I will address three questions: First, what does bearing one's cross mean? Second, why should we bear our cross? And finally, how can we bear our cross?

Number 1. What does bearing one's cross mean?

Bearing one's cross is doing mercy. This becomes more apparent if you consider two important traits about bearing one's cross that define doing mercy.

First, a person's identity is stripped away. When Jesus took up His cross He allowed Himself to be stripped of everything He had: His social status, His comfort, His material possessions, in order to show the world mercy.

Likewise doing mercy is being willing to go to places where you are stripped of your identity. For example, when you go to an AIDS hospice or abused children's shelter or convalescent home, the people there don't care what kind of clothes you wear, or what kind of car you drive, or what school you go to, or what tax bracket you're in.

All of these things that we use to build ourselves up are stripped away from us the moment we walk into a place of mercy. Even the Good Samaritan, when he helped the victim lying on the side of the road, even his own race was stripped away; the fact that he was a Samaritan became irrelevant when he was doing mercy.

So the first thing that happens when you bear your cross is an immediate stripping of your identity (whether that identity is based on race, or material possessions, or social status). Again, look at Jesus. With the exception of the one Roman soldier, nobody else could recognize the Son of God or Messiah while He was bearing His cross.

The second thing about bearing one's cross that relates to mercy is that you take on the sufferings of those you want to help. On the cross, Jesus suffered before He saved. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus could've just gone straight to the tomb and brought Lazarus back to life. But He didn't do that.

Instead the Bible says that Jesus wept. It's significant that the root meaning of the word "to care" is "to cry out". Jesus cared before He raised Lazarus from the dead. He cried out on the cross before He saved us.

And that's what doing mercy is all about: it's caring before curing. It's being like Jesus and suffering with people before trying to heal them. Paul described this principle in Galatians 6:2: "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

A few weeks ago, my mother got sick, and I couldn't stand hearing her wince in pain, not only for her sake but for my own, because I couldn't stand feeling so powerless. So I immediately asked her to take some painkillers. I wanted to skip the caring part and get straight to the cure. I wasn't willing to bear her suffering, even to sit quietly next to her.

This is not meant to minimize the importance of cure. But today there seems to be an overemphasis on the importance of cure which in many ways explains why our society esteems the professions - doctors, lawyers, scientists, people who cure and solve problems. And because of this overestimation, many who may not be "professionals" may feel like they're not qualified, that they're not gifted or don't have the calling or have the means to help people suffering.

But Jesus shows that being willing to enter into the sufferer's pain is just as important as curing it. We have to remember the Jesus who wept and not just the Jesus who cured.

So to summarize, bearing one's cross is doing mercy: it's putting yourself in situations and places where you'll be stripped of your identity; and it's being willing to suffer in solidarity with those you want to heal. That's what bearing one's cross means.

Number 2. Why should we take up our cross, or why should we do mercy?

The short answer, obviously, would be because God commands it. For example, in Luke 6:36, Jesus commands, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." But let's consider a deeper question, that is, why does God command us to do mercy? Why does God command us to bear our cross?

The Jewish Talmud says:

"Better is one hour spent in penitence and in good deeds in this world than all the life of the hereafter. And better is one hour of the bliss in the hereafter than all the joys in this world." (Perkei Avot 4:17 in the Jewish Mishnah).

In view of the Gospel, is this true? Most of us would agree with the quote's second point, about how one hour of heaven is better than all the joys in this life, but is one hour of doing mercy on earth more precious than all of life in heaven?

There was one day in time when God's glory was uniquely magnified like no other time in the past or will ever be in the future and it wasn't done in heaven. That day was when Christ bore His cross. Listen to how Paul describes that day in Philippians 2:9-11: "And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name."

It was what was done on earth on Good Friday that literally changed the tune in heaven. Only after Calvary, did the heavenly chorus begin to praise the Lamb that was slain. In fact it wasn't until Christ's death on earth that even the angels realized how glorious God really was. As 1 Peter 1:12 says, "Even angels longed to look into these things." Until that day the angels had no idea of the depths of God's compassion.

Now why is this significant for us?

Consider the implications. What if God created the world because He couldn't display mercy in heaven? Remember in heaven there are no tears or pain or death so how could there be a Calvary in heaven to reveal the depths of God's mercy. Most of us long to be in heaven; we long to escape the suffering, anxieties, and uncertainties and struggles in life here. But God longed to come and become a man and live and die on a cross here because of the suffering here. Christ wanted to glorify His Father by revealing His Father's passion for mercy. That's why Christ came here. Because Jesus could not reveal that part of His Father's heart in heaven. That's why His name is above all others. Doesn't that help put into perspective the role of mercy in our own lives? If God became a man to show mercy, maybe we should be doing mercy as well. This sentiment is expressed throughout the Bible.

Ephe sians 2:10, for example, says that Christians were predestined to do mercy, not simply to go to heaven, but predestined to do mercy on earth. Micah 6:8 singles out loving mercy as one of the three things that God requires of us. James 1:27 defines pure religion as helping orphans and widows in their distress. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus condemns to hell those who don't do mercy. The reason why God brought down fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah was not primarily because of its homosexuality but because it didn't help the poor and needy. Ezekie l 16:49

So why should we do mercy? Because it reveals God's glory in a way that nothing else could. Life here on earth can be seen as more important than eternal life in heaven because we can do mercy here, because only on earth can there be a cross to bear.

Now finally,

Number 3. How can we bear our cross?

Most Christians would be willing to agree with the first two points. They can appreciate how Christians should give up some of their time and energy and money in order to help bear the sufferings of abused children and the abandoned elderly. But the hard part is actually committing to practice mercy. We all have busy lives. Work, studies, family. And even if we weren't so busy, by definition it's hard bearing a cross. Just looking at this picture of Jesus' crucifixion, instinctively this is not something any normal person would want to imitate. So how can we bear our cross?

It's helpful for us that a similar challenge was posed to Jesus in John 6:27-29:

"'Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.' Then they asked him, 'What must we do to do the works God requires?' Jesus answered, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.'" (John 6:27-29)

'What must we do to do the works God requires?' Jesus answered, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.'

Jesus' profound insight here is that people work for what they believe in. For example, if you're a daughter who believes in your parents, then it's only natural that you'll devote yourself to activities that'll please them even if that means making no time for doing mercy. Or if you're a guy who believes in your girlfriend, then you'll spend as much of your time and money to making her as happy as possible even if this means ignoring opportunities to do mercy.

And this is understandable. The reason that we work for what we believe in is because what we believe in always determines our sense of self-worth. Isn't this true? Without a belief in something or someone there'd be no reason to live at all. Because what we believe in validates our lives, it justifies our existence and reason for being.

Isn't this why a guy who believes in his girlfriend will contemplate suicide if he gets dumped. Or why a person who believes in family will fall apart if she gets divorced. Or why if you believe in work you'll begin to question the value of your life after consecutive failed job interviews.

When people spend their time, energy, money on what they put their faith in, what they're actually trying to do is to justify their existence by it, they're trying to prove that their lives have meaning by what they own, or by what they have on their resume or report card, or by who they have relationships with. And so the moment they can no longer rely on these things, they feel worthless or even contemplate suicide.

In view of these insights into the human condition, now doesn't it make perfect sense why most people don't make time to do mercy. (Yes, I say make time for mercy because if you have time to watch movies, or play tennis, or go to the gym, or play turkey bowl, or go to the park, or hang out with friends at Starbucks, and by the way none of these things are wrong in and of themselves, but if you have time to do these things, then you have time for mercy.)

No the issue isn't time so much as priorities. Asking a person to go to a place to have their self-made identities stripped away is almost like asking people to commit suicide. And most people don't make suicide a priority in their lives.

Even for me - someone who so strongly believes in the necessity of doing mercy - it's still a constant struggle for me to go to the Orangewood abused children's shelter even just once a month, or to a convalescent home, or to a homeless outreach. I don't like waking up each day receiving terrible news about the suffering in N. Korea. When I lived in China for half a year volunteering at an orphanage for crippled children, every day I honestly didn't look forward going back the next day. And why?

Because places of mercy make us feel so vulnerable and powerless. Nobody likes feeling pain let alone volunteer to take on the burdens of others. Life is hard enough. I myself would much rather go to places where I'm valued, where I feel important or significant, where I can feel comfortable and safe, for example, I'd much prefer going to church than say the convalescent home. Nobody likes going to Calvary, because who likes feeling stripped and burdened.

I've given several examples and reasons for why we don't bear our cross. But this only begs the question even more, how do we bear our cross?

This is where Jesus' answer proves so helpful, because if you're a person who believes in friendships, work, or parents, then of course you're going to have difficulty doing mercy. This is why Jesus says to do God's work you have to believe in Him.

Because only Jesus can show that bearing the cross is of infinite worth. Here's how Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians 5:15: "His purpose in dying for all was that men, while still in life, should cease to live for themselves, and should live for Him who for their sake died and was raised to life." Or more explicitly, 1 Peter 2:21 says, "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps." Only Jesus' example can affirm people's significance and dignity while they're bearing their cross.

How else can a person believe that he's actually better off giving up the BMW in order to donate more to places like Compassion International or an inner city ministry unless he valued Christ who became poor for him? Or, how else could a person believe that bearing the sufferings of the elderly at a convalescent home is precious time spent unless he valued Christ who suffered extreme loneliness on a cross for him?

Just this past week I spent an hour at the Maple Elementary School (which has the highest percentage of non- English speaking immigrants, from the lowest income neighborhood, with the lowest test scores in the district) tutoring a 3rd grade immigrant. Sometimes I've questioned the value of my being there especially when I'd look around and see that I was the only volunteer under the age of 60. But then I remembered that Christ bore His cross at the prime of His life at the age of 32, so how could I feel embarrassed and feel like I might be wasting the prime of my life? Even U2's Bono justifies his mercy work in Africa by pointing to the life of Christ. He said recently, "Christ's example is being demeaned by the church if they ignore the new leprosy, which is AIDS."

Even for Bono, Jesus' life is the proof that people need to do mercy, it's the proof that they need to justify their existence, to prove that cross-bearing is worthy of their time because Christ did it.

But in saying that, what about non- Christians who do mercy; they don't seem to need Jesus to 'bear their crosses'? Don't they disprove what I've just said on the necessity of Jesus' example for people to bear their crosses?

I'm not denying that unbelievers can do mercy. But I am saying that they cannot do mercy like people who do believe in Jesus. For example, I read a recent op-ed in the NY Times by Nicholas Kristoff on how most humanitarian agencies today have pulled out of certain islands in the Philippines because of a rise in kidnappings and terrorist killings all with the exception of the Christian Children's Fund.

Doesn't this make complete sense? That unbelievers leave during crisis whereas believers stick it out in times of hostility. For unbelievers, even those that do mercy, this life is all there is, so why would they want to risk it for others?

But believers can stay and risk their lives because Christ proved that they can bear their cross even unto death with joy because of the assurance of resurrection. People who don't believe in Jesus don't have this assurance. That's also why historically hospitals were created by Christians. Unlike everyone else they weren't afraid of dying from contagious diseases. Even just last week a friend of mine who is volunteering at a place called Children and Babies with AIDS in Los Angeles was telling me about the higher risks of catching HIV. Only a belief in Jesus - who proved that people can die on their cross and still have everything to gain - only He can give people the courage to keep bearing their cross.

So unbelievers doing mercy does not undermine my point that we need Jesus to do mercy. For the unbelievers' mercy is so conditional and so limited due to their worldview that the moment when those suffering are at their greatest need for mercy, only those with an eternal perspective granted by Christ's resurrection can meet them where they're at. Moreover, the believer who takes on the identity of Christ alone has the assurance that he can not only be saved by the righteousness of Christ but that he can care with the compassion of Christ as well.

To do the works of God we must believe in Jesus. If a person can make Jesus his or her measure of the good life, then that person no longer has to work so anxiously or spend so much time on relationships to give their life meaning at the cost of doing mercy. When Christ gives your life meaning, you can just work without feeling like your life's purpose is on the line; you can just enjoy friendships without being so absolutely dependent upon them. You can make time for doing mercy without feeling like it's too big a sacrifice.

Only when Jesus is your God can you look at a picture in Cosmo or Fortune magazine and covet being like this picture even more than the ones you find in there. That requires faith.

Do you know why worship and praise and prayer and Bible study and everything on church bulletins are so important? They help develop such faith. (e.g., Romans 10:17). They help us deal with the idols in our lives that prevent us from doing mercy. Worship, for example, is meant to help us to appreciate Jesus' life enough so that we could desire to be like Him without feeling like we'd be losing something more valuable in the process.

That's why Isaiah 1:10-17 says that worship without doing mercy or seeking justice is hateful to God. Worship is only a good in and of itself in heaven, not on the earth. On earth, worship helps us do mercy.

Does your worship and prayer life lead you to desire to give more of your time, money, and energy for the homeless, for abused children, for the elderly? Or do you still have more of a desire to buy things that you don't need or spend time with people more than is necessary in order to build up your own sense of self-worth outside of Christ?

'What must we do to do the works God requires?' We must believe in Jesus. We must believe that bearing our cross like He did, giving up more of our time like He did, and getting involved in the sufferings of abused children and the homeless like He did can be more worthwhile than anything else that we could do this side of heaven.

Yes, Jesus the Carpenter worked diligently, and Jesus the Son of Mary blessed her, and Jesus the Friend was loyal to His disciples. But it was Jesus who bore His cross that we praise, that we love. And that is why we Christians are here rather than in heaven: to reenact Good Friday as many days of our own lives as possible. Amen.