From a marketing standpoint
this message is a complete disaster.
“Who ever wishes to come after me
must deny themselves,
take up their cross
and follow me.”
Imagine the Madison Avenue suits
trying to nuance this one
or strategize damage control.
“Listen boss, I think it might be a little
off-brand
for the God of love and light.
I mean, potential customers
might be confused.
It’s a bit off-putting,
don’t you think?
Just sit tight where you are—
hang out in some invisible village.
Don’t head into the big city just yet--
don’t enter Jerusalem
until we have a chance to
run the metrics--
do some storyboarding
on different messages—
analyze the market research
and listen to some focus groups.
If you lead with such a
bold and…
well let’s face it...
it's not really a customer-friendly statement--
is it?
This could be a PR nightmare.
Worse than the whole
John the Baptist fiasco.”
Why not repeat that story
about lost sheep?
Now, that’s comforting!
Baby animals always sell!
We could prepare a full color spread
of you carrying a little lamb
on your shoulder.
It's a natural.
Or,
let’s repackage the miracle
of the loaves and fishes!
We could center
a whole marketing campaign
around food,
parties,
feeding hungry crowds,
multiplication of blessings--
Now, that’s a winner, right there.
But crosses?
God forbid, Lord!”
Imagine how many followers Jesus might have
If only he had said,
Lay down your cross and follow me.
Ignore your burdens,
and I will make them disappear.
Follow me,
and you will never suffer again.
Those are messages everyone can embrace,
and the Gospel of prosperity and ease
still attracts many, many followers--
and more than a few leaders.
But suffering?
Crosses?
I don’t want to talk about suffering.
Suffering can squeeze and twist your soul
into unrecognizable shapes.
Pain can enter your life like a stealth bomber
exploding your world into a thousand brittle shards.
Illness and loss can leach away happiness
leaving us dry and empty husks,
wondering what ever happened to joy.
OR,
Suffering can be the way we discover
the depth of our humanity,
the power of our faith,
the measure of our love.
Suffering can carve away
everything non-essential in our lives,
revealing the strength
of our connection with God
and the beauty of our bond
with each other.
The difference lies in the cross.
The cross teaches us --
not that God will prevent all pain
remove all barriers
heal all wounds
take away all sorrow--
not on this earth at least.
Rather,
The cross teaches us that these burdens
can be transformed.
I don’t pretend to know how.
I’m not sure you can, either.
I only know that through the cross
by way of the empty tomb,
our burdens
can be taken up into the heart of God,
blessed,
and returned to us as life.
The cross dares us to believe
that a loving God
lives at the center of everything,
even those things we don’t understand.
Jesus never explained the mystery of suffering.
He never promised we would always
be happy or safe.
But he did promise
we would not be left orphans.
He promised
that his Father’s house had many rooms.
He promised
that he would return for us.
Through his death and resurrection,
He promised
that evil would be redeemed,
that suffering was not the final word,
and that the agony and loneliness of death—
even death upon the cross,
was somehow
the beginning of life.
These aren’t empty promises
or cheap comfort for difficult times.
These words are true.
I don't know how,
but they are,
because they were spoken by someone
who knows what it’s like
to stand alone in the garden.
By someone who knows
what it’s like to be betrayed.
Who knows what it’s like to suffer,
to feel pain,
to be abandoned and afraid.
This is a promise made to all of us
by the God who stoops to wash our feet.
This is the message Jesus
wants us to hear so badly,
he walked out of the tomb to tell us.
Believe in the power of the cross.
Believe that justice and mercy
are stronger than hate.
Believe that beauty survives brutality.
Believe in life
even though the world so often celebrates death.
Believe in the counter-intuitive,
PR nightmare,
marketing disaster,
off-brand message
from the God of love --
to walk toward Calvary,
carrying whatever baggage,
whatever burden,
whatever splintery,
top-heavy,
hard-to-drag-around-
Cross
you have been asked to bear.
It’s not always an easy journey,
but we will have plenty of good company
along the way,
and it is on this journey,
we encounter the living God.
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