tough call

As they are traveling, Jesus asks the disciples who people are saying he is.  They report that people think he is a prophet or maybe the return of one of the major prophets of the Jewish people.  When Jesus asks who they – his closest followers – say he is, Peter jumps in and says, “You are the Messiah,” making a bold statement of faith.  Just moments later, after Jesus begins to explain to the disciples that he will be rejected, be arrested, suffer, be killed and then rise from the dead, Peter rebukes Jesus, telling him to stop with all this death talk.  For generations, they’ve expected the messiah to be a mighty leader who brings religious and political reform, defeating oppressors like the Romans, and ushering in God’s reign.  What Jesus is teaching is simply not consistent with anything Peter understands about the messiah.  Peter is beginning to learn that following Jesus is not quite what he expected.  However, Jesus, in the context of Peter’s bold proclamation, calls the disciples to take up discomfort and humiliation and risk for the sake of others.  Peter hasn’t yet realized that Jesus has come for an even broader, wider, and deeper purpose than he’s been expecting: the redemption of the whole world.

We, too, struggle with the notion of “taking up our cross” to follow Jesus, wondering what it looks like in our own lives.  We are invited to live out sacrifice, generosity, self-denial and compassion for the sake of others.  Setting aside our own comfort or advantage we care for others; using the resources in our control to aid someone else.  Mind you, we don’t serve to become a human doormat or to gain attention and praise for our actions.  We serve because Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves.  For their sake and in service of Jesus.

This is a difficult and complicated invitation to live out.  No wonder Peter argued with Jesus.  Finding the way to use our own agency to care for others can be confusing and tricky.  People are not always easy to love or serve.  Their needs may not be very evident at first.  They don’t always seem to deserve forgiveness or compassion.  And yet, we are called to follow Jesus who loves you and me when we are unlovable, fully knows us and our needs, forgives us when we are not repentant, and pours compassion upon us all when we are simply awful.  

Peace,

Alicia

Weekly Prayer | Reading from Mark 8

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