Accepting Your Cross
As we heard in last weekend’s Gospel, St. Peter proclaimed his faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. Today, Jesus explains what it means for Him to be the Messiah. It means that He must suffer and die for the sake of others. Peter, the one who has just proclaimed his faith in Jesus, challenges Jesus’ message about having to suffer. He pulls Jesus aside and basically says to Him, “You won’t win many followers and be able to be the great leader, if you talk about suffering and death.” Jesus likens Peter’s misunderstanding to a temptation from Satan. Peter not only misses the point of what it means for Jesus to be the Messiah, but Peter is also putting an obstacle (“stumbling block”) in Jesus’ way.
Jesus challenges Peter and the other followers to be disciples – disciplined learners. He mentions that this means three things: denying themselves, accepting the cross, and following Jesus. Not only does Jesus tell His disciples what to do, but He will give them an example through His own life, suffering, death, and resurrection.
In today’s secular society, where we are encouraged to remove religion from our public life and to avoid pain and suffering at all costs, these three requirements can seem very daunting.
Denying myself means thinking not of who I am and what I want but thinking first and foremost of how I can further the cause and mission of Jesus. It involves surrendering to God and being able to do anything which I am asked to do by Him. It means loving your neighbour (the greatest commandment) even when it requires self-denial. Just as Jesus was totally submissive to His Father and the Father’s will, so I must submit to everything that is expected of me.
Carrying a cross does not mean I wear a beautiful piece of jewelry that is shaped like a cross. Carrying a cross means that I am willing to accept pain and suffering and even death. Taking up your cross-means sacrifice and self-denial. And we wince at the thought but stop and think about it. Any great achievement requires some pain and sacrifice. Olympic athletes push their bodies to the maximum to achieve their goals. And we get that on the physical level but we wish there were another way on the spiritual level. There is not. Just like the physical realm: no pain, no gain. Are you willing to make the sacrifice of temporal pain for eternal gain? That is the question we need to ask ourselves.
Following Jesus means more than saying I am a Christian when I attend weekend church services. It means imitating Jesus in every aspect of my life. It means that people can look at what I say and do and say, “I know who you remind me of. . .Jesus.” I should so much model Him that people can come to know Jesus and His loving compassion by the way I treat them.
Are your reflecting the love and goodness of Jesus in your life? Is your life reflective of what you say and teach to your family and friends? Do men and women see Christ in you in your public and private life?
God bless you folks, Father Gerard
PS: Speaking of Crosses, sometimes we may have a tendency to practice “Cross Avoidance”. Instead of typing a million and one words here, I’ll let this “picture” illustrate it for you.
