Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and the sake of the gospel will save it. Mark 8: 34-35

This passage is one that many on the Christian Way return to again and again. Taking up one's cross is part of the way of following Jesus. However, it sometimes seems as though "taking up one's cross" becomes a method of self-torture rather than a joyous part of one's faith. One book that deeply touched me during my sabbatical was Barbara Brown Taylor's latest book, Leaving Church. Barbara has been named one of the ten most gifted preachers of our generation. For several years, in addition to being a nationally known and traveled preacher, she has been rector of a small parish in rural North Georgia. The book is about her struggle with God's call in her life. At Liturgy and living on Sunday morning, I shared with the gathered group quotations from my sabbatical reading that truly spoke to my soul. Many of the quotations came from Leaving Church and speak to the tortured way of the cross, particularly in the life of the ordained. This Monday morning, I'd like to share one or two quotes with you. Here are two gold nuggets of wisdom:

"My quest to serve God in the church had exhausted my spiritual savings. My dedication to being good had cost me a fortune in being whole. My desire to do all things well had kept me from doing the one thing within my power to do, which was to discover what it meant to be fully human. (Leaving Church, p. 127)

"I thought that being faithful was about becoming someone other than who I was...and it was not until the project failed that I began to wonder if my human wholeness might be more useful to God than my exhausted goodness." (Leaving Church, p. 219, emphasis supplied)

How is it in life that we often think that we need to be other than God created us? How is it that Christians often believe "taking up their cross" means changing oneself or imposing on oneself standards that are inhumanly possible? Could it be that just being human is cross enough in our lives? And in our joys and miraculous mysteries of hope and grace we encounter each day, is being human resurrection as well? Cross and resurrection in one body. Jesus shows us this to be true. Why do we keep trying so hard to change it? For Barbara Brown Taylor, leaving her beloved parish for a teaching position at a local comunity college was part of her journey to human wholeness. For some of us, a major change in our lives may be what we need to move towards human wholeness. For some, it is just viewing life from a different angle. In any event, there is no magical formula. All we need is right before our very eyes. The incarnate Lord in all our human bumblings and collective glories.

Text: Mark 8: 34ff

Pondering: Have you made exhausted goodness your standard? What would it mean to be humanly whole in your life as it is today?

In Christ's Love,