St. John The Baptist

Browsing A message from Father Mark

February 28, 2021

2ND SUNDAY OF LENT  B

          Has God ever told you something you didn’t want to hear?  That happened to the disciples on more than one occasion.

          The Jewish people at the time to Jesus were waiting for the Messiah; an anointed leader, sent by God to deliver God’s people, to punish their enemies, to establish God’s kingdom, and to inaugurate a time of prosperity and peace.  In short, they believed the Messiah would throw off the yoke of the Roman government and reestablish the Kingdom of David.

          But they misunderstood what the Messiah was all about.  And because they didn’t understand that, they didn’t understand Jesus’s mission and Jesus had to correct it.  Yes, he had come to save his people.  Yes, he had come to defeat their enemies.  Yes, he had come to establish his kingdom.

          But, he had come to save them from their sin – not the Roman government.  He had come to defeat the enemies of their souls, not their earthly enemies.  He had come to establish a spiritual kingdom, not an earthly kingdom.  And, in order to establish that kingdom, he had to suffer, die, and rise from the dead!

          Yes, Jesus was indeed the Messiah, but his mission would require suffering, death, burial, and finally victorious resurrection.  That was the message the disciples did not want to hear.  They didn’t want to hear about a suffering and dying Messiah.  They wanted to hear about a triumphant and conquering Christ.

          Now if news of a suffering and dying Messiah wasn’t enough, Jesus also gave them another message that was just as bad and just as hard to hear.  If you want to be my followers, you must deny yourselves, take up your cross and follow me.

          Okay!  Jesus not only tells his disciples that he had to suffer and die, but that they must be willing to do so as well!  There it is – another message that they didn’t want to hear.  And, it’s a message that’s just as hard to hear today. 

          In the words of Dietrich Bonheoffer, the German minister who opposed Hitler and later paid for that with his life, said; When Christ calls you, he bids you to come and die with him.  In other words, we must be willing to deny ourselves, take up our own crosses, and follow Jesus wherever he leads us.  We must be willing to say no to ourselves so we can say an unqualified yes to Jesus.

          And that’s a hard message to hear.  That’s why right after he delivered that message to his disciples, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a tall mountain and was transfigured before them.  That is why Moses and Elijah appeared and confirmed him as the true Messiah.  That’s why a cloud overshadowed them and from the cloud there came God’s voice, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him! 

          Listen to him – when he tells you that you must deny yourself.  Listen to him – when he tells you that you must take up your own cross.  Listen to him – when he tells you that you must follow him not matter what.  Listen to him – and you will find your salvation.

          For those who what 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.

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