I hate dying* Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24 When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. Dietrich Bonhoeffer I hate dying. It seems lately that I keep finding parts of my life that need to die. Pride. Selfishness. Dishonesty. Resentment. Pettiness. The list goes on and on and on. Maybe you have a list too? I hate dying. Yet dying to self (taking up your cross) is a requirement for discipleship. To follow Jesus, as Bonhoeffer says, is to “come and die.” I hate dying…I think in part because there is this fear that I will come upon some part of my life that I will not be willing to surrender. Some stronghold of sin or ego that I will cling to for dear life. O, the irony…the unwillingness to put to death the very thing that keeps me from Life. Yet Jesus beckons…follow me…pick up your cross… And how can I resist his voice? Blessings,
Matthew+ O God, who before the passion of your only ¬begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP p. 216) *Reprinted from January 19, 2023 | 
