Mark 8:34 (NRSV) He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
The cross is coming. If we want to be disciples, a cross is required. No one wants that.
The Roman orator Cicero said this about ‘the cross.’ “...the executioner, the veiling of the head and the very word ‘cross’ should be far removed not only from the person of a Roman citizen but his thoughts, his eyes and his ears. For it is not only the actual occurrence of these things but the very mention of them, that is unworthy of a Roman citizen and a free man” (Rabirius Perd. 16).
My teachers, Fred Aquino and Jeff Childers, say, “Jesus proclaimed that the way to true health leads through suffering and that new life comes only to those ready to die each day. His unjust and inhumane death drove that message home, providing his disciples with a pattern to imitate.”
What we see in Jesus on the cross is God’s participation in our lives from the bottom up. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, even among the least of these.
Do you have a glimpse of that kind of love? Wouldn’t you love to have Someone who would come and be with you. Wouldn’t you love to have Someone who would not flee from your troubles, or your heartache, or your mess, from your truest self? This Someone comes to sit with you, to look you in the eyes, to appreciate you, to encourage you, to show you what love really means. This Someone comes to send you to do the same. That is what the cross means.
The cross is coming. If we want to be disciples, a cross is required. No one wants that.
The Roman orator Cicero said this about ‘the cross.’ “...the executioner, the veiling of the head and the very word ‘cross’ should be far removed not only from the person of a Roman citizen but his thoughts, his eyes and his ears. For it is not only the actual occurrence of these things but the very mention of them, that is unworthy of a Roman citizen and a free man” (Rabirius Perd. 16).
My teachers, Fred Aquino and Jeff Childers, say, “Jesus proclaimed that the way to true health leads through suffering and that new life comes only to those ready to die each day. His unjust and inhumane death drove that message home, providing his disciples with a pattern to imitate.”
What we see in Jesus on the cross is God’s participation in our lives from the bottom up. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, even among the least of these.
Do you have a glimpse of that kind of love? Wouldn’t you love to have Someone who would come and be with you. Wouldn’t you love to have Someone who would not flee from your troubles, or your heartache, or your mess, from your truest self? This Someone comes to sit with you, to look you in the eyes, to appreciate you, to encourage you, to show you what love really means. This Someone comes to send you to do the same. That is what the cross means.
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