Losing one’s life for Christ
Twenty-Fourth Sunday - Year B
Isaiah 50:4c-9a; James 2:14-15; Mark 8:27-35
Saint Edith Stein, a Jewish philosopher who became a Carmelite nun, had a chance to save her life during the Second War World. When the Germans invaded Holland and looked for the Jews, her superiors wanted to send her to Switzerland. There was only one problem, her sister, Rosa, could not accompany her. Edith, who wrote a book titled “the science of the Cross”, could not abandon her sister. On August 9, 1942, both of them died in the gas chamber of the German death camp of Auschwitz.
The Gospel of Mark confines Jesus’ ministry to a year journey from Galilee to Jerusalem and its turning point comes in today’s passage. The first seven chapters, portraying Jesus’ extraordinary deeds of power and teaching with authority, answer the question who Jesus is. It ends with Peter’s declaration: “You are the Christ/Messiah” (Mark 8:29). From now one begins the second part of the Gospel. It will answer another question, namely what kind of “Messiah” Jesus is.
The “Messiah” was supposed to be a victorious figure, like King David in the past. For many Jesus perfectly fit that role. Having such great power and authority he could easily overthrow the Roman occupation and reestablish the kingdom of Israel to its former glory. This way of thinking is evident in Peter’s strong opposition to Jesus’ prediction of His death (Mark 8:32) and in the question that the disciples asked the risen Lord: “are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6).
Instead of “Christ”, Jesus preferred the title “Son of Man”. This title is used 93 times in the book of Ezekiel and it means “mortal”. The “son of man” like the servant of the Lord from the book of Isaiah (Is. 50:4c-9a) obediently fulfills God’s will. Both of them suffered in the course of their mission, but none of them complained. “I have not rebelled, have not turned back” (Is. 50:5). They accepted their cross and awaited the vindication. “He is near who upholds my right” (Is. 50:8).
“Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed” (Mark 8:31). Jesus accepts the suffering for our sake (1 Pet. 2:24). Yet, he knows that the day of vindication will come: the Son of Man will “rise after three days” (Mark 8:31). Moreover, the Lord presents the same path to those who want to follow Him: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34). If we do that, we shall find life (Mark 8:35).
John ‘rewrote’ the sentence of Mark that we hear in today’s Gospel: “Anyone who loves their life (psyche) will lose it, while anyone who hates their life (psyche) in this world will keep it for eternal life (zoe)“ (John 12:25). The life that we lose is “psyche”, the life that we gain is “zoe”. What is the difference? The Greek has three words describing life. “Bios” or physiological life, “psyche” or our inner life, finally “zoe” referring to “spiritual life that is in God from all eternity” (C.S.Lewis). To participate in this kind of life - zoe, we have to let our ego go. Only in this way we “will walk before the Lord in the land of the living” (Ps. 116:9).
Apostle James teaches that faith without works is dead (James 2:17) and Paul explains that faith operates through charity (Gal. 5:6). We can demonstrate our faith by helping the poor, but it should not stop there. God wants our lives. Nearly a year before Saint Edith Stein and her sister Rosa became martyrs, also in Auschwitz a Polish Franciscan Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe volunteered to die in place of a stranger. It happened on August 14, 1941. To lose one’s life for the sake of Christ and the Gospel is the greatest work of faith.