‘Will you lay down your life for me?’ (John 13)
Peter pledged to lay down his life for Jesus. And while he eventually did exactly that, initially he balked at what that actually entailed.
Self-denial is the name of the game during Lent and Holy Week, yet do we really know what that entails? Don’t we find it so much easier to deny ourselves certain kinds of food, or limit our online activity, than to check our own attitudes and beliefs?
What would it be like if we gave up belittling words and harsh attitudes?
What if we abstained from the guilty pleasure of a clever joke that is disparaging toward others? Are we really willing to lay down our life for Jesus?
You see, taking up our Cross doesn’t mean waving the flag of religion for all to see. Rather, it means taking a long, hard look at ourselves, and allowing the Holy Spirit to root out even the smallest seeds of discord, which can become full-blown weeds of things like bullying and judgmentalism and other forms of violence if we are not careful.
As we continue on this journey through Holy Week, let us pray that we might indeed take the time to examine our conscience, and gather all those things we want Jesus to take to the Cross for us, so that come Easter, we might be Resurrection people, and go forth as Jesus’ disciples to assist in building the Father’s Kingdom of true and lasting peace.
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