The
‘way’ of the Cross
Rev. Steven Oetjen
Home Page
To Sunday Gospel Reflections
Index
Mark wrote to explain
Christ
to the new Gentile converts.
Today’s Gospel
passage describes a pivotal moment.
It is at the halfway
point of St. Mark’s Gospel, and it marks a strong shift. This shift has
everything to do with the word ‘way.’
There was something
unknown and mysterious about the whole first half of Mark’s
Gospel. It began
straightaway with the figure of John the Baptist, who was sent
to prepare the “way of the Lord” (Mk 1:2-3). Jesus then arrives
on the scene and calls two sets of fishermen-brothers, who
immediately leave everything behind to follow him. They have embarked
on that “way” prophesied by John. They follow Jesus
wherever he goes, at one point making their “way” through a
grainfield and enduring an attack from the Pharisees. (Mk
2:23) Jesus later sends the
Twelve apostles out two-by-two to make their “way” (or
journey,” as some translations say) from village to village
preaching the kingdom of God.
(Mk 6:8) Jesus feeds a large crowd by multiplying
loaves and fish, “lest they faint along the way.” (Mk 8:3) This word “way”
keeps popping up. But
we are left wondering: a way to where? Throughout the first
half of the Gospel, it is unknown to the disciples how things
will unfold, or where the “way” is headed. All the while, Jesus
teaches in parables, so the reality of the cross remains
hidden and incomprehensible to them.
Today’s passage
begins the second half of Mark’s Gospel, and here, for the
first time, Jesus spoke “openly” about how he must suffer, die
and rise again. This
is not a parable. He
spoke plainly. Mark
strategically uses that keyword “way” seven times in this and
the next two chapters. All to refer to Jesus’ way up to
Jerusalem to be crucified.
Here is the dramatic shift. Everything from this
point forward is about the way to Jerusalem. Mark drives home the
point: the unknown way on which the disciples have been
following Jesus is in fact the way of the cross.
Even with the new
clarity in Jesus’ speech, the disciples seem to remain
perplexed. The
idea of the cross is still a bit incomprehensible to them. This is why
Peter pulls Our Lord aside and begins to rebuke Jesus when
Jesus mentions his suffering and death. The grace of God and
the light of faith had begun to illuminate Peter’s mind when
he was able to say rightly, “You are the Christ,” when asked
by Jesus, ”But
who do you say that I am?”
But just moments later, we see how Peter’s
transformation was not yet complete. When it came to the
cross, Peter was still thinking not as God does, but as human
beings do.
Even we, who benefit
from almost 2,000years of reflection on Jesus’ cross and
resurrection, often remain perplexed when it comes to the
crosses in our own lives.
We are slow to learn to think as God does rather than
as human beings do. And
the learning process is often painful. Maybe it is only on
the Way of the Cross that we learn the value of the cross –
indeed, the necessity of the cross. It ultimately
involves trust in God, that he is not leading us to our
ultimate destruction but rather too life and joy and fullness. He only allows
trials along the way because we ne. St John Henry Newman
encourages us, “Let us put ourselves into His hands, and not
er startled though He leads us by strange way, a mirabilis
via, as the Church speaks.
Let us be sure He will lead us right, that He will
bring us to that which is not indeed what we think best, nor
what is best for another, but what is best for us.”
Jesus said
elsewhere, “I am the way,” and there is no other (Jn 14:6). May our new hearing
of the Gospel this year help us to lo learn that following
Christ means following him on the way of the cross. There is no other
way.
Please consider a tax deductible gift to support this web site.