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Any couple that’s been married for many years can look back and tell you about the joy that marriage brings. 

There’s the proposal; the wedding day; the birth of children; anniversaries; and the promise that someone is always at home waiting for you.

Marriage is meant to be a joyful thing.

But, at times, it can also be quite stressful. 

Simply planning your life around another person is hard. Then there’s the possibility of financial stress, emotional distance, careers taking center stage, raising children, and unexpected grief.

Most marriages are a mixed bag; there are natural highs and lows.

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The same is true in the spiritual life.

In the Gospel, for example, Jesus refers to himself as the “bridegroom,” meaning being around him brings the same type of joy that being at a wedding brings.

But in the very next verse, he warns his disciples that the “bridegroom” will be taken away from them.

The disciples should not only accept the high of knowing him, but also the low that will come with his death.

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Depending on how you look at it, Lent can be a high or a low for us. It’s a rigorous season, one that demands increased prayer, fasting, and generosity.

But Jesus asks us today, much as he asked his disciples, “Will you accept both Christian joy – and the Christian cross?”

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Like a marriage, they’re both a part of life.

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I’m amazed at how quickly technology moves. Gone are the days of Blockbuster, for example. People now use smart tv’s to tune into Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.

The same is true with music. Nine times out of ten while driving, I listen to music I’ve downloaded on iTunes, not the radio.

Tuning into the radio demands patience, as you literally have to turn a knob to the left or the right until you find the right station.

One turn too far creates static, muffling the music.

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Isn’t that what Lent is all about? Making adjustments, fine tuning, searching for the voice of the Lord, much like finding a station on the radio?

So what adjustments do we need to make in order to hear his voice clearly this Lent?

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Maybe we need to dial down time spent on our phones, turning up time spent in prayer.

Maybe it means dialing down our portions at meals, turning up our awareness of the poor.

Maybe it means dialing down our need to be heard, fine tuning our listening skills instead.

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Just as we expect to hear a musician’s voice when tuning into the radio, so we should expect to hear the Lord this Lent. 

It’s just a matter of making the right adjustments; of tuning out – and tuning in. 

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“What were you arguing about on the way?” (Mark 9:33)

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Mark uses this phrase – “on the way” – repeatedly to describe Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. But he gives it a double meaning.

On the surface, Mark’s referring to that physical journey Jesus makes.

But on a deeper level, he’s referring to Jesus’ own inner journey towards his death.

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As Jesus tells his disciples plainly in today’s Gospel, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him.”

He knows when he enters Jerusalem, his life is over.

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Imagine carrying the weight of that knowledge in your mind. 

If I said to you, for example, once you cross the Pennsylvania line, you’re dead. How many of us would run away or drive in the opposite direction?

That’s just self-preservation 101. Avoid all unnecessary danger.

But Jesus doesn’t. 

Day by day, step by step, he teaches in their synagogues, heals their sick, and prepares his disciples for his death. 

In that sense, Jesus carried his cross long before that wooden beam was laid on his shoulders.

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Tomorrow we begin the journey of Lent, 40 days of increased fasting, almsgiving, and prayer.

At times that journey may feel like a steep climb; we may be tempted to give up, to give in, to turn around.

But just as Jesus persevered, so should we.

How can we make this Lent count? In what ways can we take the road less traveled?

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If we persevere, then we’ll only be stronger disciples come Easter.