The Cross - More Than a Minus!

And he [Jesus] began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. (Mark 8:31 ESV) The mystery of the cross is before us. This symbol of Lent not only marks the consequence of our sin, but also clearly displays His love for us. Today at International Lutheran Church, we read the first of Mark’s three passion predictions and what this means for us as followers of Jesus.

Like Epiphany, the season of Lent begins in the waters of Jesus’ baptism. There Jesus is declared to be the beloved Son of God. Yet, immediately Jesus’ identity was cast into a 40-day struggle with Satan. The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness did not end there. Today, we see the full reality of that struggle in the cross as it reveals Jesus’ identity.

The Gospel lesson for today from Mark 8:27-38 is an amazing exchange between Jesus and His disciples. What had started as a private lesson just with the disciples became a teachable moment of what it means to be a disciple for all who would follow Jesus. Now before we criticize Peter for his ill will and quick words in rebuking Jesus after He explained in plain words how He would suffer and die, when was the last time any of us looked at suffering and rejection as a good thing? When was the “short straw” drawn with glee?

Peter was only articulating what is in all of us: that drive to survive and the will to win. No one ever plans to lose. While we may have become accustomed to some forms of less favorable consequences, and even a willingness to recognize our deserving due, what about for Jesus? Peter just dared to say what they believed to be true. Jesus is the Promised One! He is the One through whom all the nations would be blessed. He is the true Seed of Abram, the Seed of the Promise to Sarai (Genesis 17:1-7, 15-17) Suffer? Die? That certainly cannot be “the Plan!”

Indeed, the mystery of the cross needs to be taught to us again and again, day after day in a simple way. The cross does not make sense or seem right. Paul said that as much as we might understand someone dying for a good person, no one would ever imagine dying for one’s own enemy (Romans 5:1-7). It just doesn’t make sense. Yet this is precisely how we know the love of God to be just that - grace and love. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Luther in his Small Catechism (small instructional book on what it means to be a follower of Jesus) notes that each day needs to begin and end with the sign of the cross and the remembrance of our Baptism. He recognized that Jesus’ call to take up our cross and follow Him is a daily event and a lifelong struggle against self. While the cross means death to self, it is also our connection to Jesus. The cross is more than a minus. The cross - Jesus’ death for us - connects us to Him. In Baptism we are connected to Jesus, both His death and resurrection. In the Supper, He gives us His very Body and Blood offered on the cross for us to eat and drink.

Yes, the cross is a symbol of Lent. But the cross is more than just a minus sign. The cross connects us, adds us into God’s family. Not only does it mark the consequence of our sin, but the cross also clearly displays God’s love for us. We cannot “water down” the cross or “tame its bite.” In and through Jesus, the One who came not to save His life but to give His Life, the cross is not a minus but a plus!

Pastor Carl