Bear our Cross for paper

In Luke 14 is a call to carry our cross.  “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14: 27

What does Jesus mean here? He has not yet died on the cross. However crucifixion, in Jesus’ day, was a common form of punishment for the rebels who sought to overthrow Rome. It was not uncommon for the rebels to refer to the burden of their cause as a cross, for they knew that if they did not die in battle, they would likely die by crucifixion. They approached their cause with the belief that they were already dead men, and that death could possibly come through the cross. To bear one’s own cross was a call to arms.

Imagine what this challenge must have sounded like to the crowd. Jesus is not calling them to something symbolic. At that time people were literally being crucified along the roads between their towns for being insurrectionists. Jesus’ audience would have been very aware that a call to carry the cross was a call to live life as if a death sentence had already been passed and now each step they took was a step that brought them nearer to the place of their execution. Crucifixion was the worst possible death known at that time, and now this kind, loving Rabbi is telling them that to follow him is to choose such a death? While the challenge may be uncomfortable for us, it must have been terrifying for the crowd.

So what do we do with this radical, if not fanatical, call to follow Jesus? Living in this radical call begins with understanding the true source that makes the call “fanatical”. Jesus’ call is not the source of the pressure; our sin is. We were created to walk with God, without distraction or compromise.

Do you remember in Genesis, before the fall of humanity into sin, how Adam and God walked together in the garden in the cool of the evening? It is sin that pits two loves against each other. It is our weakness that drives us to love one and hate the other. First rather than blaming Christ for setting impossibly high standards, blame our sinful, broken lives that have made our separation from God seem normal. It may seem unreasonably radical to be called to give up everything, even our own lives, but remember that all Christians were bought at a price. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.” 1 Corinthians 6: 19, 20

Jesus Christ gave up everything to redeem us out of the hand of the devil, and now he calls us to do the same. Give up everything including our own selves.

Second, we rejoice. Yes, the pressure we feel in this challenge is a good thing. We rejoice that our life in Christ rests upon his perfect love, his undivided devotion, and his unwavering sacrifice. Jesus did what we could not do. Through his death on the cross, he defeated sin and conquered the grave. This victory and new life he gives to us as a gift. For in Baptism, our old nature was drowned, and we have been given new life in the Spirit. In this new life, by the Spirit, we find the will and the strength to follow Jesus, to disciple, with undivided attention and unwavering conviction of our life as a living sacrifice to God. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” Romans 12: 1, 2a

If we offer our bodies as living sacrifices we are giving up everything for God and his mission to save the lost.

We rejoice knowing that the pressure we feel is a reminder of the new life we have in Christ. Heaven is our true home. Because of our new life in Christ, we are strangers in this world and we should live our lives from an eternal perspective. If we were not born again through water and the Word, we would care little about Christ’s call to bear our own cross. We would not feel that pressure. That we feel the pressure is a wonderful reminder that we have new life in Christ, and that new life, like a new patch of cloth sewn to an old garment, is tugging at the seams of our old life.

Finally, we rejoice because we were created to answer this call to bear our own cross and to live lives focused on God, our Creator. It is time for us to stop sleepwalking through our life, being passive spectators of the work of the kingdom of God. As Jesus turned to the crowds in the text, he now turns to you and me, not to put a burden on our shoulders but to invite us to set free the life given to us in Baptism by focusing our life on following Jesus without fear of consequence or challenge.

Blessings