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The Confession of St. Peter
Today’s Reading: Mark 8:27-9:1
Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 40:1-4; 43:1-12; Romans 8:18-39
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. (Mark 8:34–35)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Hey, I realize you’re God, but you’re really screwing this up. Let me tell you a better way to do it. I’d know. I spend most of my time imagining what I’d do if I were in charge. Never mind my motto, ‘It seemed like a good idea at the time.’”
It isn’t just that we jump right in with Peter and tell Jesus not to die on the Cross and seek power instead. It’s that we love to talk about bearing our own cross for all the wrong reasons. The entire discussion of taking up your cross to follow Jesus gets framed in all the same selfishness as rebuking the divine. I should be the one determining good and evil.
We love to talk about bearing our cross. It lets us see ourselves as the victims. Poor, good, us. Evil world. Jesus sacrificed for the good of the very people who are hurting Him. But the Cross is God’s love that sacrifices for sinners and calls them righteous, not a framework that lets us write them off as evil oppressors.
Take up your cross and follow me. Stop seeing the world as “us vs. them.” The Cross is what unites us. My cross, your cross—there’s really only one: Jesus’ Cross. His suffering and death unites sinners in the forgiveness of what divides us. We are not called to suffer independently of Jesus. We are called to recognize that the people who make us suffer are tied to us in the same Cross Jesus bore on Calvary. We are called to be united with Him in His suffering even as we are united with our neighbors, for whom He suffered. That won’t happen by putting on a brave face or telling God what to do. It comes from looking to the Cross where Christ also died for you. The thing that knits creation together is mercy. The whole world can’t save a soul, but the Son of Man already lost His life for our sake. We can face all, even death, unashamed of the love that knits us together unto resurrection. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Harrison Goodman
O Lord, fix our minds on the things of God, that we may see your cross. Amen.
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By Higher Things®Today’s Reading: Mark 8:27-9:1
Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 40:1-4; 43:1-12; Romans 8:18-39
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. (Mark 8:34–35)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “Hey, I realize you’re God, but you’re really screwing this up. Let me tell you a better way to do it. I’d know. I spend most of my time imagining what I’d do if I were in charge. Never mind my motto, ‘It seemed like a good idea at the time.’”
It isn’t just that we jump right in with Peter and tell Jesus not to die on the Cross and seek power instead. It’s that we love to talk about bearing our own cross for all the wrong reasons. The entire discussion of taking up your cross to follow Jesus gets framed in all the same selfishness as rebuking the divine. I should be the one determining good and evil.
We love to talk about bearing our cross. It lets us see ourselves as the victims. Poor, good, us. Evil world. Jesus sacrificed for the good of the very people who are hurting Him. But the Cross is God’s love that sacrifices for sinners and calls them righteous, not a framework that lets us write them off as evil oppressors.
Take up your cross and follow me. Stop seeing the world as “us vs. them.” The Cross is what unites us. My cross, your cross—there’s really only one: Jesus’ Cross. His suffering and death unites sinners in the forgiveness of what divides us. We are not called to suffer independently of Jesus. We are called to recognize that the people who make us suffer are tied to us in the same Cross Jesus bore on Calvary. We are called to be united with Him in His suffering even as we are united with our neighbors, for whom He suffered. That won’t happen by putting on a brave face or telling God what to do. It comes from looking to the Cross where Christ also died for you. The thing that knits creation together is mercy. The whole world can’t save a soul, but the Son of Man already lost His life for our sake. We can face all, even death, unashamed of the love that knits us together unto resurrection. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Harrison Goodman
O Lord, fix our minds on the things of God, that we may see your cross. Amen.