Last week we heard Peter declare that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Because of this awareness that came from Jesus’ father in heaven, the Keys of the Kingdom were given to him. These keys gave Peter the authority to unlock the goodness of heaven here on earth. With this authority, Jesus tells Peter that not even the Gates of Hades will be able to prevail.
What an amazing time in the life of the disciples and in the time of the Gospel itself. It would be nice to be able to linger in that moment, but the Gospel marches on and so does Jesus’ ministry. This new knowledge of who Jesus is does not let us tarry in his divine presence. Instead, Jesus begins to show the disciples that there are going to be hard times ahead. He is going to Jerusalem. There he will suffer, be killed, and on the third day rise from the dead. Because he is the Son of the Living God this is all possible, but it is still beyond the disciples’ understanding.
Now the hard part. If anyone would want to follow Jesus on this trip to Jerusalem, on his journey to the cross, then he or she will need to take up their cross and follow. Who would sign up for a journey to death? Who would sign up for suffering? Isn’t that crazy?
Yet, Jesus is not asking any of the people who have been following him to do anything they haven’t already done. Most of the people are already suffering. They are the poor, the afflicted, and the outcast. They already know what it is to suffer and be persecuted. They are living in an occupied land where the Romans are in power over them, and the Roman presence is all too real so suffering is not anything new.
Already in Jesus’ time, but even more so during the time when the Gospel of Matthew is being written, professing Jesus is a dangerous thing. Imprisonment, being sent to the Coliseum to die as entertainment, being covered with tar and set on fire as a human torch, are not unheard of. Death, for these people, is a real possibility. If anyone is willing to confront the powers of that world, then, for that one, death is going to be a constant companion. Yet that is exactly where Jesus leads his disciples and us.
It is this image of suffering and death that has led many to say that the cross or crosses that they bear are these burdensome tasks and chores that they will carry to the grave. But that is not what Jesus is speaking of when he tells his disciples and us that, if we wish to follow him, then we must take up our cross and follow. The cross that Jesus wants us to carry is the cross that leads to life, not death. It is the cross that leads to new community understanding and living, not to communal suffering and persecution. Jesus wants us to understand that death is not the last statement of who we are.
Remember, Jesus is speaking to people whose lives are already filled with suffering. He is speaking to people who already know death. What they don’t know is the power of the resurrection and the hope that resurrection can bring to God’s people. So, this new life, this life of hope for what can be better in the future, is something new, and Jesus is telling the people of his time and the people of our time, that is, those of us gathered here today, that this cross thing is important for each and every one of us and we need to decide how we are going to live. Are we going to live a life of suffering that leads to the grave? Or, are we going to let our suffering mean something that points to resurrection hope and better times ahead?
This cross-bearing living is about learning to walk together in a relationship of trust and hope. It is a relationship of living every day and of life beyond death. It is about lifting one another up in the midst of our individual suffering, of sharing the load of everyday life in ways that continue to give us hope and also give hope to others. It is, using the authority of the Keys of the Kingdom of heaven to open those doors that allow God’s kingdom goodness to flow into our world.
As the news has come in from Texas this week, I am continually amazed at how we go about doing this. We often hear, “Texans help Texans”, but the reality is that people from all over this country have been coming to help. Provisions are being gathered from all over the U.S. to support them in their time of suffering. People are taking up their crosses of compassion and care to find ways to extend the help that will be needed.
Jesus does not call us to carry a cross of burdensome drudgery and death: that is the weight of his personal journey. We are always to remember though that he openly tells his disciples that he will be killed and, on the third day, he will be raised.
It is with the hope of that new resurrection promise that Jesus calls and challenges us to take up our crosses to follow, to find life, stirred up by the power of wisdom and understanding, of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, and the spirit of joy in his presence, as we walk together in this amazing community that is always being called out to serve, the Church of Christ.
Oh, and the rebuke Peter gives Jesus and the admonition Jesus gives Peter? They are reminders to those who will follow to remember that we are to follow. We are not the ones to tell Jesus where he needs to go, to follow us, but that we are the ones who follow where Christ continues to lead us. Yes, we are to get behind because it is hard to follow from in front.
God bless you this week as you take up your crosses of life and relationship with one another.
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