Picking Up our Crosses Mark 8:31-38

Picking Up our Crosses Mark 8:31-38

31Then he began to teach them 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. 32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But 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.”
34He 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. 35For 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. 36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38Those 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

On the Second of Lent, we remember that being a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ is a tall order. Are we ready to lose our life to gain it? Do we have the courage and strength to pick up the cross that is at our feet. How many times we have tripped over it trying to get beyond it without having to pick it up?
How many of us have felt that twist in our stomach when we saw something that was so wrong, but we couldn’t find the courage to stay anything. We did not want to stick our necks and be ostracized. We struggle to find the inner strength to take the risk, and pick up the cross God had set before us. In reality, we will have many different crosses before us in our life time.
Our necklaces with crosses on our chest are good reminders for us of how we are daily called to carry our cross. Yes, ultimately it’s about what Jesus did on Calvary, but is also symbolizes the personal cross that we bear every day. Every morning when you pull the cord or chain over your head, say a prayer for strength and courage to carry the cross that is at your feet for this day.
When I see so many jewels and sparkles on the Crosses we wear, I wonder if we have gotten away from the pain and hardship that bearing the cross brings. May be we should wear more simple, plain wooden crosses, lest we sanitize and dilute the true meaning of this symbol. Just as Jesus suffered for us, we must be willing to endure the Cross set before us. We can not discover who we are as a resurrection people without the Cross that is set before us. There is no way of side stepping the Via Dela Rosa and the ascent to Calvary.
Yes, we want the Messiah, we want Christmas and Easter, but can we just move along with all this Lent and Good Friday stuff. When do we get to the fun stuff? Lent can be a difficult time to market coming to church. We live in the era of consumer spirituality. Too many of us have succumbed to the entertainment mode of being church. Give me the warm fuzzy I came for. I want to be moved, but don’t ask too much of me. I want to be able to move in and out without much accountability. Let me just stay anonymous.
In the early church, it was pretty hard to be invisible. Poor Peter, he really gets a bum rap in Mark’s Gospel. Surely it hurt his feelings when Jesus says to him, “Get behind me Satan.” Peter did not want the suffering servant. He wanted to see King David back on his throne, and hopefully a seat on his cabinet. Many of Jesus’ followers could not understand the path that was before them. Let us get to Easter Sunday through another path shall we?
Perhaps Jesus was stern with Peter because in Jesus’ humanity he was struggling with the temptation to agree with him. We see in the passion how Jesus struggled with the cup that was set before up. “ Father, I will do your will but could you take this cup from me?” We see how Jesus prayed in isolation and despair while the disciples slept. Jesus knew this was going to be a lonesome valley. He could see that many of his disciples would betray and deny they knew him when the time of trials came. Yes, Jesus, in his humanity wished there was another way, but his love for us compelled him to carry the cross that was set before him.
Do we have the courage to carry the cross that God has set before us? Now not many of us will be required to give our lives for the Gospel. But this is our spiritual legacy. Our ancestors were willing to give it all, so they could save their lives by losing it. 1700 years of being the official religion of Western Culture has made some of us grow complacement. We don’t fully appreciate just how demanding it is to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
We need to be daily engaged in spiritual practices, so we can be conditioning ourselves for the day when we face the heaviest cross we will be required to carry. How do we find the courage and strength to pick up our cross and follow our Lord to Calvary? I am amazed at the courage so many people have had for the cause they believed in. They were willing to face the threat of death in order to proceed down the righteous path.
Jesus’ life and ministry has been the source and inspiration of many courageous saints. For instance, people take notice when the women get organized. In every social movement that has brought us closer to a realization of our Lord’s Prayer “On Earth as it is heaven”, there has always been the backbone of women who were willing pick up their cross. I have always been inspired by how women seem more willing to carry their personal cross for the sake of others. They definitely seem to out number the men. Brothers, we can learn something from our sisters about what it means to stick your neck for the welfare of others. Our moms, aunties and grandmas have this more comprehensive sense of what it means to carry the cross for all of God’s children. There is this maternal empathy that women share. This huge sense of responsibility for nurturing of others.
Many years ago, in 1872, Susan B Anthony walked into a barber shop that served as a polling station and demanded that she be allowed to register to vote. She promised the election judges that she would cover their legal costs if they accommodated her and the other women who would follow. Many courageous women would follow. With a copy of the 14th amendment in hand, they practiced civil disobedience. They carried their cross to right the wrongs of sexism.
They did not just do this for themselves. They were willing to bear the weight so others one day would not have to. Can you imagine Susan B Anthony’s smile when she sees so many of the first milestones we’ve had. There is still a work to be done in our world but we can rest for a minute and celebrate the progress we’ve made.
I mentioned a few weeks ago about the Iron women of Liberia. After years of war they elected the first African woman to be President Ellen Johnson. I encourage you to go the theatres and see the documentary, “Pray the Devil Back to Hell.” This is an inspiring story of how the Christian and Muslim Women’s associations joined forced to work for peace and end the civil war in Liberia. These ladies courageously picked up the cross set before them.
These iron ladies of Liberia put on their white sack clothes and kept vigil on the road that leads up to President Taylor’s house. These courageous ladies bent the ears of their pastors to mobilize the congregations to be part of the pressure that brought all parties to the peace table. Their Muslim sisters worked in the mosques to pressure the Imams to urge the rebel group leaders to also come to the table. The ladies even went on a sex strike. They refused their husbands affection until the peace process started.
When the talks finally began in Ghana, it was clear that many of the delegates were dragging their feet. Just as the talks began, Charles Taylor was indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Sierra Leone. The talks seemed to doomed to fail. Then the rebel forces started the siege of Monrovia. This is where millions of internally displaced persons had fled to.
The Iron women of Liberia had had enough. All dressed in white they encircled the building where the peace negotiations were taking place. They locked arms and refused to let the delegates out until they made some progress. When one of the rebel delegates tried to jump over human chain, the former President of Nigeria rebuked him. “You get back in there. You are not a real man. You are killing your own people. Your acting like a boy and these Mamas are right!”
We have a cloud of witnesses of followers of Christ who had the courage to carry the cross. Not merely for the sake of their personal salvation, but so that the kingdom of God could be more fully known in our midst.
These prayers flags remind of us of the commitments we have made to practice acts of sacrificial love. To pick up the crosses before us so other people do not bear their burdens alone. So often we wonder if anyone will care. When I allow myself to be humbled and ask for help will someone be there?
Every day, there are people in our lives who are our Simon of Cyrenes who come to walk beside us and take a part of the cross for us. Jesus promised to make the yoke easy, and we are the hands and feet that help fulfill this promise. There will always be a yoke for each of us to carry, but this is the path our Lord has set for us.
We can’t find who we are as a child of God until we let go of the life we try to set on our own terms. During these days of Lent, let us lay down our own agendas, so our arms are freed to pick up the cross Christ calls us to carry. We will never be alone, our Triune God is with us every step of the way. Even when it seems the world is on your shoulder, our Awesome God can sustain each and every burden. This path is not easy, but man is it worth it! We follow the loving Shepherd who loves us enough to give it all away for our sake. Let’s pick up our cross as an act of love and praise.