Take up your Cross
Exodus 3: 1 – 15; Matthew 16: 21 – 28
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?” [Mt 16: 24-26]
I don’t know how we hear these words of Jesus recorded in Matthew and Mark. We have transformed the notion of a ‘cross’ from being a symbol of cruel execution to a symbol of Christianity. In that process the cross has become a piece of jewellery, a symbol of valour or figuratively speaking something we must endure. We speak of someone having a ‘cross to bear’. When Jesus said, ‘take up your cross’ he wasn’t thinking of a badge, a piece of jewellery or a medal of valour. He was thinking of the cruel Roman implement of execution reserved for the enemies of Rome.
I don’t know how the disciples heard this call to ‘take up one’s cross’, but I do know they were prepared to suffer and die for their faith in Christ Jesus. What was it that inspired them to join a group that had a high death factor? Their leader was cruelly put to death and one of the first followers, Stephen, was stoned to death. Stephen died with the words of his Lord on his lips – words of forgiveness to his persecutors. Paul who witnessed and managed Stephen’s death later became a Christian. Paul the Christian apostle was jailed, whipped and finally executed for his faith in Christ Jesus. Many Christian experienced the same, as many do today. Why be a Christian?
When I became a Christian at 17 years and 11 months Christ Jesus meant everything to me. Belief in Jesus changed my life from ordinariness to meaningfulness. My perspective changed and I felt life was so much better with Jesus. Then I received a call to be a minister – a preacher. It frightened me. I felt so inadequate to take on such a role. It took three months to work through this ‘call to ministry’ and say ‘yes’ to God. One of the most memorable conversations at that time was with my minister. My mother and I attended the local Methodist Church where he was the minister. My connections with Methodism were convenient. In answering the call to ministry I felt led to the Methodist Church rather than the Anglican. Therefore I went to this minister. I knew him to be a good man who had stood against the political doctrine of racial segregation in South Africa called Apartheid. He had suffered some criticism for his stance. He was not popular. I went into his office and told my story. He looked at me, paused and then said; “Peter, if you can possibly avoid being a minister do so. However it is a wonderful work.”
It is an interesting way to respond to someone called to the ministry. These days we get all excited when someone expresses an interest. However, ministry is never easy, whether ordained or un-ordained ministry. Ministry means you are God’s servant first. This is a real challenge. It is a challenge in a society, which opposes Christianity and intentionally persecutes Christians. Today the Church is viable in countries that actively imprison and persecute Christians. This week I received an email about Ebrahim Firouzi of Iran. He is on a hunger strike in protest at the Government’s persecution of Christians. He has been moved to a secure section of the Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj with a number of other Christians charge with crimes against the State of Iran because of their faith. They have removed from him his Bible and all other Christian resources.
In our society Christians have some form of recognition. We’re not persecuted. However we face the not so subtle pressure to conform to our culture’s values of acquisition, materialism, pleasure-seeking and self-interest. Remember the teaching of Jesus about not serving two leaders at the same time [Mt 6:24]. That’s straightforward common sense. Yet we try and serve both our culture and our Church. Jesus gave us the two parables of the Priceless Pearl and the Hidden Treasure, which respectively illustrate that the great treasure of the Kingdom of God comes to us when we sell all to gain it, or give up all to secure it [Mt 13: 44-46].
When I entered the ministry I knew that ‘Apartheid’ was wrong. I had heard about the persecution and rejection of clergy who stood up for the rights and dignity of black people. I knew that in doing so there was a cost. I tried to warn my loved ones, but I don’t think they understood at all. During my time in South Africa part of my ministry was committed to building relations with black and mixed race congregations. I joined a Christian organisation that fostered such relationships. I related to banned black people, one of whom had been imprisoned on Robin Island. I recognised that my actions and connections meant I would be on the Special Branch Police Force’s list of suspicious persons. I recall my four Society Stewards meeting with me and asking me politely not to say or do too much as they were concerned for me. I believe they were sympathetic and genuinely concerned for me, but they were not willing to challenge the status quo. My actions were relatively mild and focussed on building relationships, understanding and respect. But I always felt uncomfortable around police and with the public.
This challenge ‘to take up one’s cross’, still echoes in the Church today. It comes up regularly in the liturgical calendar. What does Jesus’ statement mean for us in our world where we are not persecuted for our faith and have no physical life-threatening threat to our existence? Surely we can hardly speak of taking up our cross. However we do live in two worlds – the world of the Church and the world of our culture.
I think taking up our cross and following Christ Jesus as our Lord might look like this.
There is a lovely story that I have shared before that illustrates love and its power, but it also illustrates commitment to what is right and the cost of such commitment. It is the latter point for which I tell this story again. It is a story of costly commitment and its blessing. It is entitled The Face at the Wall. It is a story of a leper colony in days gone by when medicine and our knowledge of leprosy was limited. The lepers were herded into a high walled compound and separated from family and society. They were lonely and abandoned men who could only prowl around their yard. Yet one of these men kept a gleam in his eye. He could smile and if you offered him something, he could still say, ‘thank you.’ The Sister in charge was keen to know the reason for this miracle. What kept him alive? She observed him. She noticed that each day he would go to a spot along the high wall and a face would appear. It was the face of a small woman, full of smiles. Then the face would disappear. The man was always there to receive his smile. He would smile back. This was the food of his spirit. When the face disappeared he would turn to wait another twenty-four hours to begin afresh.
One day the Sister took them by surprise. He simply said, ‘She is my wife.’ And after a pause he went on. ‘Before I came here, she hid me and looked after me. A native doctor gave her an ointment for my face. She would cover my face but always left one spot for her lips. But it couldn’t last. They picked me up. She followed me here and when she comes to see me every day, I know that it is because of her that I can still go on living.’ [C Arcodia, Stories for Sharing 1991, p.75]
Christ Jesus calls us to a compassionate commitment beyond the norm. Christ Jesus calls us to go the second mile [Mt 5: 41]. I think it might look like this on an everyday basis.
It might mean that we will not invest our life-savings in shares that include gambling institutions, or industries that depend on unethical labour practices or use resources that are dangerous to the environment. The Christian who praises God for saving their life for eternity, will put first the well-being of others before their own, for that is what God does in Christ Jesus for us.
It might mean that when we install solar panels we ask not how much money will we get back, but how much it will benefit the environment? I have been present in so many conversations where the conclusion is that it is no use putting up solar panels because you won’t get your money back. Or, it will take a long time to recoup our money. There is no concern for how beneficial it will be for the environment and our grandchildren. The Christian who lives to serve the Lord of Life and the Lord of Creation will put life and creation before self-interest.
It might mean that we spend much time on our knees, proverbially speaking, praying for forgiveness. I hear stories of people who have been deeply hurt and betrayed by others close to them. I sense the deep anger, the sense of loss and the unuttered cry for reconciliation. I hear too, of people who have hurt others and long to be forgiven. Often the victims and perpetrators don’t recognise their need for reconciliation, but their behaviour screams out their need. What our world needs is reconciliation. Reconciliation is the recognition of the victim’s hurt and the perpetrator’s offence. Reconciliation comes when both parties acknowledge the need for forgiveness to be given and received. Reconciliation is when we can say in love that we are aware of the hurt, accept the apology, offer forgiveness and receive it. Forgiveness is so important to our well-being. This is one of the hardest exercises for the Christian or any person to enter into. However it is a ministry that calls us to die to self and enter compassionate forgiveness and repentance.
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Peter C Whitaker, Leighmoor UC: 03/09/2017
pgwhitaker@tpg.com.au
/ www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au
