Taking up a cross

Hnaef has been sharing with me tomorrow's lectionary reading. Matthew 16:21-28. I have to say I don't approve.

Everything's going so well. Peter's just realised who Jesus is. And they can go off quietly and have a really good time, enjoying the presence of the Lord and knowing how great God is. And Jesus has to go and spoil it all. Why, when everything's going so well, does he want to muck it up so much? Why does he think it's such a good idea to go and get crucified?

Here in the Beaker Folk, we try to hold to some basic principles about religion:

1. It's enjoyable
2. It's fulfilling
3. It's fun
4. It's creative
5. It makes us feel good
6. It's relatively hygienic
7. It's life-affirming
8. It's world-affirming
9. Nobody gets hurt (unless I decide otherwise)
10. Nobody has to get nailed to anything.

And this whole "cross" thing goes against all that we stand for. Although the Resurrection's good. We like that bit. To be honest, the "cross" thing isn't too bad, as long as it's just Jesus it happens to and he's looking relatively serene in the crucifixion scene. If you're going to see a crucifixion, you don't want it to look all messy and painful. No, it's when it's us doing the sacrificing that we get more worried. Picking up your own cross, losing your life - it's all a bit kind of fundamentalist in our opinion. We like to think that when you're asked whether you want to gain the world or keep your soul, it's more a both/and than an either/or. And we're pleased to note there are many other passages of the Bible where you don't have to go carrying crosses or giving things up to be a good person. You've got to read the Bible as a whole, that's what I say.