Title: What are you taking up for Easter
Text: Matthew 16:24-27
It’s the MOST WONDERFUL time of the year! …
Well not quite. In fact, for some, this can be a torturous time of the year. The season of Lent, which starts from Ash Wednesday and lasts 40 days (excluding Sundays), is a time of fasting and ‘giving up’. And who likes to give up anything. OpenBible shared an index of the top 25 things people Tweeted they’d be giving up for Lent this year:
1. School (11,330 tweets)
2. Chocolate (8,916)
3. Twitter (8,171)
4. Swearing (6,733)
5. Alcohol (5,820)
6. Soda (5,087)
7. Social networking (4,087)
8. Sweets (3,860)
9. Fast food (3,830)
10. Homework (2,687)
11. Lent (2,649)
12. Junk food (2,558)
13. Meat (2,557)
14. Coffee (2,532)
15. Sex (2,236)
16. Chips (2,021)
17. You (1,910)
18. Bread (1,869)
19. Facebook (1,802)
20. Pizza (1,510)
21. Starbucks (1,471)
22. Candy (1,311)
23. Giving up things (1,165)
24. Instagram (1,114)
25. Religion (1,104)
Nothing is wrong with giving something for Lent. In fact, some psychologists argue that the discipline it takes to sacrifice something for any period of time can be transferred to other areas in life. So it’s actually a practice in discipline. However, I question whether there isn’t more to the whole issue.
Jesus call us to do a lot more than give up chocolate, swearing and Facebook. In Matthew 16: 24, Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself”. This goes beyond the small individual vices we have, but all that holds us back from truly becoming his disciples. In Mark 10:17-27, we read the story of the young man who was saddened when Jesus told him to give all he had to the poor in order to enter the kingdom. It’s not that he was rich that’s the problem, it’s that he couldn’t give it up for something he actually wanted. Are you willing to give up something you really want in order to gain the kingdom of God? After all, what good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? (Mark 8:36)
But you’re not being asked to just give up everything. Jesus also calls us to take up something: our Cross. Your cross is not something you causes you pain and suffering, although it might. Your cross is really your service to God. Each of us is called to serve God and mankind in a particular way. Jesus’ cross, His service, was to sacrifice Himself for the sins of mankind. What’s yours- what is your service to God and mankind?
The final command is to follow Him. We are to give up all that holds us back, commit ourselves to our Godly service, and commit ourselves to following Christ. We are to be his disciples, learning from him, obeying him and doing as he did. This represents the fulfilment of repentance that God calls us to do. It’s a full 180 degree turn: we turn away from sin, and turn back to God. We give up all that holds us back, and take up our cross and follow Christ.
This time of Lent reminds us of what is truly important. When Jesus was tempted in the desert he responded by saying we do not live by bread alone, but by God’s word. We give up earthly things for something sustains us even more. I encourage you to fast: identify what is holding you back from truly committing yourself to him and his service. But I also encourage you to pray, read his work and follow his teachings and commands. You will come into a new and deeper appreciation for yourself and for Him. And you may start to think that this is truly the most wonderful time of the year.
Prayer Focus: That God will grant us the courage, discipline and faith to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.
Elroy Galbraith
Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas