Homily 679 – 3GL
Holy Transfiguration, Ames, Iowa
March 15, 2026
Epistle:  (311) Hebrews 4:14-5:6
Gospel:  (37) Mark 8:34-9:1

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God.

In today’s Gospel passage, it is my opinion that we find absolutely everything we need to live a Christian life.  The first statement is enough:  “Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

There are a few things to unpack with this, but once we look and understand what Our Lord is telling us, I hope we can all apply it in our lives, for our salvation and the salvation of the world.

First and foremost, we need to look at the remainder of Christ’s statement.  He starts by contrasting His statement with that of the valuable things in the world, including life itself.  He contrasts it with the value of popularity with others.

A bit of an aside – He makes a really kind of bizarre statement that some standing with Him will not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God come with power.  There are a couple of possibilities for this statement, but the most likely is that Christ refers to the Transfiguration, which Peter, James, and John witness.

Perhaps another possibility, though, is the Cross.  Or the resurrection.  There are so many events which demonstrate the Power of the Kingdom coming into our midst – into this world.

But regardless, let’s examine the text a bit.  First, the word “deny”.  This word has the common connotation of “doing without” or depriving.  It is denying things to ourselves, rather than simply denying ourselves.  Maybe that has some value in this context.  The Greek word here is ἀπαρνησάσθω (apar-nay-sas’-tho).  It is an emphatic word, a verb, an action.  And the object of the action in this instance is “ἑαυτὸν” (heh-ow-ton’) – himself.

It is the same word that Jesus used when addressing Peter, telling Him that before the rooster crowed, Peter would “deny” (apar-nay-sas’-tho) Christ three times.  Another word that can be used is “disown”, or “totally reject”.

So, thus far, we see that one word in, there is already a new dimension added to our understanding.  And, we’ve already basically begun working on the second word – himself.  To utterly disown oneself.

So what is “oneself”?  It is everything that each of us is.  It is our essence, our being.  Mostly, in our “fallen” state of humanity, it is our ego.  Humanity’s nature used to be governed by the “νόος” (nous) – that part of humanity that connected with God, governing all other aspects of humanity, and now overshadowed or clouded by the ego.

It is helpful at this point to really look at the person of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane and see these two aspects at odds with one another.  Along with Peter, James, and John, Christ went into the Garden and said ““My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch[a] with me.”  And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”  This happened three times.

The Gospel of Luke reports:  And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.  And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

That conflict was intense.  And when Christ says that we are to follow Him, it is a similar intensity of conflict within ourselves, between our human will and His divine will.

One other thing to look at – what is translated as “take up your cross.”  This has always vexed me a bit, since the cross likely had no or very little meaning in that context if it referred to the cross of crucifixion.

Again, referring to the Greek, the word is “σταυρόν” (stav ron’), which is translated “stake”.  Now, the same word is used to describe the cross upon which Our Lord was crucified, but our knowledge of “cross” has developed over the millennia, and that is a rabbit hole for another day.

The meaning of stavron in this context is that of a stake, or of piles driven into the ground as the foundation for something.  It also has the connotation in English of a boundary marker, marking our territory.  The point here is that “cross” should not be interpreted in this context as “suffering.”  Suffering is maybe a byproduct at best.

What this means for us is that we have to relinquish even our beliefs – our preconceived notions.  We have to pull up our stakes.  Maybe less so for those born into the Church, and for those imbued with the Spirit of Orthodoxy from an early age.

Certainly those of us born outside of Orthodoxy and raised in a tradition that is Protestant or Catholic have to relinquish our learned beliefs – or at least be willing to relinquish them.

Putting all of this together, we find not just words, nor deeper understanding, but we find a way of life.  We find Christ Himself.  Not just what Christ commands us, but Christ Himself, with us, present.  And we access, we experience, Christ through this scripture.  What we find is this:

Disown our essence, our ego, subjecting everything to the will and presence of God.  Take up our preconceived notions and beliefs.  Giving up everything, to follow Christ.  To emulate Christ.  To become Christ-like.

This, my brothers and sisters, is what Great Lent is for.  It is what our ascetical practices are for.  We crucify our ego – our desires, our will, our hope and dreams and understanding.

And if we do this, if we follow Christ and become Christ, and see the world as Christ sees it, then we will be who Christ created us to be.  We will become what we were intended to be.

In that moment, we find ourselves.  We become ourselves.  And nothing, absolutely nothing, is greater.  Nothing is more fulfilling, nothing is more joyful.

Nothing is more us.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God.  Glory to Jesus Christ!