The gospel lectionary reading for Lent 2 in Year B is Mark 8.31-38, Jesus’ call on all those who would follow him to ‘take up their cross’ and walk the path that he did. This includes one of the first verses I learnt by heart as a new Christian (Mark 8.34), but it is also the subject of much misunderstanding.
The phrase ‘to take up one’s cross’ or ‘bear a cross’ has in common parlance been detached from the question of following Jesus and is now used to mean ‘carry any burden in life’. But it actually has a quite different meaning in this passage.
Come and join Ian and James as they explore the passage together. Revd James Blandford-Baker is vicar of Histon and Impington, two villages just north of Cambridge. Revd Dr Ian Paul is Associate Minister of St Nic’s, Nottingham.
Full written commentary behind the discussion will be posted in the next article.
