Message: Authentic LIfe / Mark 8:31-38

Humans are questioning animals. Curiosity is like a twin to creativity, and humanity has progressed by asking and answering questions. Questions such as "What exists in the universe?" inspired the invention of the telescope. "How can we communicate more quickly and efficiently?" led to the creation of the telephone. And "Why cannot we fly like birds?" resulted in the innovation of the airplane. Though not all advancements have been positive, one thing is clear: humans strive for a better life by asking questions and finding answers.

As curious creatures, one of the oldest and most fundamental questions humans have asked is "What is life?" Today’s Gospel reading is about this question. Jesus says, "For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?" (8:35-37)

In fact, the word most commonly used for "life" in the New Testament is "ζωή (zoe)," which means "the condition of living or the state of being alive," similar to how we understand "life" today. However, when Jesus speaks in today's Gospel, the word "ψυχή (psyche)" is used for life, which does not only mean life but also breath, soul, inner life, and life-principle. In other words, in today's text, Jesus is talking about authentic life—not just physical life, but a state where both body and soul are alive together.

When Jesus teaches his disciples about what authentic life means, he stresses the importance of sacrifice, saying “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (8:34). What's crucial to understand here is that the sacrifice Jesus talks about is completely different from abuse. People often use the word "sacrifice" to justify abusing themselves or others in pursuit of wealth, power, reputation, or ideology. This kind of abuse is violence that gnaws the human spirit. Any achievements or victories rooted in abuse divide people into a few winners and many losers.

What Jesus emphasizes in today’s text is sacrificing for love. Parents' love and sacrifice for their children are good examples of this. They wake up early to make lunches for their children, drive their kids to hockey even on holidays, and buy their children clothes that cost more than what they wear themselves. Parents also sacrifice emotionally. Their hearts break when their children are sick, they become angrier at injustice toward their children, and they worry more when their children are in trouble. Moreover, their love gives them courage, even risking their own lives. Parents give up a lot for their children, but this sacrifice never makes them losers. 

The cross of Jesus shows how much God loves us. When the Roman Empire was thriving on the mistreatment of people, Jesus walked up to Golgotha and declared God's love for everyone. He refused to be the political or military Messiah who would fight against the Romans because that would require taking the lives of many others. Instead, Jesus, our true Messiah, showed God's love for everyone by giving up his own life.

The cross of Jesus still inspires many people today who are asking, "What is true life?" Today, people hardly know the symbol used by the Roman emperors, but most are familiar with the symbol of Christ. Jesus transformed the cross, which was used in a brutal method of execution mainly for low-class non-Roman people, into a symbol that confirms God's love for all.

In 1885, Russian author Leo Tolstoy wrote a short story titled "What People Live By." The main character, Michael, is an angel who is sent to earth for disobeying God's command. God orders him to take the life of a woman, but he spares her because she has recently lost her husband and needs to care for her two babies. As punishment, God says he cannot return to heaven until he finds the answers to three questions: "What dwells in people, What is not given to people, and What people live by."

When Simon, a poor shoemaker, sees Michael naked and shivering in the cold, he feels sorry for him and brings him home. Simon's wife is concerned that Michael might be a bad person, but she still gives him food and shelter, and Simon lets him work with him. Through their kindness and hospitality, Michael discovers the answer to the first question, “What dwells in people” is love and compassion.

As Michael works, the shoe business becomes more and more successful. Then one day, a wealthy man comes to the hut and gives Simon some high-quality leather, asking him to make shoes that will never lose their shape for a year. As Michael watches the rich man leave, he smiles ironically. Instead of using the good leather, Michael makes shoes out of thin leather. Simon is embarrassed and upset when he sees the shoes. Just then, the rich man's servant arrives at the shop and says that his master has passed away and no longer needs the shoes he ordered. And then he requests shoes made of thin leather for the funeral. With this, Michael finds the answer to the second question: “What is not given to people” is the ability to predict the future accurately, so they do not know what they will need.

Six years later, a woman enters the hut with two girls and asks for shoes for them. One of the girls is lame. When Simon asks what happened to her, she says: "Six years ago, both of their parents died within a week of each other. When their mother passed away, she crushed this child's leg. I was their neighbour, and I felt sorry for them, so I adopted them. It was not easy to raise them at first, but now they are the joy of my life." Hearing this, Michael realizes that the children are the daughters of the woman he spared, and finally finds the answer to the third question: "One can live without a father or mother, but one cannot live without love.

Now, Michael returns to heaven and says to Simon and his wife: "I have now understood that though it seems to people that they live by care for themselves, in truth it is love alone by which they live. One who has love is in God, and God is in him/her, for God is love."

Truly, God is love. When we love, we are in God and God is in us. The cross represents God’s love and guides us to authentic life. Jesus' call to carry our own cross is not about abuse; it is about love and sacrifice. Jesus Christ invites us to the way of Golgotha to realize what true life is at the moment. During this season of Lent, may we have the courage and faith to respond to Jesus’ call.

Thanks be to God. Amen.


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