Jesus said to his disciples:
“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
Then he said to all,
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?”
If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?
What does it mean to take up your cross? Does it mean to sacrifice and suffer to the same degree as Jesus? No, we humans could not suffer as much as christ. The thought of imitating Jesus, in that way, is so unthinkable that we often ignore it as something that the lord would never ask of me, and so we think it does not apply to me. But Jesus did not mince words here, He DID speak directly to each of us to “pick up our cross daily.” So how do we understand this…? St Jerome said it best when he wrote
“When I say the cross, I am not thinking of the wood but of the passion…. Furthermore, what is the warning in the Gospel? ‘Unless you take up my cross, and daily follow me.’ Mark what it says: Unless your soul has been made as ready for the cross as mine was for you, you cannot be my disciples.”
That is a high call, but it is not a call that is beyond us. Each and every one of us is capable of this call. We must configure our hearts and minds to the call of the cross. This means being meek in the face of assault. It means returning love when you are hated, and it means sacrificing even after you feel you have given everthing that you can.
This is the economy of heaven and it is what we all will be called to when we die and go to heaven. But you cannot get that reward until you configure your mind body and soul to this economy. You must start today. Because you will not enter heaven until you understand and desire His economy over the economy of this world. So take up your cross, whatever it is, put a smile on your face, and rest, happily, in the knowledge that your reward will be great in heaven.
Oh lord, help me today to find the cross that is looming in my life, and to embrace it and help me to make my soul ready to bear it, as you did your cross, for me. Amen.
