MK 8: 31-38 (or to 9:1) 

Marginally Mark…Lent 2…Revised 2018 

(For the Transfiguration see MK 9:2-9)

To extend the reading to take in 9:1 as some versions do may be useful. Is what Jesus says there a threat or a promise in the light of what comes before?

Being ‘Son of Humanity’ may be a sin-cure for us, but it’s no sinecure for Jesus; or us, if we throw in our lot with Him! Eugene Peterson¹ comments: ‘…with the death announcement… Jesus heads straight for Jerusalem… The direction changes, the pace changes, the mood changes.’ Letting God into our lives as far as Jesus does, letting God rule in our lives, has consequences. Does the ‘direction’ of our congregation need to change? Do we need to change our ‘pace’? How’s the ‘mood’ of our flock? Are there implications for our personal ‘direction’, pace, & ‘mood’?

‘Testing’, our Lenten theme, doesn’t stop with Jesus passing His testing out in the wilderness. (‘Testing’ is more positive than ‘being tempted’!) Now it’s our turn. God, & God’s Rule as Jesus exhibits it, is a test to discern if we too need a change of direction, a change of pace, or a change of mood. Do we discern some dimension missing from our lives? A Jesus dimension? As we journey through Lent let’s not wallow in being sinners, but celebrate being forgiven ones! 

Jesus cuts to the chase with Peter: he's not seeing things God's way. Been there? Done that? Still going there, doing that? Seeing things God's way doesn't come through committees, structures, & the like, even sermons! Is there a touch of Peter - at this stage of his discipleship, at least - in our own stories? Who knows best - God, or you & I? When we pray, are we often praying for a relationship with God, or from within a right relationship with God?

If I'd been a disciple when Jesus says what He says in 31-38, would I have continued with Him? I doubt it. Would any of us? So why do I follow Him now? Is it at least partly because no-one’s going to nail me, literally, to a cross these days? Because there’s no such risk any more? (As there is, still, for some disciples in some places!) If being a disciple of Jesus still meant a one-way ticket to death row, why not settle for the + on top of a Hot Cross Bun as many do? 

I may not be ashamed of Jesus, but am I embarrassed by Him & what He stands for? Does the latter play as big a role in our failure to share Him with others as being ashamed would? Jesus can turn any & all such negative possibilities into positives. Starting with His confidence (v.31) in being raised, & in 9:1 where God rules, OK! In us, with Jesus!

¹ Christ Plays in Ten Thousand places, H & S, London, 2005 p. 187