Mark 8:34
He 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.
What makes taking up our cross so difficult
is that , so often, virtue is portrayed
as unmitigated misery
Taking up our cross
may well lead to death
- as we have seen only too well this week*
Those who speak against oppressive regimes
envisioning a just world
will be silenced by those they threaten.
True martyrs live life before they lose it
imagining and inciting a different way.
Taking up our cross
releases us to live in love
to enjoy freedom in the things that matter
It consists of letting go of things that feel like burdens
in order to embrace justice and compassion
in a quest to effect change
Change that promotes life
even in the midst of death.
Taking up our cross
offers a way to be free
to live in the love of God
(Liz Crumlish Lent 2024)
*In the death of Alexei Navalny
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