Luther Seminary

A daily devotion brought to you by the alumni of Luther Seminary

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Mark 8:27-38 (NRSV)

Read Mark 8:27-38 on biblegateway.com

Verse 27Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" Verse 28And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." Verse 29He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." Verse 30And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

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

Winston Churchill reportedly said, “I have simple tastes. I like the best of everything.” In an age when people define themselves by their wealth and possessions, Jesus’ words are hard to hear. Self-denial simply is not a popular message in our super-size, Big Gulp culture.

And yet, first things first. In following Jesus, we begin by letting go of all those things that place a prior hold on our affections. Relationships, possessions, privilege and position and ease give way to God’s call. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once famously wrote, “Christ never calls a man, but he bids him come and die.”

And so we struggle in our letting go and lifting up, to be set free from all those things that would hold us back, in order to cling to the one that would lead us forward.

Prayer

Gracious God, set me free from arrogance, pride and all that I cling to that keeps me from following you. Amen.

Martin Ericson Como Park Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minnesota

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