Lent 2: Feet to Follow Jesus

The second Sunday in Lent was from Mark 8:34-35, "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it."

The concept of taking up one's cross is hard for an adult to understand, but the word "follow" gave me direction. We had hands to serve and pray. Now we were going to talk about feet. Our feet were going to follow Jesus. 

Following can be hard. We want to do things our own way. We like to lead. We like to be in control and for others to follow us. Following Jesus often means doing things that I don't want to do, like share my toys (or time) when I really really want it for myself. Following Jesus mean not hitting (or not yelling at) my brother (or my son) when he takes my book (or disobeys again).

When we follow Jesus, what we need to deny and what we need to take up, often becomes painfully clear. I need to ask, "What is making it hard for me to love others in the way Jesus loves?" Sometimes it is physical affliction, like sickness or exhaustion; sometimes history and memories, like what I wanted life to be like compared to what it is like; sometimes it sin, like laziness and pride. Sometimes it is all of them and more.

But the beautiful thing about following Jesus is that we aren't alone. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. We have received the Holy Spirit. And Jesus himself says, "...for my yoke is easy and my burden light."