Take up Your Cross
Daily and Follow Jesus Christ
Introduction: May you continue to be formed into the image of Jesus, the
Master-Teacher so that others will come to know the Master by the way we relate
to them.
Imitation is a form of flattery or at least acknowledgment
of some value. Jesus is the Greatest Role Model and teacher. He has given us
the best example of what it means to be caring, loving, and of service to
others. We are called to imitate His lifestyle and thus give glory not only to
Him but to His Abba-Father.
The saying goes, “I never promised you a rose garden.” In a
sense, God never promises a rose garden either during our life on earth, unless
that rose plants are covered with the thorns. Jeremiah realizes how difficult
his life is because he is a prophet of the LORD. The only source of help and
strength is a relationship with the LORD as the psalm reminds us. St. Paul
cautions the Romans that their lives, their very selves, must be a sacrifice to
God. In the Gospel, Jesus lays down the requirements for His disciples: “Deny
yourself, carry your cross, and follow Me – the Master.”
First Reading: Jeremiah 20:7-9, ‘The word of the Lord has
become for me a reproach.’
Commentary: Jeremiah
had a tough time, telling the citizens of Jerusalem that their city was to be
besieged and destroyed, and that they themselves were to be dragged into exile.
He tried to evade his duty of announcing this dire message, but the LORD gave
him no peace, no matter how much he tries to drive the message from his mind.
So God overpowers or seduces the prophet and compels him to proclaim the
message. Both images are important, for it is a tough, but at the same time a
willing and joyful compulsion. Jeremiah almost has a sort of love-hate
relationship to the LORD. There is nothing irreverent in this; or at least,
many of the saints do it. When St Teresa of Avila fell off her horse into a
cold river, her comment was, ‘Lord, if that is how you treat your friends, no
wonder you have so few of them.’
Responsorial Psalm 63:2. 3-4. 5-6. 8-9. For you my soul
is thirsting, O Lord, my God.
The psalmist realizes that no matter what happens, God is
the one and only help that can be counted on. It is only when reflecting on
one’s life that it is possible to see God’s hand at work, guiding, protecting,
helping. The only response is to give God glory and praise.
Second Reading: Romans 12:1-2; ‘Present your bodies as a
living sacrifice.’
Commentary: Paul
has concluded his account of the saving work of Christ and its consequences for
Israel. Now he goes on to detail some of its implications for the Christian
life. The overall banner-headline is that Christian behaviour must be totally
different from the values of the world, for the Christian is a new creation
with a new set of values. Two aspects are most striking in this introductory
passage, first the novelty, second the motivation. In chapter 8 on the Spirit
Paul repeatedly stresses that not only Christians but the whole of creation is
straining to be set free from slavery to corruption; the presence of the Spirit
of Christ makes all things new; it is a totally new world. In today’s passage
again he stresses the renewing of our minds. Secondly, Paul stresses that the
motivation comes from within: it is a matter no longer of the external
compulsion of the Law, but of inner compulsion, for the Christian has become a
living sacrifice, dedicated to God with minds transformed, discerning
personally the will of God and acting upon this discernment. This is Christian
personal responsibility: we must ‘discern for ourselves what is the will of
God’.
Gospel: Matthew 16:21-27; ‘If anyone would come after me,
let him deny himself.’
Commentary: What a
turn-around! A moment ago Peter was being congratulated on at last realising
the Jesus was the Christ. He was promised the keys and authority to make
decisions valid in heaven. Now Jesus shoos him away and tells him that he is
Satan, the Tempter. Why the change? Jesus had told Peter that his role as
Christ Messiah was to suffer and die in order to achieve his purpose, and Peter
shied away from it. What is your particular soft option? What is the difficult
task Christ is asking of you, and you avoiding? We are no better than his first
disciples! In the gospel this will happen twice more: three times Jesus
foretells his passion and each time the disciples simply fail to understand.
Each time Jesus again puts it bluntly that you cannot be a Christian without
following Jesus in carrying a Cross. We see people suffering the whole time,
physical disabilities, breakdown of relationships, heartless treatment from
others, financial worries – and then we grouse at a twinge of pain or a
hurtful word. Carry the Cross behind Jesus? Yes, of course I will, but if you
don’t mind, I’ll just take that section which is well padded and fits my
shoulder nicely. No point in unnecessary splinters in my neck.
Reflection: What is the way to glory and victory in the
kingdom of God? Jesus told his disciples that he must first suffer rejection,
be crucified, and then rise again on the third day. In so many words he
explained that there could be no victory and no glory without the cross. Jesus'
prediction of his suffering and death on the cross caused his disciples great
dismay and disbelief. Peter, who was often the first to react to whatever Jesus
had to say, wanted to protect Jesus from any threat or harm. That is why he
rebuked the very thought of Jesus having to face rejection, condemnation, and
crucifixion.
"My way or God's
way": Why did Jesus use the word "Satan" when he
addressed Peter? When Jesus went out into the wilderness to prepare for his
public ministry, Satan came to tempt him to follow a different path than the
one chosen by the Father in heaven. Now Jesus recognizes in Peter's response
another temptation to seek a different and less costly path for accomplishing
his mission than the way of the cross. The word "Satan" literally
means "adversary" - one who stands in opposition. Jesus reminds Peter
that his role is not to be an adversary but a disciple - one who gets behind
his Master to follow with trust and obedience.
Victory and glory through the
cross: Jesus knew that the cross was the only way he could ransom us
from slavery to sin with the price of his blood which was shed for our freedom.
Through his sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus defeated Satan who held us in
bondage to sin and condemnation. And Jesus defeated the power of death and
overcame the grave through his resurrection. Through his obedience to his
heavenly Father's will, Jesus reversed the curse of Adam's disobedience. His
death on the cross won pardon for the guilty, freedom for the oppressed,
healing for the afflicted, and new life for those condemned to death. His death
makes possible our freedom to live as the adopted sons and daughters of the
merciful Father in heaven.
The paradox of God's economy:
Jesus told his disciples that they, too, must be willing to lay down
their lives in order to gain new everlasting life with the Father in his
kingdom. There's a certain paradox in God's economy. We lose what we gain, and
we gain what we lose. When we try to run our life our own way, we end up losing
it to futility. Only God can free us from our ignorant and sinful ways. When we
surrender our lives to God, he gives us new life in his Spirit and the pledge
of eternal life. God wants us to be spiritually fit and ready to do his will at
all times. When the human body is very weak or ill, we make every effort to
nurse it back to health. How much more effort and attention should we give to
the spiritual health of our hearts and minds!
The great exchange: What
will you give to God in exchange for freedom and eternal life? Are you ready to
part with anything that might keep you from following the Lord Jesus and his
perfect plan for your life? Jesus poses these questions to challenge our
assumptions about what is most profitable and worthwhile in life. In every
decision of life we are making ourselves a certain kind of person. It is
possible that some can gain all the things they have set their heart on, only
to wake up suddenly and discover that they missed the most important thing of
all. Of what value are material things if they don't help you gain what truly
lasts for eternity. Neither money nor possessions can buy heaven, mend a broken
heart, or cheer a lonely person.
Losing all to gain all with
Jesus Christ: A true disciple gladly gives up all that he or she has
in exchange for an unending life of joy and happiness with God. God gives
without measure. The joy he offers no sadness or loss can diminish. The cross
of Jesus Christ leads to victory and freedom from sin and death. What is the
cross which Jesus Christ commands me to take up each day? When my will crosses
with his will, then his will must be done. Are you ready to lose all for Jesus
Christ in order to gain all with Jesus Christ?
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my
understanding, and all my will, all that I have and possess. You have given
them to me; to you, O Lord, I restore them; all things are yours, dispose of
them according to your will. Give me your love and your grace, for this is
enough for me. (Prayer of Ignatius of Loyola, 1491-1556).
matter over mind: “Do
not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your
mind.” —Romans 12:2
To live a free life pleasing to God, we must have renewed
minds. To live in heaven forever, we must “acquire a fresh, spiritual way of
thinking” (Eph 4:23) and take on the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16).
However, before our minds become renewed, our bodies must be
sacrificed to God (Rm 12:1). Jesus bought our bodies at the price of His death
on the cross (1 Cor 6:19-20), so when we offer our bodies to Him as living
sacrifices, we acknowledge His ownership of them. This means that all parts of
our bodies become weapons for justice (Rm 6:13). When we sacrifice our bodies
to God, we discipline and master them (1 Cor 9:27). We fast frequently, do
bodily penance, and fill up in our bodies what is lacking in the sufferings of
Christ (Col 1:24).
Through our sacrificed bodies, God transforms our minds.
Finally, through our transformed minds, our sacrificed bodies become
transformed themselves. When Jesus comes a final time, “He will give a new form
to this lowly body of ours and remake it according to the pattern of His
glorified body” (Phil 3:21). This wonderful, and eventually total,
transformation of mind and body begins with the offering of our bodies to God.
We do this explicitly at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (see Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 2031). Therefore, “I beg you through the mercy of God to offer
your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God” (Rm 12:1).
Prayer: Father, may I not lose my mind by holding onto my
body. “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for
My sake will find it. What profit would a man show if he were to gain the whole
world and destroy himself in the process?” —Mt 16:25-26. Alleluia! Jesus will
raise us from the dead! We will see Him face to face! (1 Cor 13:12) Alleluia!
The personal action for today:
What does it mean to me to deny myself for the sake of the Good News? In what
ways do I see myself embracing/carrying the cross and being willing to commit
my life (and my death) to the cause of the Master-Teacher? Can other people see
Who is my Master-Teacher by the way I treat them? How can I better reflect the
Master-Teacher in my actions? How can I help others to deny themselves, take up
their crosses, and follow the Master-Teacher?
Saint Jeanne Jugan: Born in northern France during the French
Revolution—a time when congregations of women and men religious were being
suppressed by the national government, Jeanne would eventually be highly
praised in the French academy for her community’s compassionate care of elderly
poor people.
When Jeanne Jugan was three and a half years old, her
father, a fisherman, was lost at sea. Her widowed mother was hard pressed to
raise her eight children alone; four died young. At the age of 15 or 16, Jeanne
became a kitchen maid for a family that not only cared for its own members, but
also served poor, elderly people nearby. Ten years later, Jeanne became a nurse
at the hospital in Le Rosais. Soon thereafter, she joined a third order group
founded by Saint John Eudes.
After six years she became a servant and friend of a woman
she met through the third order. They prayed, visited the poor, and taught
catechism to children. After her friend’s death, Jeanne and two other women
continued a similar life in the city of Saint-Sevran. In 1839, they brought in
their first permanent guest. They began an association, received more members,
and more guests. Mère Marie of the Cross, as Jeanne Jugan was now known,
founded six more houses for the elderly by the end of 1849, all staffed by
members of her association—the Little Sisters of the Poor. By 1853, the
association numbered 500 and had houses as far away as England.
Abbé Le Pailleur, a chaplain, had prevented Jeanne Jugan’s
reelection as superior in 1843; nine years later, he had her assigned to duties
within the congregation, but would not allow her to be recognized as its
founder. In 1890, the Holy See removed him from office.
By the time Pope Leo XIII gave her final approval to the
community’s constitutions in 1879, there were 2,400 Little Sisters of the Poor.
Jeanne died later that same year, on August 30. Her cause was introduced in
Rome in 1970. She was beatified in 1982, and canonized in 2009.
Jeanne Jugan saw Christ in what Saint Teresa of Calcutta
would describe as his “distressing disguises.” With great confidence in God’s
providence and the intercession of Saint Joseph, she begged willingly for the
many homes that she opened, relying on the good example of the Sisters and the
generosity of benefactors who knew the good that the Sisters were doing. They
now work in 30 countries.
“With the eye of faith, we must see Jesus in our old
people—for they are God’s mouthpiece,” Jeanne once said. No matter what the
difficulties, she was always able to praise God and move ahead.
