Let Him Deny Himself and Take Up His Cross and Follow Me
A Reflection On Mark 8:34-38; 9:1
The Lord said: “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.”
Mark 8:34-38; 9:1
Continuing our journey through Great Lent, the Church, in her wisdom, calls our attention to the Cross of our Lord, emphasizing its importance as the X that marks the spot on the path to our salvation. It is fitting that here in the middle of the fast our focus is drawn to the Cross, for it is through this symbol that new life enters the world as our Lord and God offers His life for ours.
As He rises from the dead, a symbol that once represented torture and death is transfigured, now leading us to eternal life. This reminder should fill us with hope and confidence in God’s promise of salvation, for it shows us the constant love of our Lord for us in action.
The Cross truly symbolizes where struggle in this life leads us, for ultimately, all struggle leads to the glory of the Resurrection. It is for this reason that the Lord tells us in this week’s Gospel: “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Through these words, we are reminded that our struggles are part of the path to eternal life, for no suffering is arbitrary.
It is in Christ’s presence that we receive the transformation of our lives, which raises us into His presence for eternity. Standing in His presence eternally—receiving the joy and love He offers us—is the fullness of the calling we look toward in the resurrection of the dead.
Our purpose has always been full unity with God, even though we fled from Him through sin. Through the Cross, we understand the profound significance of salvation and the hope of eternal life in Christ, inspiring us to trust in His promise, for the bonds of sin have truly been shattered through the Cross of our Lord.
As we flee from God, the impact of struggle sets in. Sin is a deviation from the presence of God, and the consequences of this deviation distort this age—something we ourselves contribute to through our actions. Yet out of His love for us, our Lord gives us an antidote to this distortion through the Cross, showing us that we no longer live by the rules of sin.
By taking on sin and death head-on, our Lord abolishes the power they once held over our lives. In modeling Him in our struggles, the promise He actively reaffirms to us is that sin and death no longer have the final say.
We all have struggles, burdens, or crosses that we carry in our lives. We suffer in our frailty and weakness, yet our Lord tells us that if we wish to come after Him, we too must take up our struggle and follow Him.
In doing so, we discover that we are not suffering alone. Rather, we journey together toward the Lord, each bearing our own crosses while realizing that He is with us—giving us what we need, bearing His Cross and ours as well. This should encourage us to face our struggles with courage, knowing we follow His example.
This is what the Lord means when He tells us: “For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s will save it.”
True life is found in the presence of our Lord, not in a life separated from Him. Therefore, if we wish to stand in the newness of life He offers us, we are called to leave behind all that hinders us on this journey.
To follow our Lord, we must face the reality of our lives. We have struggles, yes—but we are not bound by them. Remember: sin and death have ultimately been defeated. So in bearing our burdens and seeking our Lord within them, we journey onward as He gives us what we need to become fully who we were intended to be in His presence.
Thus, the true salvation of our lives is found in following our Lord in our struggles. This truth should fill us with confidence that victory is assured through Christ, for it is achieved through His active presence.
Our Lord continues by asking: “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Here we see clearly the reality in which we find ourselves.
True life is found in following Christ in our struggle. Yet the temptation always exists to gain the whole world, offering our lives to that which slowly consumes us and ultimately leaves us confused and ashamed of our Lord and His meekness.
If we are ashamed of our Lord and live as those of an adulterous and sinful generation, then our reward will be separation from our Lord when the end of the age comes. The reason for this is not that our Lord is vindictive—God forbid—but rather that if we desire nothing to do with our Lord in this life, we will continue to desire nothing to do with Him in the age to come.
When our Lord concludes by saying, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power,” this statement reveals to us the glory of our Lord in which we are always participants. The Kingdom of God is at hand, and as we follow Christ—like the saints who have come before us—we will see that He is always at work in our lives.
What all of this means for us is that we truly stand in the presence of our risen Lord at all times. Yes, we struggle. Yet in the hardships we face, our calling is to take up our cross and follow Him.
Life is full of unimaginable hardships. We lose our livelihoods. Children die prematurely. Wars begin that are beyond our control. All sorts of evils continue in this sinful age. Yet for the Christian, we see that Christ is present even in these realities, proving to us that sin and death do not have the final word—for Christ has risen.
Therefore, our calling is to look to our Lord in all our struggles, to carry our crosses, and to follow after Him. Truly, He is the one giving us all that we need to live the fullness of our lives in His presence. All we are called to do is carry our burdens and continually offer them to Him.
He never abandons us to sin. We are not the ones responsible for defeating sin; rather, we are the ones called to image His goodness in the midst of our struggle.
So let us set out to image the Lord in our struggles patiently, with joy and love. Let us not inflict further struggle upon others, for we all have our own crosses to bear. If God has given us the strength to carry them, then let us also bear one another’s burdens, for we are all on this journey together as one body in Christ.
Our Lord gives us all that we need to bear our crosses. Let us remember this as we continue our Lenten journey, so that when we proclaim “Christ is risen!” in a few short weeks, we may remember the profound impact these words have upon our lives.
For our Lord has taken on sin and death to show us that we are not alone in our struggle as we journey toward eternal life in His loving and saving presence.
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