What is "Bearing Your Cross"?

On one of the episodes of the old TV show MASH, Radar O’Reilly is trying to locate medical supplies for his Army surgical unit.  He calls every clinic and supply center he can think of, but he just can’t find any.  Hawkeye and the others will have to do without.  Radar sighs as he explains this to Hawkeye, “That’s just another bear we’ll have to cross.”

However mangled the phrase comes out, it’s one we recognize from the gospels, especially from Holy Week.  “We all have our crosses to bear,” we say, not always fully grasping what that means. 

What does it mean? 

For Jesus, bearing the cross was his experience of enduring unavoidable suffering.  I call it unavoidable because it was the natural consequence of following his call, of living his life with integrity as it unfolded. Could he have avoided the cross?  Could he have run away? Not if he were to be true to himself.

“Bearing the cross” in your life would also be the experience of enduring unavoidable suffering.  The suffering of the MASH unit lacking supplies was unavoidable. Living with a chronic illness or birth defect may be unavoidable.  Assisting another person with the same thing could be bearing the cross as well; the suffering may be avoidable – you could leave your ill husband or turn your back on your child – but when your integrity won’t allow you to do that, it’s not really avoidable.

Actually, “enduring” may not be the best word.  The power of Jesus Christ is such that He can help us embrace the unavoidable suffering.  In that sense, we‘re not just gritting our teeth and enduring something; we dare to accept it.  Our suffering is lessened when Christ helps us shoulder our particular circumstances because they are hidden gifts.

By the grace of the Lord, a broken heart can become a source of compassion. Caretaking can become an opportunity to show deeper tenderness.  Doing without can awaken our creativity or inspire our gratitude for what we do have. Losing strength can help us reframe our identity with God.

Pope Benedict’s recent resignation reminded me of the final days of his predecessor, John Paul II, in 2005. I’m old enough to remember when John Paul began his papacy in 1978.  He was striking for being a very athletic Pope, a barrel-chested man who loved skiing and hiking and being outdoors. But by 2005 his health had certainly deteriorated, and Parkinson’s had weakened him terribly.  Many urged him to abdicate so that the world could have another strong, vigorous Pope. 

But where once he could emulate for the world a strong, vigorous Jesus, at that time he chose to emulate instead the weakened and dying Savior.  Like Jesus, John Paul II embraced God’s “power made perfect in weakness.” He embraced his deterioration as an offering to his Lord and a bearing witness to God’s faithfulness.

As of Sunday we enter Holy Week.  I hope that the experience of Jesus’ cross-bearing can lead you to choose what may have seemed unavoidable. In every hardship God can bring you unexpected blessings and joyful gifts.

Pastor Larry