Lent 2B
February 28, 2021
Grace, Waseca, MN
Mark 8.31-38
“If any want to be my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
No small amount of ink has been spilled parsing Jesus’ words about the necessity to suffer, die and rise and the attendant assertion that any who want to follow must deny self and take up their cross and follow him. To cut to the chase about this text: Jesus doesn’t come to die but rather to fulfill God’s healing mission to give life to the world. Jesus has to die because his mission is disruptive to the powers and principalities of this world and killing Jesus is the only way to stop him. Following the way of Jesus means participating in that dangerous mission with Jesus. Carrying one’s cross doesn’t mean enduring any suffering we experience. Carrying one’s cross means enduring suffering for participating in the work of Jesus.
Having said that, I found myself looking at this text in a different way that may be good news to all of us today. Part of my daily devotions recently has been to read Untamed, a book by Glennon Doyle. Reading this book has me looking at this passage with new eyes, not because she cites it, but because I’ve read them alongside each other. Now, Doyle was already a popular Christian writer, married with a family, when her personal life was upended when she discovered something she’d been burying for a long time: she was a lesbian. Untamed is an honest and almost raw account of her journey of discovery after years of bulimia (binging and purging) and alcoholism. Doyle says that at 10 years old her life became defined by outward pressures and expectations, from society, culture, family and church. These forces suppressed her true self and led to her self-destructive behaviors.
Her stories reminded me of an event when was in 9th grade which where I grew up was still junior high school. I was in the lunchroom when I saw a favorite teacher whom I hadn’t seen in a long time. I had taken an elective summer school class from him and hadn’t seen him since. Impulsively, I jumped up, waved my hand, and shouted, “Hello, Mr. Johnson!” Immediately, an iron grip clamped my shoulder and shoved me back down. It was Mr. Panion, my 9th grade English teacher who was also a Naval Reserve pilot. I don’t remember what he said, but I knew that behavior was not allowed. Now, I respected Mr. Panion and even liked him; he called all of us either “Mr.” or “Miss.” Even so, I was humiliated. More to the point, a little bit of my true self died that day and my emotions became bottled up.
So, here’s what I wonder: what are those false selves we have constructed because of deadly messages and expectations about who we should be, how we should act, but aren’t who we are? What needs to be crucified so that our true selves can emerge, the ones God created us to be? What if denying ourselves means letting go of those parts of us that aren’t life-giving, and what if picking up our crosses means doing the hard work necessary to be who we truly are? Wouldn’t this passage be Good News for every one of us who long to live those kinds of lives?
As an interim pastor, I wonder about how this can relate to congregations. What is the false self that Grace has constructed, but isn’t its true self? What needs to be crucified to bring its true self about? What hard work must the people of Grace do, what cross must it carry, for that to happen? How can Grace see this as Good News, knowing that the Way of Jesus leads to life? I don’t have answers, only “wonderings.” Regardless, bless you on your Lenten journey as you ponder the mystery of following Jesus from death to life. Amen.
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