Follow Me

Mark 8:31-38

Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, 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, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Sometimes, I think what God calls us to can feel superhuman. When Jesus says that you must lose your life to save it, and he talks about the cost of discipleship and taking up our cross to follow him, it can feel beyond us. It seems only saints and superhuman Christians could possibly approach what Jesus describes. And yet, do we not see people doing just that – losing their lives to save them? First responders do that daily. What about those who risk their lives daily to save others in war zones? Sometimes it means taking in the stranger, thereby saving their lives. How do they do that? It must be the courage and compassion God puts in their hearts. Jesus says take up your cross, and they respond in sacrificial ways.

In 2015, when the migrant and refugee influx from war-torn countries was considered of epic proportions in central Europe, one world leader stood out — German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a devout Lutheran. During a public forum at the time, Chancellor Merkel was asked a question by a woman in the audience saying, what does that mean for us, what does that mean for our country and our identity? I’m afraid that it will mean more terrorist acts in our country by militants like ISIS. Chancellor Merkel took a long breath before responding, and said, “Fear has never been a good advisor for us as individuals or for societies. Cultures and societies that are shaped by fear can’t grip the future.”

Jesus shows us the way. It is not always easy, and sometimes the people closest to us will express their fear and concern for our well-being. Ask what God is calling you to do. Ask what taking up your cross means for you. What would you attempt if you knew you wouldn’t fail? All of us need reminders and encouragement, and one of my favorite reminders is on a refrigerator magnet. It quotes Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Blessings and in faith, Jan+

prayer

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, for ever and ever. Amen.

—Collect for Second Sunday in Lent, Book of Common Prayer