Take up Your Cross

Paul tells us that Abraham’s faith was reckoned to him as righteousness.  The verb logizomai in the Greek meansto come to a conclusion through accounting for all the facts, or simply, to conclude.  So a clearer translation of the verse is, “Therefore we conclude that a person is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”  And then Mark tells us that Jesus, just after rebuking Peter and reminding us all to stay focused on heavenly things rather than human things, says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross, and follow me.”  Are we also justified by faith by taking up our cross?  And what does taking up our cross really mean, anyway?

Let us pray. “God of faith and justification and human things and divine things and taking up our cross, help us see the heavenly things in working for the Kingdom right now.  Teach us about our own personal cross, and how to bear it for the Realm of God come to earth.  Amen.”

Paul makes an astonishing statement here in Romans.  Humanity is not justified, or made holy, by keeping the law, but by living out faith in God.  This statement opens up the Good News in two ways.  1^st, It extends the Realm of God from Israelto all of humanity, and 2^nd, it extends the new covenant of God beyond keeping the Law to loving God and each other. 

Belief in this passage does not mean closing your eyes and forcing yourself to believe certain concepts or ideas or doctrine.  [clamp eyes and wince hard]  Instead, belief means to be persuaded, to come to trust, so it can be translated faith, belief, trust, confidence, fidelity and faithfulness.  The Greek word for belief is pistis.  It meant a guarantee or warranty in ancient Greek culture.  Note that this wider definition of belief does not require disregarding scientific truths, in fact, it helps us understand that most scientists have faith, or believe in theories like the Theory of Evolution or the Theory of General Relativity.  Scientists believe, have trust in, and confidence in the fidelity and trustworthiness of their theories.  The difference between this type of secular faith and the faith in the Bible is that biblical faith is not totally a rational process, but rather, a gift from God. So humans can believe something about the world apart from God, but faith is a gift from God.  God’s grace gift to humanity is faith, so Paul says, faith brings us holiness.  Keeping the law alone does not being holiness Paul says.

Now let’s look at the same concept of faith-in-action, but from a very different angle.  As we know, Jesus taught that believing something alone did not bring righteousness.  Jesus taught we must live our faith into the world.  And in our passage today in Mark, Jesus states this principle like this: deny yourselves, take up YOUR cross and follow me.  Let’s think about this in the context of our passage.  Jesus has just told Peter that he needs to no longer set his mind on human things, but now set his mind on divine things, in other words, deny your human selfishness.  What did Jesus mean?  In this passage, Peter says, “I don’t want you to die Jesus!” and Jesus says that is a human thing, not a divine thing.  Jesus knew the die was cast, and that his trip to Jerusalemwas going to end his life.  Jesus could see the Romans paying closer attention to him.  Jesus escaped death several times as the leaders of the synagogues grew increasingly apprehensive of him.  Jesus was not blind that his very political teachings about the rich people ignoring the poor and destitute were agitating the rich ones.  The powerful leadership of the time, both political and religious, hear Jesus accusing them that they were ignoring the least among the people in Galilee.  Jesus was a charismatic political dissident who continuously spoke truth to power, and the authorities were starting to take notice, and plot against Jesus.  Jesus was preaching and teaching radical political and social change and action.  He was defying the political and religious establishment and telling them they were a brood of vipers because they were not caring for the widows and orphans.  Jesus was becoming dangerous because he denied his safety- he denied himself and preached the Good News of the Realm of God, which was HIS cross to bear.

After Jesus asks us to deny ourselves, he asks us to pick up or carry our cross.  For Jesus, carrying HIS cross was preaching the Good News and telling the political and religious authorities that they were failing to take care of the most vulnerable people in their society.  This message is not new with Jesus, as virtually all Jewish prophets had taught this message.  In fact, this message is at the very heart and core of all the world’s religions.  Take care of the least among you.  What I think is interesting about Jesus’ message here is that it picks up where the Jewish prophets left off, and carries the message of charity into Jesus’ then-modern world.  If we review the Jewish prophets, sometimes their message was that the nation had fallen from God.  Sometimes the message was the people had rebelled against God.  Sometimes the message was the rich Israelites were completely neglecting the poor.  Each one of these messages was the cross for that prophet to bear, to carry, to be bound to, to stake in the ground as their banner of truth.  Jesus says take up YOUR cross.  Whatever message you need to live, whatever truth you need to be witness to.  Take up YOUR cross and follow Jesus.  Follow Jesus’ heart, follow Jesus’ steps, follow Jesus’ life, follow Jesus’ dedication, and follow Jesus’ Good News: God Loves us and is always with us, no matter what.  Have faith in THAT, Jesus says, and your faith will give you everlasting freedom and will credited to you as holiness.

Now, what might taking up YOUR cross look like?  A new vocation?  A membership and active participation in a local church?   Let me tell you what taking up MY cross means to me, and how I follow Jesus.

Five years ago I was a successful Vice President at Merrill Lynch.  I managed almost a half-billion dollars for charities and non-profits.  I gave tens-of-thousands of dollars away to charity each year.  Bill used to say I was crazy.  But I knew something was terribly wrong because I knew I was not taking up MY cross—I knew I was not following Jesus as I was destined to do.  So I stopped that life and started all over again.  Completely.  Sold the big house, got rid of the big BMWs, and crazily went back to school, to seminary.  Now I stand here every week pouring out my heart because I know this is MY cross, this is my calling, this is the way I follow Jesus.  Now I am NOT saying that is what you have to do in your life.  This is MY cross.  But I am saying that God is calling YOU to follow Jesus in a very particular way in your life.  It may be as profound as teaching Sunday School, or singing in the choir.  It may be as important as volunteering at one of the many charities that we support here at Spring Glen.  It may be increasing your pledge, or going back to school to become a nurse—or a million things.  It may be being the best you that you can be.  Maybe you are already bearing your cross as a single parent, doing the best you can each day right here and right now.  But I know that when you deny your selfish ways, take up YOUR cross and follow Jesus that your life will be transformed completely.  God will empower you to do what is impossible.  Every week I stand here before you and absolutely do the impossible.  I dare to stand here and declare God’s Word.  I dare to lift a vision of God’s unconditional love.  I dare to be a Californian transplanted to New Englandand speak the Good News to you.  I dare to stick my neck out and declare that God’s love is stronger than our fears.  I don’t do this because it is easy, because it is fun, or because I want to get famous.  Sometimes I don’t want to do this at all because it is so hard.  But I do it because it is my cross to bear.  To be here with you and struggle together to uncover the Kingdomof Godthat is all around us.

And so, in our passage today, Jesus asks you, how is God speaking to YOU to turn around your life?  How can you relinquish selfishness and focus on love and compassion in YOUR life?  What is God telling you to do in YOUR life to take up YOUR cross?  And how are YOU going to follow Jesus into Jerusalemthis Lent?  Because, in the end, how YOU deny your selfish ways, how you take up YOUR cross, and how YOU follow Jesus is all that really matters.  Everything else is chaff, eventually blown away by the eternal wind.  Amen.