dimensions of control and conformity
Mark 8:31
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again.
After Jesus strangely commands his disciples not to speak of him as messiah, he speaks to them plainly about how he will come into significant confrontation with the religious establishment: they will inflict suffering and reject him, and as a consequence, he will be killed yet rise again.
Jesus’s ministry to renew the people of God—to establish the beloved community—inherently spotlighted the corruption, rigidness, and cruelty of the status quo. It also showed that faith and community are compromised when they seek control and conformity.
Where in your faith or your community do you find dimensions of control and conformity? How can you cultivate the freedom, dignity, and compassion that Jesus intends for us?