Mark 8:27-38 (NRSV)
Read Mark 8:27-38 on biblegateway.com
Verse 31Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Verse 32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
Verse 33But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."
Verse 34He 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.
Verse 35For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
Verse 36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?
Verse 37Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?
Verse 38Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
Devotion
We picked them up outside the Maasae Girl’s School in Monduli, Africa. Neema had invited us to her grandfather’s “boma.” We were to feast on roasted goat, to meet her grandfather, his six wives and his forty-some children, among them Neema’s family. It was a rare privilege.
Neema is a graduate of the Maasae Girl’s School. Through sponsorship she is now enrolled at Makamira Seminary. Neema will be ordained in the Lutheran church of Tanzania. She is a young woman strong in God’s Spirit.
“Who do people say that I am?” Neema speaks boldly that Christ is the Son of God. In her quiet, unassuming way she shouts the presence of Christ. She reveals Christ’s transformation. Her gentle witness to Christ speaks volumes to her brothers who live in a home of countless gods. Her perseverance to be educated speaks hope, most especially to her sisters.
Prayer
Gracious God, we give thanks for a plethora of cultures and for all that these cultures teach us about your children. For your child, Neema, we also give thanks. May we follow her strong example of witness. May we boldly proclaim in word and deed our conviction and our faith that you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. In his name we pray. Amen.