Mark 8:27-38
Today’s
text begins with Jesus and his disciples.
The disciples were his main groupies.
Jesus was the leader of their group and they were the followers. He taught them many things as they journeyed
together. Today there would be yet
another lesson. Jesus was predicting his
death and resurrection. Peter,
specifically, did not like this prediction that his leader was giving. So, he rebuked Jesus. And what does Jesus do, he rebukes Peter,
saying, “Get behind me, Satan.” Jesus
explains that Peter is not setting his mind on God’s interests, but on that of
humanity’s interests. In fact, the role
of a disciple was not to guide or protect, but to follow. Regardless of the fact that Peter is rebuked
he is still a disciple. Jesus does not
revoke his disciple status. Instead,
Jesus uses this as a teachable moment.
He explains to the disciples and the crowd what a follower of Jesus is
called to do.
Jesus says, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he
must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” This is a call to Christian life and
discipleship. However, the way in which
we understand this summon from Jesus is much different than the way the
disciples and the crowd understood it.
Taking up one’s cross would not have been seen as metaphorical, like it
is today. Taking up one’s cross would
have meant carrying one’s cross. It
would have meant crucifixion. It would
have meant spike wounds and pain. It
would likely have meant eventual suffocation.
It would have been a very public event, often taking place near major
roads, where many people would see the event.
So as Jesus tells the crowd and the disciples that in order to follow
him they need to take up their cross, the people would have been shocked and
terrified. Today, in a country where we
do not crucify people, we can barely understand the sting that those words
would have had for the followers of
Jesus at the time.
Imagine this situation with me. There are 100 middle school youth walking in
silence throughout bible camp while watching a reenactment of Jesus’ life. As their counselor, I walk along with
them. Jesus is baptized. He calls the disciples. He ministers to a variety of people. Jesus and the disciples celebrate the Last
Supper. Jesus prays in the garden. Jesus is arrested. Peter denies Jesus. Jesus is handed over to Pilate. Barabbas is released. Jesus carries his cross to the place where he
will be crucified. As Jesus carries this
heavy cross he falls to the ground. The soldiers
that walk with him point to me and tell me to take his cross and carry it for
him. It was at this moment when I began
to realize how difficult it was to carry that cross. It was physically difficult. It was also emotionally, psychologically, and
socially difficult. I wondered how much
larger and heavier the cross actually was that Jesus was crucified upon. As I carried that cross and the middle school
youth followed me to the place where Jesus’ crucifixion would be reenacted they
stared at me, watching my every move. I
could only imagine what Jesus felt like.
Today, as I reflect on that moment, I wonder what it would be like to
literally take up my own cross.
Jesus says deny yourself.
Take up your cross. Follow
me. Jesus summarizes this process of
being his follower in three important actions or steps, all of which are not
easy. Deny yourself. In this action we are called to stop striving
for what we think is right in our lives, those things that might hinder us from
doing God’s will. We are called to
entrust God with this control over our lives.
Not easy. Take up your
cross. This is not just about bearing
burdens. It is also about dedicating our
whole lives to Christ. Also, not
easy. Follow me. This signifies that Jesus will be with
us. Jesus is leading us. We are not alone, because Jesus is our leader
and we are the followers. Jesus, our
leader, has already taken each step that he calls us, his followers, to
take. Up to this point in Jesus’ life we
have seen his ministry, healing, and compassion. Now we are called to follow him into his
suffering, the suffering of death on a the cross. Once again, not easy.
As Jesus continues to explain what this life of
discipleship looks like he says, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save
it.” This is not the road toward
personal gain. It is a way of service
and love. It is also a way of sacrifice
and suffering. With Jesus as our leader
he calls us to follow this road. Along
this road there is not necessarily a destination, but there is a journey, a way
of living into discipleship and cross bearing.
So, what does this life of discipleship and cross bearing
look like today? It is about being a
Christian in our church lives and our public lives, in our whole lives. When we are at work we must not allow the
pressures of our co-workers to lead us to deny our faith. We must not allow the coaches at our schools
to punish young people for not attending practice on Sunday morning or
Wednesday evenings because they are at church.
Cross bearing discipleship is about living the Christian life even when
it may be difficult, discouraging, or unpopular. It is about bearing our Christian identity no
matter what the rest of the world thinks.
With that in mind we understand that this life of discipleship is not
easy and it is certainly not a one-time deal.
Christ calls us to deny ourselves, bear our cross, and follow him each
moment of every day and each and every day of our lives.
So Jesus says to each of us, “Will you come and follow me
if I but call your name? Will you go
where you don’t know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown, will you let my name be known, will you
let my life be grown in you and you in me?”
Amen.
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