Mark 8:31-38: "Those who want to save their life will lose it . . ."

“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 for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”

I’ve always found this to be one of the hardest and most challenging passages in the Gospels.  Jesus seems to be saying that the best way for us to become his disciples is to lay down our weapons and stop defending ourselves. That might mean literally allowing ourselves to be killed rather than fight back, if we should ever be threatened with death. Holy martyrs die that way, and so did Jesus himself.

Even if we imagine that we would be heroic enough to do likewise, though, most of us will never find ourselves in such a life-or-death situation. How is today’s lesson actually relevant to us?

Perhaps Jesus is urging us to stop worrying about the possible loss of the material goods, powers, and privileges that we have used so far to demonstrate (both to others and to ourselves) who we are and why our lives matter in this world. Are we willing to follow him if that might mean risking our social status, for example? Or our career goals, or retirement savings, or some of our family relationships? Are we willing, in other words, to let ourselves become more vulnerable by the usual standards of our old life?

What if we can’t give an honest “yes” to that question? The good news is that we are not expected to reach that level of commitment all by ourselves or all at once. As a first step, we might return with some regularity to the wonderful collect for the Fifth Sunday in Lent in the Book of Common Prayer:      
    “Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.”