Mark 8:34-9:1, March 23, 2025, Osaka Church
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit
“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel’s will save it.”
Today’s Gospel. These are truly harsh words from Christ. There is no escape. These are merciless words that strike down those who only thought of Christianity as a “useful” teaching.
However, during the time when Christians were subjected to persecution by the Roman Empire and the Communists, these words must have made Christians feel a “mercilessness” far greater than the “mercilessness” we feel today. For them, “taking up the cross” literally meant being crucified on the cross. “Denying oneself” was not a monastic virtue such as abandoning one’s “self,” but accepting “death” for the sake of Christ and the Gospel. They were always faced with a choice from which there was no escape: those who are killed will live, and those who refuse to die and remain alive will die. They had to choose between living as a Christian, that is, willing to die, or abandoning Christ and dying, that is, remaining alive.
Today, “taking up the cross” is often understood as not turning away from the challenges of life, but living through them without running away and carrying the burden. This is not wrong at all. However, if we do not understand that this is essentially the same experience as the experiences of Christians in times of persecution, meaning that it is related to our own life and death, then it is no different from the inspirational words of a daily calendar such as “life is like walking up a slope with a heavy burden on your back.” But we do not listen to Christ’s words simply to nod along at their deep meaning. We do so because we do not want to die. We want to live. And Christ did not say these words just to impress us with profound wisdom. He speaks as a commander rallying his soldiers in battle: “If you don’t want to die, follow me!”
This is when the words “Deny yourself and take up your cross” become meaningful.
“Deny yourself.” Have you achieved anything by living according to your own desires and emotions? The hatred of the people you have used as tools for yourself is attacking you, and this body you have used as a tool of pleasure is taking revenge. Have you found any path by living according to your own beliefs and “your own ideas”? All you are left with is a lonely self, gripped by resentment toward society and people who do not value you or agree with you, who does not open up to anyone, and who cannot be opened up to anyone. If you don’t want to die, take off that heavy armor of “I,” “me,” “for me,” etc. quickly and believe in me and follow me, Christ cries out. There is no heavier burden than “myself.” When the Lord says “be poor in spirit,” we readily admit our own powerlessness; when He says “look at the flowers of the field,” we cast away our worries; when He says “do not commit adultery,” we return to the bond of marriage; when He says “love and forgive your enemies,” we pray for those we hate; when He says “do not judge,” we first engrave our own sins in our hearts… When He says “take and eat, take and drink,” we receive the new life of the Lord, the body and blood of the Lord. Haven’t we cast away our old life in the waters of baptism?.
“Take your cross.” The cross is not something that is given to us by asking for it, but something that is placed there. We pretend not to see the cross in front of us and look around for our favorite cross, the light-looking cross, the “cool” cross. We cannot die properly with such a cross. We cannot be resurrected to true life with such a cross. If we cannot see “our cross,” let us honestly face the things we have turned a blind eye to. The cross we do not want to bear is “our cross.” The Lord not only walks before us but also carries the heavy cross with us. If we do not hesitate to accept the support of the Lord we can walk toward Resurrection with the Lord who died on the cross.