3rd Tuesday of Lent (March 25). ASHAMED

​Prepare to Listen.  O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you.
 
Prayerfully Read Luke 9:20-27
20He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered, ‘The Messiah of God.’  21 He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, 22saying, ‘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.’  23Then 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.  24For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.  25What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?  26Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.  27But truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.’
 
Prayerfully Wonder and Reflect
What do you think it means to be ashamed of Jesus and his words?
 
I’ve heard a lot of ‘come-to-Jesus’ messages over the years.  Mostly, they claimed life would be better, we’d experience satisfaction, freedom from sin, have answers not questions, etc.  I don’t recall any evangelistic sermons on Jesus’ demands to deny myself and take up my cross.  It’s as though the evangelists were ashamed of these words of Jesus, especially with ‘unsaved’ audiences.  And I sympathize.  These aren’t words I like.  They’re too costly.  But here’s the thing, they weren’t intended only for the 12 disciples.  They were spoken “to them all,” and that includes us, Luke’s readers.  We can’t get away from them or ignore them.
 
They contain two basic demands.  First, Deny yourself.  This is far more than a Lenten practice of giving up something small like chocolate.  Deny yourself, not Jesus when you’re under attack or mocked for being Christian.  Second, Take up your cross.  This is a voluntary act.  We don’t have to do it, but we do it for the sake of Jesus.  This cross isn’t a trial we’re under through no fault of ours, such as flood damage, living with cancer, and so on.  Taking up our cross involves voluntary sacrifice, making ourselves available to serve God by serving people, whether we like them or not.  It means putting self aside for the sake of another and their needs, for the sake of the gospel.  It means, that like Jesus, we’re willing to give up all for his sake.  Living self-centered, me-first lives, suggests we’re ashamed of Jesus and his costly, demanding way, and risk making Jesus ashamed of us.
 
What do you need to do to live these two demands of Jesus’?
 
Prayerfully Respond
Forgive me, Lord, if the way I live looks as if I’m ashamed of your words.  Help me live courageously and obediently, despite the cost, because that is how you lived for me.  Amen.
 
Live obediently.  Courageously choose the costly way.