With so many candidates running for the presidency, some whom few of us never heard of a year ago, I could picture anyone of them asking one of us, “Do you know who I am?” Of course, politicians want to be recognized. When George Bush was president, he visited a nursing home once. He came upon a wizened old man hobbling down the hallway. Taking the man by the hand, President Bush asked, “Sir, do you know who I am?” The man replied, “No, but if you ask one of the nurses, she can tell you.”
When Jesus posed the question, “Who do you say I am?” he did not need anyone to tell him who he was. He asked the question to see if his closest followers understood who he is and what he is about. He knew his days were numbered and he wanted to be sure that they will carry on his mission after he is gone. Peter replied, “You are the Christ.” That word is the Greek translation of Messiah. However, Peter’s perception of Messiah was quite different from that of Jesus.
The Messiah was understood by biblical Jews to be the “anointed one,” who was expected to be a military hero, a liberator who would restore the line of King David, overcome the Romans, bring an end to wickedness, sin and heresy, reward the righteous and rebuild Jerusalem. No wonder Jesus instructed the disciples not to tell anyone about him for their notion of messiah was limited to someone earthly.
Jesus did not want people to misinterpret him and his mission. He did not come to be a military hero, fearing that some would want to carry him off as king. Recall how he was greeted when he entered Jerusalem days before he died and the crowds yelled, “Hosanna! Blessings on the king!”
When told that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected, then be killed, Peter was scandalized. He rebukes Jesus who quickly told him, “Get behind me, Satan! You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Would Jesus say the same to us? What is our perception of Jesus and his mission? Are we inclined to reject, as Peter first did, what Jesus is saying here? The notion of suffering disturbs many of us, prompting lots of people to even lose faith in God. We see so much suffering in our world and ask, “Why doesn’t God put a stop to all this suffering?” or “Why did God allow this or that tragedy to happen?” No doubt that is a question many people pondered when our nation paused to remember the events of 9/11.
I am reminded of the folk song, “I never promised you a rose garden,” made famous by the late singer, Lynn Anderson, yet that is what some people expect Jesus to do. Instead, he tells his followers to take up his cross and follow him. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.”
Unfortunately, many Christians misunderstand what Jesus is saying here. The suffering he speaks of is the suffering that befalls us for following him. Illness, disease, emotional or physical abuse is not what Jesus means here. After all, there is nothing Christian about such suffering since many non-Christians experience the same. Nor is Jesus speaking of ascetic acts like the fasting we might do during Lent.
Essentially, Jesus is telling us that faith is not just a matter of creed and ritual. Anyone who truly wishes to follow him must place the common good and God at the center of their lives, not their own desires. Instead of going through life with a me-first mindset, Jesus cautions that the true cost of being a disciple means saying to oneself, “God is first, you are second, and I am third.” Losing our life for Christ means losing the selfish, proud, negative, unholy side of ourselves so that we can be the kind of person that pleases God.
When he speaks of taking up the cross, Jesus isn’t telling his followers to be miserable. He is speaking of commitment. How committed are we to following Jesus? Is he foremost in our minds when we leave here? Athletes understand what commitment entails. If we want to compete in a marathon, that means taking up your cross daily and in doing so, you suffer. No more junk food or leisure time; instead you commit yourself to a relentless routine of self-discipline. The same is said for being a disciple of Jesus.
The cross we take up is the price of our commitment: fidelity in a world of infidelity, ethics over job advancement, compassion over greed, forgiveness over revenge. In the secular world we live in, there is a cost in doing so: the risk of being ridiculed or shunned by our peers. But deep down, there is also the joy of growing deeper in our relationship with Christ. Are we willing to hold on to our faith at any cost?
Granted, Christ did not promise us an easy life but he is saying nothing new. We already know: no gain without pain, no crown without the cross. Jesus is asking more than any general ever asked of his soldiers or any religious leader ever asked of his adherents. He is calling for a personal, unconditional allegiance to God.
But as you and I both know, he set the example by dying on the cross so that we could experience the fullness of life. By doing this, he knows what it means to suffer. Imagine Jesus saying to you personally, “I will never ask you to do anything that I am not also prepared to do.” To reject his demand to take up the cross and follow him is to deny him and be on the side of Satan. That would not lead to a rosy outcome!