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

 

 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."

 

And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."

 

Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

 

- Luke 9:18–27 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.  And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

 

  And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."  The Orthodox Study Bible comments here that, as in every generation, what the crowds have to say about Jesus is usually unpredictable and misguided.  Christ's second question to the disciples, "But who do you say that I am?" is identified as the ultimate question in Scripture and in all theology.  The Study Bible declares that how this question is answered defines the universe.  Christ (from the Greek word for Hebrew Messiah) means "Anointed One."  The declaration of St. Peter that Jesus is the Christ of God reveals Jesus is not merely another anointed king or prophet, but He is the long-awaited Savior.  

 

 And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."  Here Jesus expresses the desire to keep His identity as the Christ hidden.  According to the Study Bible, this is so He avoids popular political and theological misunderstandings.  It is only after Christ's Passion and Resurrection that His identity as Messiah can be understood.  This is also a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  There are a number of elements that make this secrecy important.  First, there is the growing hostility of the Jewish religious leaders.  Moreover, the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader create false expectations.  Jesus, additionally, seeks to evoke genuine faith not based only on marvelous signs.  

 

 Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."  The Orthodox Study Bible asks us to note two things here.  First, each person must take up his own cross.  The burden in this world is different for each person, it says, and each has been chosen by God to bear certain struggles for one's own salvation and the salvation of those around us.  Second, this cross is to be taken up daily.  Commitment to following Christ isn't simply a one-time event.  It is, instead, the continual practice of faith and obedience, even to the point of being shamed and persecuted by the world.  Christ's final statement, "But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God," is a reference to those who will witness the Transfiguration (told in the verses that follow, in tomorrow's lectionary reading), as well as to those in every generation who experience the presence of God's Kingdom. 

 

In yesterday's reading and commentary, we discussed the understanding of food, of taking in nourishment, and we discussed the many ways we might think about this (in the commentary on Christ's feeding of the five thousand).   In today's reading, we're presented with something of a paradox, for Christ, the bestower of miraculous food in the wilderness, of great blessings, of healings, is also the One who invites us to the Cross.  That is, to take up our own crosses, as He will voluntarily take up His.  Seemingly contrary to the blessings He brings into the world for people is the notion of the sacrifice implied in the Cross, and in taking up our own crosses in life.  As the Orthodox Study Bible comments, each of us has our own particular cross to bear; challenges come in life as opportunities for spiritual growth and transformation, and the Cross itself is a symbol of transfiguration and transcendence.  The Cross invites us to find Christ's light in any situation, and challenges -- through our difficulties -- become invitations to repentance, meaning "change of mind" in the Greek.  This depth of change is not purely intellectual, but one that touches the heart, the center of who we are.  Every hurdle, obstacle, or difficulty can become an invitation to "change our mind" from a worldly way of seeing to an altered viewpoint to which God's grace leads us.  We are invited to see with a new perspective, and to learn.  Christ's death on the Cross would transfigure the world, defeating death itself, stunning the entire cosmos with paradox and transcendence.  How can God experience death?  How can death swallow a Man and be defeated by Him?  These are just a fragment of the questions the Cross brings to us.  In our own lives, there will be times when life can easily overwhelm us, such as a particular loss or grief, a health crisis, the suffering of loved ones or others whom we know and observe.  The injustice within every evil may plague us with questions and sadness, tempting us to hopelessness.  But within every cross of our own is the paradox of Christ's Cross.  The death of a loved one might be an opportunity to express one's love for others, to serve as a light in a time of crisis, and to develop courage and a stronger faith worthy of a disciple of Christ (see this story, for example).  Each loss, or suffering, or sorrow invites us to find, through the Cross, a way of going forward with God's help, a chance to find a deeper perspective, and a transcendent sense of faith and even of ourselves.  These are experiences to which this author can testify; the testimony of countless others and the witness of the Gospels are affirmed through personal experience and struggle.  My grandparents were survivors of genocide, in which family members, communities, and homeland were lost to terrible violence.  Yet, with God's grace and the faith they knew, they could continue their lives, rebuild their communities in the diaspora, and invest in hope for the future.  Moreover, the same is true for other Orthodox Christian communities as well; this includes my spouse's family.  The generation of my grandparents formed the orphaned children who survived; yet their faith gave them hope.  To a very great extent, it was Christian missionaries from abroad who made their survival possible.  Our faith works in many ways to meet the evil that is in the world.  We follow Him, for He always leads our way through life, and to fulfill the purposes of our God.  Therein is redemption for the world, and salvation for each of us.