Like Him in His Death

Silent Reflection

After reading the Scriptures for this week, take some time to pause and reflect before moving on to the remarks.

Remarks

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…

Philippians 2:5 (ESV)

So death is at work in us, but life in you.

2 Corinthians 4:12 (ESV)

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Romans 6:8 (NIV)

We are now leaving our season of reflecting on death, which has mostly been implicit in what we have read and discussed. From the beginning of Advent through the temptation in the wilderness and various teachings from the Sermon on the Mount, we have seen that Jesus's way, from the very beginning, is a way of descending—of seeing how he descends, the way he ministers, and to whom.

Who is there surrounding him in the nativity stories of the Gospels? Magi from afar, lowly shepherds from the hills, and his own desperate mother in an animal’s cave.

What is the way the Kingdom comes? Not through the quick and obvious and easy victories of the temptation, but through a way that requires suffering and trial, misunderstanding, and maybe even persecution.

What is required for true righteousness? Setting aside self, expectations, and rights to extend love and mercy to neighbor and enemy alike.

“When Christ calls a man,” wrote Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “he bids him come and die.”

In the Christian life, we cannot ruminate very long on the way of Jesus without realizing it is a way of descending and dying with Christ, as we see in the passages from Paul above. And it’s not because Christianity is intent on being a society of doom and gloom, but because the truth that runs right to the very heart of all things is that new life can only come when there is first death (something we will begin to turn our attention to in the next session of the liturgy).

Will we let ourselves go there? Will we trust the story enough to lean into it, not just when it reaffirms the goodness and belovedness with which God has graciously created us, but when it calls us to mimic each step of Jesus, even all the way to death on a cross?

I know it is hard, but I hope we will. Like Christ, I hope we will be willing to give up our bodies for the life of the world, and I hope that through even our small (but courageous!).) acts of Christlike love, God will continue to bring resurrection life into the world around us.

Silent Reflection

Take some time to pause, reflect, and listen.

Response

Return to this week's Scriptures each day as you respond throughout the week.

• What are some memorable moments from the past thirteen weeks of your life? Can you identify places where you had the opportunity to join with Christ in the ways pointed to in this week’s passages?
• Can you think of times when you have seen God bring forth (resurrection) life as you have decided to trust His story and follow the way of Jesus?
• How can you continue to pick up your cross and follow Jesus in the coming weeks?