March 23 - Lenten Devotional

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "The Messiah of God." He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, "The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. Then he said to them all, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:20-23)

Who is Jesus? The Messiah of God… And yet he told them, commanded them, not to tell anyone because he had to suffer… be rejected… be killed… be raised. The whole idea that Jesus didn’t want his identity as messiah revealed is called the “messianic secret”. Why does Jesus not want it getting out that he is the messiah of God?

Messiah was a word with a lot of baggage. It meant a lot of things to a lot of people… and most of them were inaccurate – or outright wrong. And maybe Jesus didn’t want his ministry to get hijacked by the agenda of all the various interest groups who wanted some claim on the “messiah”. Ultimately however it was for messianic claims – and the political consequences attached to such claims - that he was killed. It was because the “elders, chief priests, and scribes” rejected that he was the messiah.

Leave that question on hold for second and move to a second question: why must Jesus be killed? I have a suspicion it is for lots of reasons and no one answer is the whole answer, but here is the answer that works for me right now. The answer begins with a story:

In 2004 during Holy Week I had something of a crisis with God. My hopes and dreams for my future didn’t seem to be coming true… and it put me in a hard place. During that week I truly experienced the death of God on Good Friday… I really felt the reality of God’s death. Sunday came and went and I was not ready for God to be raised… and in truth I can’t remember now how long it took. God did rise from the dead… and this is what God taught me in the experience: a lot of my struggles were because I had decided who God needed to be… and in order for God to really be God, my false construction of God that was based on my wants and desires had to die. It was only in death that God could be alive to me again!

Why does Jesus try to shed the messiah label? Why must Jesus die? I think it might be related to my experience. A lot of people needed their conception of the messiah to die. A lot of people needed the God they had constructed to die… in order that God might be really and truly alive to them – a God free from all our constructions, boxes, concepts, rules, laws and ideas.

In Jesus death – all our preconceptions about what a messiah would say and do die with him. In the resurrection all that God can be – freed from all our junk – breaks free from death to glorious life! And maybe now were just a little more open to seeing him, hearing him… and following him. So much so that I think then this opens up some new meaning for our journey of discipleship when we hear the next words of Jesus in light of this understanding.

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

If we want to follow Jesus we have to set aside our wants and desires, our preconceptions and perceived needs… and daily – DAILY – pick up the cross and follow. Each day we begin the day reminding ourselves it’s not about me. Each day we begin our first steps following God by reminding ourselves that we don’t get to tell God who God is, God is bigger and more wonderful than our experience can comprehend. This also means that as we respond to the call of God we do so knowing that God can imagine more for us than we can.

We deny ourselves in favor of God. We take up our cross to remember what the servant nature of messiah really means. We follow, because where God leads is far richer, far more wonderful and far more meaningful than any place we will find on our own.

Are you willing to let the god who you desire die, in order that the God who is can truly be alive to you?

Can you open yourself to hear who Christ imagines you to be, and follow in the way he wants to take you?

Will you pick up your cross daily – and follow Jesus?

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Crucified God,
We struggle to let go of our need for control.
Help us to open ourselves to who you truly are,
and not simply who we wish you to be.
Amen.