They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” (Mark 10:32-34)
Tonight we prepare for the trip to Jerusalem. And Jesus wants to be sure that we make no mistake about it, the purpose of our journey is the cross. Tomorrow He will invite us to join Him upon the donkey's back and begin our ride. What is it that we are being invited to put to death? What is it within us that must be crucified with Him? What is it that Jesus is asking of us? What does He desire for us to nail to the cross with Him; that we might live anew?
You
told yourself you would accept the decision of fate. But you lost your nerve when you discovered
what it would require of you: then you realized how attached you still were to
the world which has made you what you were, but which you would now have to
leave behind. It felt like an
amputation, a “little death,” and you even listened to those voices which
insinuated that you were deceiving yourself out of ambition. You will have to give up everything. Why, then, weep at this little death? Take it to you—quickly—with a smile die this
death, and become free to go further—one with your task, whole in your duty of
the moment. (Markings by Dag Hammarskjold)
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