For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."

- Mark 8:34-9:1

Yesterday we read that Jesus came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when he had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"  So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."  Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.  And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He spoke this word openly.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.  But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." 

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."  My study bible explains that the cross, the dreaded instrument of Roman punishment, is also a symbol of suffering by Christians in imitation of Christ.  It notes that we practice self-denial for the sake of the love of God and the gospel.  To accept this suffering is not a punishment, and it is neither an end in itself.  Rather, it is a means to overcome the fallen world for the sake of the Kingdom, to "crucify" selfish passions and desires  (Galatians 5:24). 

"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it."   My study bible says that the central paradox of Christian living is that in grasping for temporal things, we lose the eternal.  But in sacrificing everything in this world, we gain eternal riches that are unimaginable (1 Corinthians 2:9).

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"   My study bible says that this question emphasizes the utter foolishness of accumulating worldly wealth or power merely in and of itself -- none of this can redeem a fallen soul, nor indeed strengthen and protect what we have that is timeless and eternal.  It is the state of the soul that gives life a depth of meaning, goodness, purpose, joy.

"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."  This is a reference to judgment, to the eternal life of the soul, and to the exchange we make through sacrifice for the sake of faith in Him.

And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."  This is both a reference to those who would witness Christ's Transfiguration (tomorrow's reading), and to those in every generation who will experience the presence of the kingdom of God in their lives.

Jesus has just been revealed to the disciples as the Christ; Peter's confession in yesterday's reading (above) has been certified by Christ as the correct answer to the question:  "But who do you say that I am?"  But in validating that answer, Mark's Gospel wastes no time whatsoever in giving us Jesus' answer to the disciples regarding what His messiahship means, and the suffering He will endure in the role of Savior.  Here in today's reading, He emphasizes that discipleship means following the Master, and that there is, indeed, a purpose and a plan in which the suffering has meaning, is not in and of its own sake simply good or an end in itself.  Rather, suffering is undergone for transfiguration -- for making choices in reaching for that which is everlasting, transcendent, giving meaning to all things and enduring beyond all things.  This is not masochism; it is rather about exchange and choices.  Jesus uses the word "exchange" Himself when He asks, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"  This is a very real and profound question.  What would you give in exchange for your soul?   The soul is the part of us that has the capacity not merely for an eternal life in some sort of worldly sense of the future, but rather it is that which endures through all things, has a depth and weight and substance that transcends all things, is stronger than what the world can throw at us, and provides us a capacity for relatedness to Creator and what Creator can do for us.  The soul is a point of unification; through the exchange which Christ proposes when He teaches us to take up our own cross, we lose nothing of our experience and in particular the choices we make for the life and love He offers us.  It is important to understand that implied in all of this is the temptation to live on the surface alone.  To believe that life is only about the material is to refuse to see the temptation itself, and to fall into a kind of trap, to lose our capacity for true discernment.  There is a reality in and through all things, and which is present to us in the liturgy and the communion of saints.  It's present through prayer and through grace, through the gift of the Holy Spirit and God at work in us.  It is not something ephemeral; rather it creates true substance, the weight of the soul that has profound meaning and messages for those who care about what Christ offers to us.  We are offered a choice in which we may continually seek that which never truly satisfies, or go with Christ to a deeper and more powerful place, that which offers life in abundance, something we may experience.  In tomorrow's reading, the Transfiguration will reveal the fullness of this presence, this Kingdom that lives within us and among us -- an eternal reality present in the temporal.  Let us consider what we lose if we give up the soul that may participate in that reality, for everything is the subject of an exchange, an offer.  Which will you choose?