In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
Look around you: even this modern society where many seem to believe—hubristically—we are at the pinnacle of human progress, where we can cure more diseases than ever, where we can support people with chronic illnesses to lead a near normal life, where food can be delivered around the world and communication from one side of the planet to the other can be virtually instantaneous, where we in western Europe have experienced unprecedented decades of peace: despite all this the utopia promised has failed to materialise. There is still suffering, there is still pain, there is still death; and while some may be able to delay these further into the future than ever before, though this is much more the preserve of the rich rather than the poor, life in this world comes to a crashing end.
And into this world of suffering and death, Christ comes. God desires to rescue mankind from out of the Pit of Destruction, from out of Hades. But I ate from the tree, I brought death into this world, and the Lord has already told me,
Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
Genesis 2:16–17
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
I have eaten and therefore I must die: but Christ comes and challenges all, vies with all, attacks all. I want Christ to abolish pain and suffering—much more for my own benefit than for others, though I do not suffer nearly as much as many do—I want their abolition, Christ transforms them. Christ comes into this world and says to me, “You’ve ruined everything! But this is what I have to work with so this is how I will proceed.” The Lord does not undo pain, suffering and dying, He transforms them, He makes them new.
If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
And this is madness, utter madness. I am as a child who has broken his favourite toy who runs to his mother expecting her to return it to its former state, Christ turns to me with love and compassion and tells me, “It cannot be undone, now we must work to make a new toy together and it will take effort on your part, but the joy you receive will ultimately be greater than before.”
Pain and suffering still persist in this world, but when I endure them with Christ and offer them to Him, when I am willing to lose money, health, prestige, reputation—even lose my own life according to this world—paradoxically I receive Life.
And in our world of suffering and pain we are not scandalised by their presence but we see them as ways to come to God. Our society, despite its scientific and technological advances, cannot deal with death and our response is “follow Christ, take up your own crosses: follow Him.” Because it is the only thing that works. Health programmes, dietary regimes, exercise plans still lead to death. And if our family, our friends, our neighbours, really want Life—not just more living in this world but true Life—then this is the only way.
Let us, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, carry our own crosses—it is not comfortable but arduous—because it is our route to eternal Life that we may serve our neighbour by lighting their way, that we may carry the burden of others that they may have Life, that we may die to sin that the Lord establish us as alive in Him. And then, having done this and offered ourselves, Christ will say of us,
Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Kingdom of God come with power.
That we may offer true praise, glory and worship to our crucified and risen God and Saviour Jesus Christ, together with His unoriginate Father and the All-holy, Good and Life-creating Spirit. Amen.
Brethren, knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified. But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we ourselves were found to be sinners, is Christ then an agent of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again those things which I tore down, then I prove myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
— Galatians 2:16–20
The Lord said: “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.
— Mark 8:34–38, 9:1