and Jesus rebukes back, he models humility, correction, and the danger of seeing only apparent defeat while missing the resurrection promise.
• He warns not to miss Easter’s assurance: the passion prediction includes both the cross and the third-day rising, teaching that apparent loss can lead to transformed hope.
• He frames the altar and communion as tangible grace moments—a spiritual pit stop with bread and wine that renews courage for the road ahead and steadies believers amid life’s traffic jams.

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Thank you for engaging with the homily by Pastor Chill Will from Chapel Hill.

I hope this message encourages you, challenges you and moves you to go deeper in your faith and enrich how you love God and love your neighbor in your day to day life.

Just a reminder.

Like the Scriptures and Gospels themselves, this homily was written for a particular community in a particular context, time in history.

And yet, like our sacred texts, I hope that these words hold timeless truths about God's unconditional love and grace.

We hope these words speak to you in a meaningful way.

The Holy Gospel According to Matthew Glory to you.

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, God forbid it, Lord, this must never happen to you.

But he turned and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan.

You are a hindrance to me.

You are setting your mind not on divine things, but on human things.

Then Jesus told his disciples, if any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?

What will they give in return for their life?

The Son of Man is to come with his angels in glory of His Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.

Truly, I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.

The Gospel of the Lord may be seated.

The name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

I wasn't here for Pentecost Sunday, way back in May, but it's pretty evident the Holy Spirit showed up and did her thing for visitors and newcomers.

I was on sabbatical this summer, but as I kept my eye on what was happening here at Holy Trinity, and then when I returned, it's pretty clear that over the last three months, that same spirit and breath of God that hovered over the chaotic waters at the beginning of creation, that same Spirit that filled the upper room on that first Pentecost in the Book of Acts, empowering and inspiring the first disciples, that same Spirit that hovers over the waters of Baptism, claiming us as beloved children of God, that same Spirit that hovers over the twists and turns of our daily lives showed up and worked as this community gathered for worship and in small groups for coffee hours and for funerals.

That same Spirit guided and gave shape to your explorations of the parables for here for Reconciled in Christ Sundays, the Holy Spirit was present when our members and friends were open and bold in sharing their testimonies and stoking joy for children's musicals.

The Spirit hovered and shaped and challenged and soothed.

And so as I hop on this already moving train and locomotive called Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and Lutheran Campus Ministry, an emerging question comes to the surface.

Where are we headed?

Where are we going?

What road are we traveling?

Yes, school has started.

The fall semester is well underway.

Soon, hopefully, cooler weather will roll in and leaves will begin to change color.

Midterm elections are looming, wrapping up another year and getting ready for a new one is only a few months away.

And yet, as the Holy Spirit hovers and shapes and challenges and soothes, I can't shake the question where are we headed as a person, individually, As a congregation?

As a society?

In our Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus reveals some clues.

Last Sunday we heard the story of Jesus stopping at Caesarea Philippi and having a check in with his disciples.

I can imagine Jesus sitting his disciples down and asking them to share their highs and lows for the day.

And then Jesus asks some revealing questions.

Who do people say that I am?

As you would imagine there were a diverse number of answers.

But then he gets more personal.

He turns the question to them and asks them, who do you say that I am?

Peter is the one who speaks up first and confesses Jesus to be the long awaited Messiah.

Now if you remember what Pastor Margay shared last week, the place in context of where Jesus asked these questions are pretty significant.

Jesus asks them in a town known for festivals and worship of a fertility guide and a town named after the Emperor.

These are I also can imagine that some of the disciples were perhaps asking to themselves among themselves, okay Jesus, where is this headed?

Okay Jesus, if you are the long awaited Messiah, what does that look like?

This morning we hear the story of what happens right after this confession and wandering and boy, what does a difference a week makes.

Yes Peter, you are the rock and your confession is the foundation on which we will build a church.

Or are you a blockhead so hard headed that you can't see what kind of messiah Jesus is?

After Peter's confession that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus gets real with them and he pulls them in and makes a passion prediction and shares where they are headed to Jerusalem and there, the religious leaders will reject him and kill him.

But on the third day, he will be raised.

Peter's like, wait, hold up.

True messiahs aren't defeated and killed.

That would and should not happen to you.

Jesus doesn't hold back.

Peter, don't be a Satan.

Literally, a word that means adversary.

Get behind me and fall in line.

Follow the leader, watch and listen.

You have more learning to do.

Those who follow me let go of themselves and preconceived notions of what messiahs are and what they do and how they rule.

Followers take up crosses rather than build them.

Sure, Peter's confession that Jesus has the Messiah, he does that.

He.

Sure, he makes that confession.

But in the shadow of a town named after Caesar and an emperor, Jesus makes it clear the kind of messiah that he is and will be.

It's almost like Jesus is saying to Peter and the others, this is where we are headed.

This is the kind of messiah that I am and will be.

Watch and learn.

Follow.

Part of my sabbatical was navigating and driving in foreign countries.

I did the driving in Iceland, which is a little easier, and Cindy did the driving in France and Spain.

Some things were just like driving over here, but there were some differences that we needed to pay attention, to be aware of.

Everyone drove on the right side of the road, got a check.

But there are lots of traffic circles to navigate.

And while we do have some traffic circles here in our neighborhoods, man, that's a different thing over in Europe.

And while they keep traffic moving, man, there are cars coming in and out on all sides of you, and you need to stay alert.

I will confess that when Cindy was driving in France and there's traffic circles, I was in charge of the GPs and following where that blue line was, asked to take a right and head in the right direction.

And it was hard to see at times.

And there may have been a few times when we exited too early.

We may have had to pay the toll on the road a few extra times for me and for us.

And I may have been yelled at a few times.

What are you doing?

Why did you tell me to do that when there wasn't a traffic circle and you met a stoplight In Iceland, they have red for stop.

Good.

Got it.

Check.

Know that they have green for go and of course, yellow for caution.

But the yellow caution light isn't just shining when green turns to red, but when you stop at a stoplight, the red will then turn yellow to give you a caution, and then green the opposite direction, which I thought Just kind of slow up and pay attention in case people were walking across.

People behind me were like, no, that means go.

Kind of freaked me out.

Instead of miles per hour, there were kilometers per hour, which was fine, as long as you make sure you match up that number on the road with the number on your car.

But in Iceland, on the speed limit signs, they have speed radars that clock how fast you are going, which will show you how fast you are going.

And along with that, if you're doing the speed limit, they flash a smiley face.

If you're going too fast, guess what they shine at you.

A sad face, A frowny face.

Hmm, another confession.

I got a number of frowny faces and Cindy would shake her head, just being slightly ashamed.

It was an effective character correction device for sure.

I didn't want to get a frowny face, but I still needed to get to go where I needed to go.

In France and Spain, they didn't have frowny faces and smiley faces according to how fast or slow you were going.

But if there were traffic or wrecks ahead of you, there were street signs that would flash this big exclamation mark with the word attention.

Caution.

Pay attention.

The road you travel needs your attention.

That flashing exclamation mark was for sure effective.

This all comes to mind because I think this is what Jesus is doing when he's shepherding and leading his disciples.

Okay, he's identified them as he.

They have identified him as the Messiah.

But caution, tension.

Peter, you're going too fast.

Slow down.

Sad face.

Don't turn too early in the traffic circle.

This is where we are headed.

The road is heading to Jerusalem and it involves a cross.

I'm a different kind of Messiah than you assume I am.

The call of discipleship following Jesus is the call to bear crosses, not build them, and certainly not to put anybody on them.

It's not about conquest, power, but this word is about saving and losing lives.

Jesus is challenging what we are grasping after versus what we are called to let go of.

I do find it interesting that when Jesus talks about going, about what's going to happen to him in Jerusalem and taking up crosses, Peter misses that whole part about Jesus being raised on the third day.

He is so taken back by what sounds like defeat that he misses the assurance of Easter.

And yes, Jesus's words seem pretty abrupt and harsh.

Crosses are certainly scary.

If you're going too fast and you make assumptions, Attention.

You need to slow down.

Don't miss the good news of Easter.

The story would end there with Peter.

It would be a real bummer for him.

But if you keep reading the Scriptures in Matthew right after this story In Matthew chapter 17, there is a story about the transfiguration when Peter take When Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to the mountaintop and Jesus shines in bright glory.

We will not hear this story in church until Transfiguration Sunday on the last Sunday of Epiphany in February.

But for Peter, even though Jesus called him Satan, an adversary and reprimanded him, Jesus redirects the disciples out of the traffic circle to the top of a mountain to get a glimpse of his glory before they have to head down the mountain and face the reality of the cross.

A grace moment for sure in their journey where they are headed today.

When we come to this altar to receive bread and wine, the tangible grace of God, to taste and see that the Lord is good, I hope this can be a grace moment for you and for me that helps keep you going on the road that the Holy Spirit is leading us down.

In our traffic circles and traffic jams.

If you're going too fast or slow, be assured Jesus smiles at us when we come to this altar.

He says, keep following me.

Where are we headed?

A great question that I hope we'll keep asking.

I hope that we will keep paying attention to Jesus following down the road that he takes us down.

This morning.

I challenge you to pay attention to the words of our hymn of the day.

This hymn is not in our hymnal, but in looking at the gospel story for today, Megan found this hymn and I think it articulates beautifully the mystery of the cross.

A cross that we are called to pay attention to in the hard and difficult world that we're called to navigate.

The last verse really stands out to me.

To bear the cross and follow Christ brings both joy and tears, brings life reborn and sacrifice, brings hope along with fears.

Brings all the ambiguity of being dust and clay, yet brings as well the clarity of love's eternal life way.

Where are we headed?

Let's continue to trust the Holy Spirit and follow Jesus together.

Amen.

Thank you for listening.

If there is anything that stood out for you or if you have a question or.

Or you just want to have a conversation, you are always free to reach out and contact us and remember you are not alone and that you are loved with a love stronger than death.

Sam.