Lectionary readings for Sunday 21st June 2020

• Gen 21:8-21
• Ps 86:1-10, 16-17
• Rom 6:1b-11
• Mt 10:24-39

Take up your cross – a reflection on Matt 10:24-39 by Rae

In our Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus commissions his disciples to go out and spread the word of God. He says “ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me”.

To “take up your cross”… what does this mean to us in our modern day world?

Many of us use this expression quite casually to refer to the trials or burdens of our life that we must suffer: the loveless marriage, the challenges of a cancer treatment, the joyless job, the failing finances. All too often we hear of these burdens as “a cross we must bear in life”. This is NOT what Jesus was referring to however, when he asked his disciples to take up their cross.

For us, to stand at the foot of the cross is to see God’s ultimate love and sacrifice to us through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In first century Jerusalem however, the cross was not this symbol of hope and forgiveness but rather, it represented suffering, humiliation and death. As such, what Jesus was asking of his disciples was a big deal!

He was asking them to give up their livelihood, their family, the safety of their homes, and quite literally in some cases, their life to follow him. To take up their cross was to commit their lives to him.

To take up our cross and follow Jesus should be as big a deal to us now as it was to the disciples 2000 years ago. Jesus calls on each of us to commit our life to him, to place our trust in him, and follow him wherever it may lead.

Over the past 2000 years, there have been countless martyrs for Christ, and even today in many countries, to take up your cross and follow Jesus literally means putting your life on the line, to be persecuted, hated and killed.

We in Australia however, are very blessed to be able to freely follow Jesus and lead lives that bring glory to him without experiencing this extreme persecution. But the question still remains, if faced with the choice of denying yourself for the sake of Jesus, would you be willing to take up that cross?

I think it is natural for each of us to sometimes wonder how strong we would be if faced with that choice? Would we really be willing to give up everything for our Lord? I take comfort in knowing that even Peter, out of fear, denied knowing Jesus three times before he took up his cross and followed Christ to the very end.

Sometimes it is hard to take up the cross, and all to easy to drop it from time to time. As Christians, we are not promised a life that is free from trials and burdens; life is not always easy and most definitely not always fair. How fortunate for us that our God is a loving and merciful God that knows our struggles and walks along side us as we try to follow him.

I urge you to read “The Hiding Place” written by Corrie Ten Boom, which is an inspirational (and heartbreaking) story about her life as a jewish prisoner in the Nazi Ravensbruck concentration camp. Despite horrendous hardships, this woman exhibited incredible courage and faith that no amount of persecution could break.

I mention Corrie Ten Boom because I would like to finish off with a quote from Corrie that echoes such a truth that cannot be denied:

“We must be so careful that we do not refuse the cross that the Lord has given us to carry. Let us remember that our present sufferings serve to prepare us for entering into the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

What is your answer to Jesus when he asks will YOU come and follow me?

The Summons : a hymn by John L. Bell