Second Sunday in Lent Year B 25th February 2024
Lectionary readings:
Genesis 17 v1-7, 15,16. Psalm 22 v23-31. Romans 4 v13-25. Mark 8 v31-38.
Follow me.
In Mark’s gospel, Jesus said to his disciples and the gathered crowd, “If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me”. (v34b).
I think that John Bell and Graham Maule go some way to explaining what Jesus meant by ‘follow me’ in their hymn ‘Come with me, come wander, come welcome the world’ (Singing the Faith 462)
Come with me, come wander, come welcome the world
where strangers might smile or where stones may be hurled;
come leave what you cling to, lay down what you clutch
and find, with hands empty, that hearts can hold much.
Come walk in my company, come sleep by my side,
come savour a lifestyle with nothing to hide;
come sit at my table and eat with my friends,
discovering that love which the world never ends.
Come share in my laughter, come close to my fears,
come find yourself washed with the kiss of my tears;
come stand close at hand while I suffer and die
and find in three days how I never will lie.
Come leave your possessions, come share out your treasure,
come give and receive without method or measure;
come loose every bond that’s resisting the Spirit,
enabling the earth to be yours to inherit.
Jesus is asking his followers to be willing to change, for they own sakes, for the benefit of others, and for the health of the planet.
They are to be inclusive, for God loves us all, equally. They must be willing to leave their ‘comfort zone’, willing to venture into ‘strange’ places, willing to talk to ‘strangers’, listen to their concerns and minister to their needs, in the same way as Jesus did..
In order to do this, followers must be prepared to ‘de-clutter’ their lives and make room for others in their hearts.
Followers are encouraged to accept the promises Jesus has made to them; ‘I will be with you always’ (Matthew 28 v20); ‘The gift of God’s indwelling Spirit’ (John 14 v15,16); ‘The gift of God’s peace’ (John 14 v27); and that ‘they will inherit the earth’ (Matthew 5).
They are to share in the joys and suffering of the world, to be a part of God’s healing team, by doing as Jesus did, loving God and loving others. Under the guidance of the Spirit, followers will lose their grip on the trappings of this world, (money possessions, status), but find instead something far more valuable. Love in their hearts.
Bible quotations are taken from the Contemporary English Version.