The gospel passage from the Revised Common Lectionary for the Second Sunday of Lent, February 28th, is Mark 8:31-38. Verses 34-36 say:
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?
I have often heard the phrase “counter cultural” in sermons. Have you? It’s a message preachers often repeat, myself included: “To follow the example of Christ means, we have to be counter cultural.” It’s a pretty easy thing to say— that often following Jesus means living differently and seeing value in what society may deem worthless. Like a lot of things it is easier said than done.
In this passage from Mark, Jesus tells us what is required. He calls together the whole crowd, not just the disciples, and tells everyone that to be his follower they must take up their cross. It’s not just the select few, it’s not just the apostles and the saints, Jesus says to all “take up your cross.” This is about as counter cultural as it gets. As commentary for this verse included in the Wesley Study Bible explains, this is a “demand for a total reordering of commitments.”
There are strong currents that pull us to seek to “gain the whole world.” It’s mighty easy to get swept up in seeking what the world says is most valuable and lose sight of the ways Jesus calls us to live. What does it look like to reorder our commitments, to be counter cultural, to take up the cross and indeed save our lives? Reading Mark’s Gospel provides some good insights.
Mark is the shortest of the four gospels and it is widely believed to be the oldest. It’s striking how counter cultural Jesus is in the 16 chapters that make up this book. In chapter 1, Jesus calls James and John to become his disciples and they leave their father Zebedee with only hired hands left to help him in their family vocation of fishing. This act of leaving their father was at the time scandalous, very counter cultural. In chapter 2, Jesus is questioned by religious leaders for sharing a meal with sinners. Jesus makes the shared meal an experience of reconciliation and healing, all very counter cultural. In chapter 3, Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath and again the religious leaders don’t like it, again counter cultural. You get the idea. In chapter 4, he challenges his disciples for fear of a storm. In chapter 5, he heals a man with an unclean spirit and the people in that neighborhood beg him to leave. Chapter 6 he refuses to turn anyone away from a shared meal. Chapter 7 he is criticized for not honoring cultural traditions. In chapter 8, he refuses to engage in an argument with the religious leaders. Chapter 9 he is inclusive of all who call on his name; chapter 10 he becomes indignant with his disciples because they kept children away from meeting him; chapter 11 he overturns the tables of the money changers in the temple. In chapter 12, Jesus condemns important and respected people for their dishonesty and self-seeking acts and a person who is insignificant by cultural standards is revered for their faith. In chapter 13, he tells his followers they will be hated and persecuted because of their discipleship. In 14, Jesus prays self sacrificially stating “not what I want, but what you want.” In chapter 15, Jesus is executed by the death penalty and in chapter 16, Jesus brings life out of death.
So what does it look like to reorder our commitments, to be counter-cultural, to take up the cross and indeed save our lives? The themes of Mark’s gospel are over and over based around radical hospitality and welcoming the other; bringing healing even when its inconvenient; making sacrifices; being courageous; facing criticism; working against injustice; and following God’s call. During this Lenten season, how might God be calling you to take up the cross? I invite you to read Mark’s gospel and pray about how God is calling you in this season.