The View from the West Mesa

Jesus made two statements that seem contradictory. First, we are to pick up our cross and follow Him and the other, His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Clearly, those are at least contradictory on the surface.    The cross we carry is us. It is our egos, our pride, our defensiveness, and our rights that we have to empty ourselves of. This is hard because it isn’t what many of us are taught or in any case what we learn as we come of age in this world.    Jesus makes the comment about His yoke after telling His disciples just how hard their lot is going to be. Sending out the Twelve, Jesus tells them not to take any supplies, not to take any pay for what they will be doing – freely you received, freely give – and by the way, there are going to be a lot of people who will make your life considerably  difficult.  It is in this context that He says that a disciple isn’t above His master and that it is sufficient to be like your master. Then, if they hated me, you can bet

Jesus has said two seemingly contradictory observations. The first in that his yoke is easy. The second, pick up your cross and follow me. Hmmm... That whole cross thing doesn’t seem to be something light, does it? I mean, the beating, the embarrassment, the struggling with its physical weight or too, its psychological weight, the crucifixion and mocking, while being nailed to it. Nope, definitely not light. Even so, this carrying one’s cross is seemingly expected of Jesus’s followers. Man is not by nature inclined to carry the cross, to love the cross, to chasten the body, and bring it  into subjection....Resolve then, as a good and faithful servant of Christ, manfully to bear the cross of  your Lord, who was crucified for love of you....Be assured of this, that you must live a dying life. And the more completely a man dies to self, the more he begins to live to God. [1] This cross we bear has been described in various ways through the centuries including perhaps most importan