Take Up Your Cross

When someone becomes a parent, his or her orientation towards life completely changes.  His or her whole focus becomes something new, something all encompassing, so much so that for the most part, the decisions that are made by parents are no longer made in the selfish interest of the parent but in the best interests of the family.  No longer is the parent the centre of the world, but the family is.  Having children changes your perspective.  You worry less about your own needs and more about the needs of someone else. 

This sacrifice and orientation toward your children and your family doesn’t just happen for the duration of the time that your children live at home.  Those parents who care about the best interests of the family, are more likely to put the groups needs first than to worry about their own even when their children have grown up and moved away.  As a parent, the tendency is to become other focused rather than self focused.

At least that is the way that families operate in the ideal.  Many of the problems for families arise when the best interests of one of the parties, supersedes the best interests of the whole family.  Many of the problems for families arise when the child’s or the spouse’s opinions, ideas, and emotions are sacrificed on the altar of another for the sake of selfish pride.  Many of the problems for families arise when one member cares not for the interests of the other members.

You see the result of these problems in a family when you see abuse, martyrdom and neglect.  You also see the pain of that focus that turns towards one person in the family and that hurt reverberates down through the generations.  The pain for the family when the focus is not on the good of the whole family wounds each member of the family.  And as a result there are many walking wounded human beings who continue this cycle of pain and violence towards others in their very own families.  

Now what does this all have to do with what Jesus is saying here in Mark?  Well, I think it has quite a lot to do with it.  What Jesus is trying to get at here in this discussion with the disciples is that, just like a healthy parent’s perspective changes when they become a parent; when someone follows Christ, his or her orientation towards life also completely changes.  

You see for those who follow Christ, the way things are done is completely changed and turned upside down from the way we are told it should be.       

For those who follow the Way, life is no longer self focused but Christ focused. 

For those who are the children of God, life is no longer at the service of selfish gain but at the service of God’s mission. 

For those who pick up their cross, life is no longer about the winner taking it all, but about us being all together in this life, walking with and serving each other. 

For those who follow Christ, their family is the whole world and their interest is for best interest of all people.

At least that is the way that it operates in the ideal.  Many of the problems for the church happens when someone puts forward their own agenda because they have forgotten that what is best for the church, is what is best for all.  Many of the problems of the church happen when the ones who gather forget that following Christ is more than attending church on Sunday, it is living in the way and following Christ.  Many of the problems of the church occur when we forget we are to follow God’s will and God’s way in blessing, healing, reconciling, and loving the whole world.

And instead of the church being a place of healing and hope, it becomes a place of pain and of exclusion.  A place that excludes the very ones that Christ came to love.

So how do you think you are doing as a follower of Christ?  Have you turned away from your own selfish interests?  Have you listened to Christ’s call to pick up your cross?  How are you doing, following Christ?

And what are your thoughts on how we as a community that gathers here in this building are doing?  Are we self focused? Or are we Christ focused?

Does the way that we act towards each other and towards the world say that we have denied ourselves, picked up our cross and followed Christ?  Or does it say that we only worry about our own selfish interest?

I will only speak for myself when I say that I know that it is difficult in this world to deny myself, to pick up my cross and follow Christ.  I don’t do it all the time.  In fact, I stumble down this path following Christ.  Sometimes I’ve got the cross and sometimes I’ve put it down.  Sometimes I’ve forgot to keep my eyes on Christ and other times, I can’t help but keep my eyes on him.  Most times, I forget to deny my own selfish interests. 

However, Lent is an opportunity for me.  And it is also an opportunity for you.  It is an opportunity for those of us who gather here at New Stockholm Lutheran Church.

It is our opportunity to turn from those selfish ways that are wounding.  It is our opportunity to turn towards Christ.  It is our opportunity to again pick up that cross.  Lent is our opportunity to return to God and his will and his way.

When Christ says pick up your cross, he is not asking you to be a martyr for a cause.  Christ is asking you to listen to God’s call in your own life and to follow down the road where it leads.  Christ’s not asking you to give up your call from God for the sake of being able to say that you’ve given it all up for Jesus.  No, Christ is asking you to pick up your own call from God and follow faithfully in service of the Kingdom of God.  Christ is asking each of us to make the Kingdom of God’s interest our own.

And when we pick up that cross that God calls us to bear, we are not alone, knowing that Christ goes with us helping us to carry it.  Because Christ’s best interest is for you.  Because Christ’s best interest is for me.  Because Christ’s best interest is for all people that they may experience the power of God’s blessing, healing and love. 

That’s a burden worth picking up and carrying.

Thanks be to God.