Reflection for the 13th Week after Pentecost, 2022
Scriptures: Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33
Key Verse: “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27)
Jesus said, “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me can't be my disciple.” It is a well known instruction in the hearts of Jesus' followers but I don’t think that it has been well carried out. According to World Population Review, the current number of practicing Christians in the world has reached over 2.4 billion. If all Christians carry the cross, the peace and the reconciliation that the cross offers should have prevailed over conflicts throughout the centuries in between nations, communities, or within families. Have Jesus’ disciples failed to carry the cross? Or are there not enough disciples to carry the cross?
The lack of peace and reconciliation is obvious as we look into recent conflicts like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, or the 43% growth of firearm deaths in the last 10 years in this nation, not to mention the number of physically abused intimate partners, nearly 20 people per minute or more than 10 million women and men. Have Jesus’ disciples failed to carry the cross? Or are there enough disciples to carry the cross?
Since the beginning of Christianity, churches have been splitting ceaselessly, from the separation of the Western Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church in 1054, to the Protestant Reformation in 1517 and eventually the further division into thousands of various denominations today. The splitting or the dividing continues; within each denomination churches grow further apart from each other due to their different languages, cultures, traditions, music styles, liturgies, or biblical interpretations. These 2.4 billion followers of Jesus might claim that they all live faithfully to their beliefs and devote their lives to the mission Jesus has commissioned them to do. Nonetheless, have they including you and I as Jesus’ disciples failed to carry the cross? Or are there enough disciples to carry the cross?
If splitting and dividing is for the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel more efficiently, making a bigger impact, or reaching out to diverse communities, certainly, God would bless what we do abundantly. Wasn’t the separation between Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15:35-41 a great example of division that became multiplication? Another great example is today’s gospel story in Luke 14:25-26. If people decide to follow Jesus and are willing to be disciples carrying the cross, they have to prioritize the cross over the rest including their families and their own lives. The word hate in Greek, miseo, means to detest or love less. After reading chapter 14 in Luke as a whole, we can see Jesus was instructing his followers on how to prioritize their values and their lives. We won’t get to be part of God’s mission if any attachment or relationship prevents us from sharing the eternal life through the cross that brings peace and reconciliation. Didn’t Jesus say to two individuals that they can’t put God’s kingdom off after they expressed their concerns for their families in Luke 9:59-62?
If any intention behind the splitting and dividing is for personal gain by encouraging biases and prejudices, or by promoting self-righteousness, or by strengthening one’s own power or attracting one’s own followers and fans, we can conclude that they fail to carry the cross that brings peace and reconciliation. The disagreement between Peter and Paul over uncircumcised non-Jews in Galatians 2:11-19 is a great story for us to keep in mind as a lesson.
Jesus’ cross is a huge topic. Guess the number of books that have to do with Jesus’ cross is just from Amazon. It’s over 20,000! Let’s not make it too complicated, but just peel a few layers to see if the cross that Jesus is referring to is the same cross that we are carrying. We can be certain that Jesus’ cross is not the same cross that we use for decoration to beautify our clothing, our living space, our church building. No decoration can make our lives holy or change our identity from Jesus’ followers to Jesus’ disciples unless we carry it in our daily lives as Jesus instructed.
In order to find out if the cross we are carrying is the same cross Jesus is referring to, I think the following 3 questions are sufficient for now. The first question is: What does the cross say about Jesus? The second question is: What can the cross do to Jesus and vice versa? The last question is: What does it take for Jesus to carry it? After answering each question and writing down your own answer, ask the same question by replacing Jesus with a first person pronoun to see if the answer you had makes sense.
Let’s try together. For me, a short answer to the first question is that the cross is anything that destroys or ruins relationships such as anger, hate, violence, jealousy, and only can Jesus heal and reconcile with people carrying those baggage. The cross is not about Jesus but about everyone that Jesus loves and forgives. No one gets more of his love or less of his forgiveness. Everyone gets the same package from Jesus! So, let’s replace Jesus with a first person pronoun. What does the cross say about me? The cross is about my own unresolved emotions and unhealthy behaviors. The cross is not about me but about everyone God asks me to love and to forgive including myself. No one gets more of my love or less of my forgiveness. Everyone gets the same package from me just as the one I got from Jesus.
How about the second question, what can the cross do to Jesus and vice versa? My short answer is: The cross brings shame and death to Jesus; in return, Jesus gives his life not to the cross but to all that he loves and forgives. So, let’s replace Jesus with a first person pronoun. What can the cross do to me and vice versa? The cross brings shame and death to me; in return, I, like everyone else, receive Jesus’ life but not the penalty because of the cross.
Let’s finish up with the last question: “What does it take for Jesus to carry it?” It takes all his heart, all his mind, all his soul, and all his strength, undivided. With a strong conviction, persistence, and resilience, Jesus was able to complete the mission for the sake of the world that needs peace and reconciliation. After replacing Jesus with a first person pronoun, it would be something like this. It takes all my heart, all my mind, all my soul, and all my strength, undivided to love Jesus. By following behind him closely while carrying the cross, I see Jesus’ strong conviction, persistence, and resilience, which keeps me on the same path. While I fall, Jesus is still holding it up for me and for all. As a result, I see more peace and reconciliation, and less conflict and violence each day.
Whenever we hear these words of Jesus, “carry the cross,” it’s my prayer that you are also like me knowing that we never are on our own but are walking together behind Jesus like Simon in Luke 23:26. We need our Lord Jesus to show us each day; his love and his forgiveness is for all not just for me or you but for all. We also need our Lord Jesus to show us each moment when the shame of the cross overpower us, let Jesus’ life in us sustain us. Lastly, we got to rely on Jesus’ heart, his mind, his soul, and his strength to fill any of our shortcomings so that we can keep walking to the end of our earthly lives. Thanks be to God for Jesus. Amen.
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