February 25th Lenten Reflection

Mark 8:31-38

Jesus began to teach his disciples 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. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But 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.”

He 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. For 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. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those 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.”

Reflection by Anna Venenga

“The Son of Man must undergo great suffering.”

As we are working through the season of Lent, we might feel as if we are in the hardest time of the church year. We are all most likely giving up things while adding others to our spiritual lives. When I reflected upon the scriptures for today, the word that stuck out the most for me was “suffering.” Now, none of us enjoy suffering. But this suffering

Jesus is talking about is for God, and most importantly, for all of humanity.

As I am thinking more and more about this scripture, I wonder to myself, how am I suffering for God? How am I joining with God to do God’s hard work for the good of all people? We live in a country where we are pretty much free from persecution. We are allowed to practice our religion with little to no hardships. But this freeness should allow us to then ask God for unity with the Holy Spirit and the presence of Jesus to take up our crosses and do things that we would consider to be hard for God’s glory. For me, this includes stepping out of my comfort zone even in the smallest ways. Am I finding myself looking at my phone instead of interacting with the strangers around me? Instead of being preoccupied, I could strike up a conversation that could end up being very rewarding. I could help bring God’s joy even in the littlest conversations or gestures, or what is more, through a loving smile.