"After calling the crowd together with his disciples, Jesus said to them, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me and because of the good news will save them. Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives? What will people give in exchange for their lives? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this unfaithful and sinful generation, the Human One will be ashamed of that person when he comes in the Father’s glory with the holy angels.”~Mark 8:34-38 CEV
This week has been filled with tragedy. The Boston Marathon bombing, the explosion of the fertilizer plant in West, Texas, the floods in the Midwest, Congress has rejected a bill that would have required background checks for gun purchases at gun shows and on the internet, and on a smaller scale a local school paraprofessional is accused of soliciting a 10 year old girl at school. It leaves some wondering what is happening to the world we inhabit.
As I think of the events, I feel stirred inside with sympathy, empathy, anger, heartache, sadness, mourning, disappointment, and the list could go on and on. Motivation to choose a cause and do something to make the world a better place gives me a strong sense of connection to this human race even in its dysfunctional demeanor.
Reading this often heard passage from Mark, I think about Jesus asking us to give our own lives to be a part of His life. So, what does it mean to be a part of His life? Maybe it means to not only take up our cross, but maybe it also means to take up our cause. The cross is all about relationship. It's about the body and blood of Christ that ties us directly to him. We're related through body and blood. Taking up a cause is all about relationship. You find yourself drawn through an emotional relationship to do something outside yourself. You don't need to know someone to be drawn to their needs. Isn't it in some ways what the message about taking up our cross conveys to us? What will we give in exchange for our lives?
The Holy Spirit takes residence within each of us. The feelings we feel, and the way we react are no surprise to Christ. He's feeling everything we feel. I often feel prompting from the Holy Spirit to get out of my own comfort zone and do something to help regardless of how small an act it may be. When I take up a cause in my life, I have to first ask myself is this cause in response to relationship, or is it something that benefits only me? Causes that are based in relationship are causes we give in exchange for our own lives. We give something away with the hope of making life better for someone else in some way. Christ is at the heart of these relationship causes.
You may have found the events of this week have been nudging you to take up a cause to help others. Maybe it's the Holy Spirit sharing your pain and finding a way for you to exchange your life for the good of another. Christ is counting on us.
Holy Spirit,
Thank you for the gift of emotions that lead us to take up causes that help us learn the value of giving to others. May the causes we choose show Your Love in all we do.
Amen.
