So after Jesus had asked the disciples what the crowds said about him, and after Peter had given his own testimony – “You are the Messiah!” (Mark 8:29) – and after Peter had objected to the notion that Jesus must suffer and die, and been rebuked for that (8:31-33), Jesus offered this stern lesson to the gathered crowd along with his disciples: “If you want to become my followers, you must deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me” (8:34).

The verse expresses a very high expectation, doesn’t it? It contrasts pretty vividly against the easy-going manner most of us choose for our discipleship. We are used to thinking that Jesus will always be glad to forgive everyone despite any number of shortcomings. Often our attitude seems to be that we’re doing him a favor by listening to him once in a while, while ignoring him the rest of the time. Yet we will better understand our relative positions by remembering Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s famous saying, “When Jesus Christ calls you, he bids you ‘Come and die.’”

Yeah but wait. We’ve all got our own agendas, things we want to do, a personal bucket list of accomplishments we want to get done in our lives. In today’s reading Jesus provided a question for us to address that attitude: “What will it profit you to gain the whole world and forfeit your life?” (8:36).

OK, I get that. I suppose I’d say we all want to be loyal to Jesus, in some low-key way: we just don’t want to be so fanatical about it. It would be pretty embarrassing to have people see us that way. Jesus responded to this as well: “If you are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of you” (8:38). Oh dear …

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When will we learn, Jesus, that you are the Lord, and we are not? Teach us to live in accordance with your high expectations: to seek you, and follow you, heart and soul and mind and strength, day by day.