Connections…

MARCH 16, 2003- Second Sunday of Lent
† Jesus was transfigured before them, and his clothes became  dazzling white…Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." Mark 9: 2-10
† "If any want to be my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me…Those who are ashamed of me and my words in adulterous and sinful age, of them the Son of Man also will be ashamed when he comes…"  Mark 8: 31-38

A cross of simple poster board
 He stands alone on a busy street corner on a cold Saturday morning. He holds up a simple cardboard sign he made with Magic Markers and nailed to a pole: No War With Iraq.
 For the most part, he is ignored.  Most shoppers walk around him as if he wasn't there; once in a while, someone will smile and say a word of encouragement; more than a few glare at him. Of the cars constantly streaming by, a couple of drivers beep their horns in  support or give him the "peace sign"--others make a far less supportive gesture.
 He is not part of any organized protest or movement. He silently holds up his sign, expressing a belief that he holds in the depth of his soul. He speaks a prophet's word of peace with Magic Marker and poster board; he carries a disciple's cross of a wooden slat up the Calvary of a busy street corner.

CONNECTION: Whatever our feelings about the Iraqi conflict, the example of this lone voice for peace and Jesus' strong words to Peter pose a question to all of us: What are we willing to stand up for? What values and beliefs are important enough to us, not to die for, but to live for? What "crosses" are we willing to take up, what they may - ridicule, sanction, rejection? What are we willing to be prophets of and for, what is important of enough to us to lend our voices in support of? As we continue our Lenten journey to Easter, may we find our voice to be prophets of God's presence in our midst; may we take up whatever cross laid our shoulders in order to crucify injustice and estrangement in our homes and communities and raise up the Easter life of compassion and reconciliation.