Sunday Musings
On taking up the cross and martyrs in the news
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Today is the Second Sunday in Lent.
The Lent series for paid subscribers at The Cottage is exploring the prismatic nature of the Cross. Today’s lectionary story is an important passage about the cross — where Jesus says “if any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
What does this mean?
Mark 8:31-38
Jesus began to teach his disciples 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. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Several pastors wrote to me this week asking about these words from Mark. Most of the questions went something like this: “How do you preach on this text without bad theology or encouraging a martyr complex?”
A martyr complex is a psychological pattern, a kind of willful suffering and self-sacrificing behavior present in a range of mental health challenges, including co-dependency, burnout, and depression, and is frequently an aspect of abusive or narcissistic relationships. One therapist noted that can be problematic “in families and cultures, (where) martyrdom is encouraged, valued, and expected (especially in women).” To which we might add: cultures like the church.
Exhorting people to “take up their cross” can be fraught.
As I was stewing on how to answer the pastoral questions about crosses and martyr complexes, the news broke that Alexei Navalny had died in a Siberian prison camp — a real life martyr story.
Navalny was known worldwide as Russia’s most famous political dissident, opposition leader, and anti-corruption crusader who was so hated by Vladimir Putin that the Russian president wouldn’t even say his name in public. What is less well-known is that Alexei Navalny had converted to Christianity.
Three years before his death, on February 20, 2021, Navalny spoke about his faith during the closing statement at his trial. His final public words included this surprising testimony*:
The fact is that I am a believer, which, in general, rather serves as an example of constant ridicule in the Anti-Corruption Foundation, because mostly people are atheists, I myself was quite militant.
But now I am a believer, and this helps me a lot in my work, because everything becomes much, much simpler. I think less, there are fewer dilemmas in my life — because there is a book (editorial note: the Bible) in which, in general, it is more or less clearly written what needs to be done in each situation. It’s not always easy, of course, to follow this book, but in general I try.
And therefore, as I already said, it is easier for me, probably than many others, to get involved in politics.
A person recently wrote to me: “Navalny, what is everyone writing to you: ‘Hold on, don’t give up, be patient, grit your teeth? Why do you have to endure it?’ I think you said in an interview that you believe in God. And it is said: ‘Blessed are those who thirst and hunger for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.’ Well, that’s great for you, then!”
And I thought — wow, this person understands me so well!
It’s not that I’m great, but I’ve always perceived this specific commandment as more or less an instruction for action. And so, of course, not really enjoying the place where I am, nevertheless, I do not have any regrets about coming back, about what I do. Because I did everything right. On the contrary, I feel such satisfaction or something. Because at some difficult moment I did as expected according to the instructions, and did not betray the commandment…
For a modern person this whole commandment — “blessed, thirsty, hungering for righteousness, for they will be satisfied” — sounds very pompous. People who say things like that are supposed to be, quite frankly, crazy. Crazy strange people are sitting there with disheveled hair in their cell and, therefore, trying to cheer themselves up with something. Although, of course, they are lonely, they are loners, no one needs them. And this is the most important thing. Our power, the system is trying to tell such people: “You are lonely, you are a loner.”
It is important to intimidate first, and then show that you are alone. Well, because what normal, adequate people adhere to some kind of commandment. The thing about loneliness is very important. It is very important as a goal of power. Excellent, by the way, one of the wonderful philosophers named Luna Lovegood said about this. Remember this was in Harry Potter? And talking to Harry Potter during some difficult times, she told him: “It’s important not to feel lonely, because, of course, if I were Voldemort, I would really like you to feel lonely.” Of course, of course, our Voldemort in the palace wants this too….
I don't feel alone at all. And I'll explain why. Because this construction — “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” — it seems somehow exotic, strange, but in fact this is the main political idea that now exists in Russia…
This is very important, despite the fact that our country now, of course, is built on injustice, and we are constantly faced with injustice. We see the worst kind of injustice — armed injustice. Nevertheless, we see that at the same time millions of people, tens of millions of people, want the truth. They want to achieve the truth, and sooner or later they will achieve it. They will be satisfied.
This is the truth, and you can’t argue against it. And sooner or later these people who want the truth will achieve their goal, they will be satisfied.
And the important thing that I want to tell you, and in your person, you, the prosecutor, in general, all the authorities and all the people, is that it is important not to be afraid of these people. And do not be afraid of those who seek the truth.
It is clear that Navalny expected to die — that is also the case in the award-winning CNN/HBO documentary, Navalny — in service of his nation’s hunger and thirst for justice. Navalny chose to sacrifice himself for a greater truth, a political idea that was also a biblical one.
Even if the word “martyr” might not be entirely appropriate, Navalny’s choice to return to Russia to challenge Putin after having been poisoned, facing the possibility of both imprisonment and death, seems to be a contemporary example of Jesus’ words in Mark:
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”
He did, indeed, take up his cross. The consequence was both shocking and moving to people across the globe.
And, oddly enough, even Donald Trump took notice. Three days following the news, Trump compared Navalny’s death to his own legal trouble on Truth Social:
Trump compared himself with Navalny in a FOX news interview a day later. “And it’s a horrible thing, but it’s happening in our country, too,” Trump said. “I got indicted four times. . . all because of the fact that I’m in politics,” he insisted. “They indicted me on things that are so ridiculous. . . It is a form of Navalny.”
Many journalists commented on this. Anand Giridharadas, in his newsletter, The Ink, noted:
There are all kinds of people in this world, but none rarer than one who identifies with both Vladimir Putin and Alexei Navalny.
Yet that was Donald Trump this week. Trump has long identified with Putin, of course, calling him a “genius” and opining, against all domestic evidence, that “the smartest one gets to the top.” More importantly, Trump has done everything in his power to make the world safer for Putin, to make the world his oyster. But when Navalny, Putin’s nemesis as leader of the Russian pro-democracy opposition, died in prison this week, Trump found himself stirred by the story of a great martyr — because Navalny reminded him of. . . him.
Giridharadas continued, “Trump’s simultaneous identification with the Russian tyrant and the pro-democratic leader he muzzled and killed is less strange than it seems, because it is important to Trump’s project that he be both invulnerable strongman and persecuted martyr. He is a master at performing the Victim King.”
Victim King? That’s another way of saying martyr complex. (Or, as I wrote last year, about Trump having a Messiah complex.) And it is quite the twist on Jesus’ instruction to take up one’s cross.
What’s the difference between a martyr complex and a genuine martyr? How can Jesus’ followers discern whether their cross is the weight of delusion or a sacred moral yoke?
Ultimately, a martyr complex is about you, what you’ve lost, what you have sacrificed, your troubles: Look at what I’ve done for others! See what I carry on your behalf. But look how I’m suffering and despised! No one appreciates me! No one says ‘thank you’! You may, indeed, have taken up a cross. However, such adversities can become laden with bitterness — and often become a weapon wielded first at one’s self (self pity) and then at others (manipulation or revenge).
That’s not a cross. That’s a millstone.
But those who find themselves bearing the cross — whether they wind up as martyrs or not — understand that following Jesus isn’t about nurturing and carrying grievances. It is about letting go of what weighs one down to make room for something bigger, a giving of one’s self to love and service to create a different kind of world. You understand that taking this path might involve hardship and trial. You still go — you still take up the cross — not for yourself, but for others.
Taking up a cross isn’t just an inconvenient ordeal, a persistent sin, or annoying demand. Taking up the cross doesn’t mean whining or seeking attention when confronted with trouble. When you take up Jesus’ cross, you choose to surrender the burdens of self-pretension in favor of cumbering yourself with compassion and love of neighbor. This cross puts one in tension with injustice, the powerful, violence, bigotry, and delusions of grandeur. That’s the cross Jesus instructs his followers to pick up. The “yoke” of this cross is ultimately not heavy but light.
And that’s the difference between Navalny and Trump — Navalny wanted all of Russia to be free; Trump only wants to free himself. If Navalny had survived the risk, there is every indication he wouldn’t treat his enemies with revenge. In his final speech, he actually invited his enemies in. But, if Trump survives the “cross” of persecution, he has declared vengeance on those he deems responsible for his situation. Navalny faced his tormentors and acted courageously on behalf of a wider moral vision; Trump plays the victim and offers shared bitterness to only those who love him. Navalny accepted affliction; Trump suffers it. The first embodies heroism; the second, narcissism. Heroism might wind up in genuine martyrdom (it sometimes does); the narcissist pretends to be a “noble martyr” while being self-centered or a coward.
I hope my pastor-correspondents picked up the cross of preaching on this difficult text today. Indeed, unpacking these words are a heavy lift. Not only are these verses central to Mark’s story of Jesus, the call to Christian discipleship, and the season of Lent, but they directly address the current political moment. Understanding the nature of crosses, martyrdom, and martyr complexes is necessary to the theological task of untangling the twisted cords of religion and politics that threaten to strangle us.
Right now, too many Christians can’t tell the difference between Navalny’s moral cross and Trump’s delusional one. But the difference between the two is the difference between a faith that inspires a more just and loving society and a religion that manipulates anger and fear for power’s sake. Sometimes, it can be hard to tell them apart. But we must because this lack of understanding is a failure of discernment that is fueling Christian nationalism and its attendant dangers. Movements are built on crosses and thrive on stories of the martyrs.
Indeed, MAGA Christian nationalists are creating an entire pantheon of martyrs — Trump is the “Martyr King,” but the list of saints and heroes is growing to include Ashli Babbitt and jailed January 6 insurrectionists, “persecuted” media types like Tucker Carlson, and deposed Catholic bishop Joseph Strickland.
For Christians, facing the current crises insist that we answer the question: What cross must we take up to follow Jesus now? There are true crosses and false ones — and the paths they mark lead in opposite directions. And it isn’t about suffering and dying. It isn’t simply about giving one’s life for a cause. Any — and every — fool will die. Jesus was inviting his followers to consider how to truly love and live.
There are few Bible stories as important as this one right now. The church needs to get it right.
*I very lightly edited a few of Navalny’s remarks for clarity.
INSPIRATION
Burden of water jars,
Borne up steep trails;
Burden of babies,
Asleep in thronged cradles.
And a heaped-up load of loving,
Carried lightly,
Over all the trails
To the end of them.
— William Haskell Simpson, “Burdens” (1920)
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.
— William Stafford, “The Way It Is”
Press this blessing
into your palms —
right, left —
and you will see
how it leaves its mark,
how it imprints itself
into your skin,
how the lines of it
meet
and cross
as if signaling you
to the treasure
that has been in
your grasp
all along.
Except that these riches
you will count
not by what you hold
but by what you release,
by what you lose,
by what falls from
your open hands.
— Jan Richardson, “Blessing in the Shape of a Cross”
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[WASHINGTON]
It’s alright, you want to fight, you’ve got a hunger
I was just like you when I was younger
Head full of fantasies of dyin’ like a martyr?
[HAMILTON]
Yes
[WASHINGTON]
Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder
― Lin-Manuel Miranda
One of your best reflections. Yes, the distinction is decisive. Claiming joy and resisting false martyrdom is part of the movement of Truth-Love on earth— in context. Sometimes taking up the cross means claiming agency and standing up for yourself. Sometimes it involves putting ourselves in the background. Either way it’s grounded in the joy and peace of Just love.
Thankyou very much for printing Navalnys statement and for the freedom still to do that very thing
I appreciate that you are brave to speak these words
I’m very sad that so many people cannot see through the selfish motives of Trump and his Republican minions
He is so much in his own stupid ways like Putin and Hitler
Tough times
Thanks again for being this clear voice 🙏❤️