THE WORD 4 ev 1

Today’s Reading is Matthew 16 (click here for link)

Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

Sometimes this passage is read too extremely, as though carrying the cross in our lives means martyrdom for us—literally losing our lives. But is that really how the process of our transformation as Christians normally plays out?

If you get a chance the next few days, page through your latest edition of The Lutheran Witness. There is a great article about a man named Joe Newcomb and a woman named Eleanor Mueller. I couldn’t help but think of their story as I read these words from Jesus this morning about losing our identity for the sake of Christ.

This story begins at an assisted living center where Eleanor was in residence. She was spending her final years mourning her husband’s death (a former pastor) at the age of 97. Eleanor, herself, was 99 years old and wheelchair bound. She was hoping the Lord would come for her soon. However, God had other plans. To her surprise, He sent her Joe instead.

Joe was a middle aged man who had recently lost his mother and had taken a job at the assisted living center where Eleanor lived. He was assigned to be her caregiver. The two of them did not get along, at all. Eleanor always wanted things just so and Joe was going through grief of his own and didn’t always have patience for his elderly charge. But over time the two of them warmed to each other, and they began to share their stories and their grief. Eleanor quickly realized that Joe was not a Christian and immediately set to work hoping to remedy that, but Joe resisted most of these attempts and claimed he didn’t have any real reason to go to church anymore, especially now that he was alone in the world. But Eleanor was persistent.

Of course, Eleanor also had her down times, especially as her health deteriorated. One Christmas Eve, Joe found Eleanor still in her room. He asked her if she was excited about spending time with her family for Christmas. She told him she wasn’t going to go out for Christmas. She said she was tired and didn’t really care anymore. Joe couldn’t stand to see his friend so down and depressed. Nothing he did could convince her to leave her room. Finally, he resorted to the one thing he thought might work—but the one thing he was most reluctant to do, himself. He made a deal with Eleanor that If she went to visit family for Christmas, he would agree to attend church on Christmas Day. Of course, Eleanor quickly agreed. But neither knew that that night would be a turning point in both their lives.

However, I’ll let you discover how this story ends, for yourselves. I found it a very personal account of how often we are called to bear crosses in life, following our Savior without always knowing where he is leading us. In Eleanor’s case, she was filled with grief and was tired of living. She didn’t want to spend her finale years in an assisted living facility. But God had plans for her. They were very definitely His plans and not hers. He had one last role for her to play. And of course, Joe lost his identity too, and as you will discover from the ending of the article, he received a new identity in Jesus Christ.

God reshaped this elderly woman and this lost man through the cross of Jesus Christ. Both Eleanor and Joe found a new life waiting for them in the process.

Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

Have a great day,
Pastor Aaron