When everyone is going the same direction, it’s easiest to just “go with the flow.” But Jesus came to pioneer a path that runs opposite of worldly currents. His life and death for us did not conform to the pattern set by the world but established a new, transformative pattern instead. This week we examine the collision between the worldly current of gratification and Jesus’ pattern of denial. Jesus instructs his disciples that the cross is not just the specific instrument of his death for us. It is also the symbol of our death-to-self as we follow him. His invitation to take up our crosses and deny ourselves is accompanied by his promise: whoever loses their life in this way for him will surely find their life in him.