Education in Faith
Sunday’s gospel passage forms a crucial turning point in the Gospel of Mark. From this point of the gospel onwards we take a greater focus on what it means to be a disciple and look deeper at the movement of Jesus towards Jerusalem. When Peter answers Jesus’ question he demonstrates the disciples’ dawning awareness of Jesus’ true identity. It is the first occasion that the disciples are called to own what they think about Jesus. Peter professes his faith in Jesus as the Messiah. However, when Jesus begins to spell out what being the Messiah reality means – persecution and death – Peter tries to convince Jesus that he doesn’t need to go down that path.
What does it look like to follow Jesus in 2024? What are the ‘crosses’ that followers of Jesus today are called to take up?