Lent 2 | CROSS
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34
What exactly does Jesus mean when he instructs us to take up our cross? Life already hands us the burdens of human finitude: illness, a challenging family member, a tragedy or hardship… so what does Jesus call us to carry? Jesus himself takes up the cross of the sin of the world, a sacrifice for others, a relinquishment of status, power, safety and security. Might our cross look something like that?
We are not Jesus, of course we’re not. While some of us hold great status, power, and security, others hold little or none. Nonetheless, each and every of us wields influence in the circles, big or small, that we inhabit. Are we able to follow in the way of Jesus—to actively look past our self-preservation and risk own interests for the sake of the vulnerable, the oppressed, marginalized, and fearful?
To deny ourselves and take up our cross for Jesus’ sake might mean challenging someone close to us, even when solidarity with them would feel safe. It might mean advocating for those without a voice, even when doing so alienates us from others. It might look like choosing simple ways of everyday humility. Each "taking up” bears witness to Jesus and better prepares us to follow him all the way to Jerusalem.
As we follow Jesus through Lent, we just may discover a strangely synonymous promise: that self-denial and cross-bearing beckons us into a life of purpose and joy.
Questions for reflection:
What are your spheres of influence? How are you using your influence in those spheres?
Do you own items of clothing, jewelry, or art with a cross? Why? What do those items mean or symbolize to you?
When have your denied yourself as an expression of your faith in Jesus Christ?
Lord Jesus, you denied yourself, took up the cross, and journeyed all the way to crucifixion in Jerusalem. We confess that we resist self-denial, we refuse to take up the cross that requires sacrificial love, we fail to follow when your way challenges our comfort and safety. Help us more closely, more willingly, more nearly imitate you. Amen.
Thank you for journeying through Lent with us…
Receive our Lenten devotionals by emailing info@theologicalhorizons.org.
Thanks to Jill J. Duffield for allowing us to adapt from her book, Lent in Plain Sight: A Devotion Through Ten Objects.
Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash