"The Lenten Pilgrimage" - Day 14

Thursday, March 4th

      “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

                                                                                  

                                                                                                                  Luke 14:27

 

     Christian Discipleship has a cost.  There’s just no way around it.  Jesus walked the lonely road that led to his suffering and death on the cross.  He lived a life of self-sacrifice, forgiving those who wronged him, showing mercy to all and embodying unconditional love. 

      The Word made flesh, he is humanity’s perfect and beautiful embodiment of the mystery of redemptive suffering, the exemplar of what it means to be fully human.  

      To follow Jesus requires a willingness to journey into human suffering, seeking to be an agent of wholeness to the broken, a vehicle of hospitality to the outcast, a purveyor of light in the darkness.  We simply cannot ignore his command to be cross-bearers ourselves, attempting to chart a course more palatable to our taste, and call it authentic Christianity.  We are to carry our cross on behalf of others who are too weak to carry their's. 

       No-cost Christianity is not a thing! 

       During our 40 day spiritual sojourn to the Cross, today we ask ourselves a question:    What is the cost of my Christian Discipleship?

Prayer

     Lord Jesus, we long to be your disciples yet the cost of discipleship often seems more than

     we are willing, or able, to pay.  We desire to serve our neighbor with the kind of 

     sacrificial love that mirrors the love you displayed on the cross.  We want to embody

     your light, mercy, compassion and justice to the world.  We confess our self-centered

     tendencies, lamenting our propensity for spiritual pride and religious arrogance.  When 

     we ponder the cost of discipleship, we humbly repent in dust and ashes.  When we are 

     confronted by your unconditional love, we are reminded how much work still needs to 

     be done in our souls.  Teach us, Lord.  Guide us deeper into your truth.  Help us rightly 

     consider the cost of being your disciple and to gladly follow.  In your name we pray.  Amen.