Rowing with Jesus

September 15, 2024; Mark 8:27-35; 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

There is a valuable message in today’s gospel, but in order to see it we must connect the beginning of this gospel passage with the ending. What happens at the beginning?  Peter confesses Jesus as the Messiah. He says, “You are the Christ.” So the beginning of this passage is about faith, about believing that Jesus is the one whom God has sent. What happens at the ending? There, Jesus says to those who wish to be his disciples that they must take up their cross and follow him. So the ending of this passage is about action, about making decisions and living our lives in ways that God’s will is accomplished. So when we look at this passage as a whole, it tells us that both faith and action are essential. They are like two oars which a man in a boat uses to row. They must be pulled together, at the same time, if the boat is going to go straight. We need both faith and action if we are to be followers of Jesus.

Now faith in itself is wonderful. It allows us to praise God. It allows us to worship together in this community on the weekends. It allows us to give testimony to others that we believe. But such faith must be accompanied by action. If we never reach out to someone who is suffering, if we do not allow the teaching of Jesus to influence the way that we use our finances or the way that we vote, if we are unwilling to sacrifice ourselves for those whom we love, we cannot rightly claim that we are disciples of the Lord. On the other hand, we can be immersed in many good works. We can give ourselves completely to the education and raising of our children. We can oppose racism in our society. We can work regularly at our local food bank. But if those good works are not connected to what we believe, if we are not doing those good works for Jesus, then we cannot say that we are really following him.

Faith and action work together. And we should not overlook the kind of action that Jesus suggests in today’s gospel. Throughout his ministry, Jesus gives us many examples of action we can do for others. But in today’s gospel, he invites us to do something for ourselves. He tells us to take up our cross and carry it. You see, Jesus understands that there are many times when life presses us down, when we must deal with the loss of someone we love in death, with an ongoing sickness, or with a prolonged depression. And when we face those difficult circumstances, the best thing we can do for ourselves is simply to hold on, to take up our cross and carry it. And of course we know in faith that when we take up our cross, Jesus will be there to carry it with us.

So faith and action belong together, and today’s gospel is asking us to be sure that they are coordinated. Like a man in a rowboat, faith and action must be pulled together if we are to follow Jesus. If they are not, we may well find ourselves going in circles.