15th Day of Lent

Jesus asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”

Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him…
Mark 8: 27-32

It’s not difficult to understand why Peter would respond with disbelief and shock to Jesus’ teaching on his impending suffering and death. It’s likely that Peter enjoyed Jesus’ public acclaim, the demonstrations of great power and healing, and his respect as a spiritual leader.

The concept of the crucifixion and its violence are not easy for us to accept, and at times – often -- we shrink back in denial too. Even as we seek to obey Jesus when he said “deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me” there is so much within us that resists. If we take time to listen to our inner hunger and examine our motivations, we come to recognize that so much within us is attracted to self-indulgent passions and desires ---to admiration, comfort and prosperity -- and to these places in us the vulnerability and pain of the cross is a scandal and a horror…

Yet in times of fear, shame and loss, meditating on Jesus’ suffering and death can bring us peace and comfort, if we are willing to allow it. Christ’s wounds can be a soothing balm for the deepest wounds in us, as we come to know a loving and powerful God who willingly chose to share in our human experience, all for the sake of love.

When we feel unwanted….we can know that Jesus truly shared in the experience of rejection

When we feel alone….we can remember that Jesus was abandoned

When we feel powerless….we remember that Jesus knows what it is like to feel utterly forsaken

When we are in physical pain….we can take comfort in knowing that Jesus shared in this suffering

When we are in mental and emotional pain…we can remember that Jesus cried out in anguish and dread

When we are passed over, washed up, feeling like a “has been” or nobody…. Jesus knows

When we feel weak, or exposed, or ugly, or ashamed… we can take comfort that Jesus is familiar with the pain and agony of being beaten, disfigured, mocked, and stripped of everything.

What kind of God goes to such lengths to show love?

Maybe you have never considered the cross in this way. It can be a very vulnerable and painful thing to even imagine Jesus’ suffering, but it can change a life forever to choose to open to Jesus’ powerful healing love.

Meditate on this video of the song “To Be Alone With You” by Sufjan Stevens as a closing prayer.




I'd swim across Lake Michigan.
I'd sell my shoes.
I'd give my body to be back again
in the rest of room.

To be alone with you.
To be alone with you.
To be alone with you.
To be alone with you.
You gave your body to the lonely.
They took your clothes.
You gave up a wife and a family.
You gave your ghost.

To be alone with me.
To be alone with me.
To be alone with me,
you went up on a tree.
To be alone with me,
you went up on a tree.

I've never known a man who loved me

© NEW JERUSALEM MUSIC PUBLISHING