Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me

 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.  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 8:27-9:1

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Jesus, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"  Then He 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.  It seems to me to be significant that this region is still one of mixed Gentile and Jewish population, with lots of Greek and Roman history and influence.  Let us note also that this scene takes place on the road, for our journey of faith with Christ is also on a road, as Jesus says He is "the way, the truth, and the life" (the word translated as "way" meaning road in Greek; see John 14:6).  My study bible says that "who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question a person can ever face, as this is the question that in effect defines Christianity.  

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."  After Peter's confession, Jesus starts to reveal to the disciples the real nature of His messiahship, the mystery of His Passion.  My study bible says that it was expected that the Messiah would reign forever, so the idea that Christ would die was perplexing to Peter and remained scandalous to the Jews even after the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 1:23).  Peter unwitting speaks for Satan, it says, since the devil does not want Christ to fulfill His mission and save mankind through suffering and death -- and that mission is ongoing in the world.

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."  We should remember that for Jesus' immediate listeners, the cross was a dreaded instrument of Roman punishment.  So the shocking nature of what He has to say should sink down into us, as well as preparing the disciples and all His followers for what is to come.  Through Christ's Passion, the cross becomes a symbol of suffering by Christians in imitation of Christ.  My study bible says that we practice self-denial for the sake of the love of God and the gospel.  To accept this suffering, it says, is not a punishment, nor an end in itself, but rather it is a means to overcome the fallen world for the sake of the Kingdom, and to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24). 

"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."  My study bible says that Christ's question, "What will a man give in exchange for his soul?" emphasizes the total foolishness of accumulating worldly wealth or power, for none of this can redeem a fallen soul, nor benefit someone in the life to come. 

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."   In the events that follow (verses 2-13), the reference to those who will witness the Transfiguration can be clearly seen in Jesus' words here.  But it equally applies to those in each generation for whom the experience of the presence of God's kingdom is a part of their lives.

In today's reading, Jesus emphasizes sacrifice as part and parcel of the calling to be a Christian.  Taking up one's cross is not advocated, as my study bible says, for the sake of sacrifice alone, in and of itself.  It is a false understanding to assume that any sacrifice in general is nominally "good" -- as we can sacrifice for all the wrong things as well, and convince ourselves that we are somehow virtuous in so doing.  No, this is a sacrifice referenced within a very particular context, and that context is Christ's own Passion which He will undergo, setting the example for all of us.  Christ's sacrifice is for a very particular and important reason, a thread running through everything in His life and ministry.  We read it in John's Gospel:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:16-17).   And we read it here:  "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends" (John 15:13).  Jesus has a mission, and He gives true form to an understanding of heroism.  Sacrifice is not about patting oneself on the back, or self-aggrandizement, or a virtue in and of itself.  Sacrifice is about the willingness to forgo and forbear for the sake of something grander, bigger, and essentially good for all.  Therefore, the sacrifice Jesus makes comes from love -- not love of false or bad things, not love of power for its own sake, not love of what is bad for others.  But rather, love for what is good for all, and what serves God's loving purposes in the world.  It is for this that we sacrifice.   It is for the sake of life in the terms in which Christ comes to define abundant life.  In Lent we are asked to make sacrifices so that we prepare and hone our skills and abilities for good choices, for forgoing a temporary comfort in order to keep in mind the things that are more important and to focus on those goals for ourselves.  We make choices in order to discipline ourselves for a focus on the Kingdom and the things to which we really need to pay attention.  We focus especially on what love calls us to.  We ask humility so that we may more fully focus on the things that make for active love.  If we look more closely at the things that St. Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit, we can see how they are linked to the service of love:  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).   Each of these virtues enables us to better serve a Kingdom of active love, and they enforce the understanding of how and why and within what embrace we understand the notion of sacrifice and taking up our cross.    So, for today, let us consider what it means to forego the things of this world in order to more fully develop the things of the Kingdom in this world.  How do we express our love for Christ through an active love of struggle in taking up the cross?  Sometimes everything depends upon our willingness to be at His service, and we will find that when we make this choice, all things are added unto us (Matthew 6:33).  Right now, we are all asked to make sacrifices in order to protect one another from the contagion of virus.  This is yet another way to show love for one another.  Let us consider how we may grow more deeply in our faith, especially at this time, for God gives us opportunities even in times of difficulty.  It is the cross, added to any aspect of life, that magnifies and makes possible new things we hadn't considered, and asks us to come up with ways to live life in His light that reflect that light back into the world.  We do not know how all things may work together for good at this time, but there is one sure way for us to find out.  We might become stronger and better for it.  There is one sure thing that is always worth our sacrifice.