5-Aug-16

Gospel MT 16:24-28

Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay each according to his conduct.
Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
Reflection:
What does Jesus mean when He says, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself..."
Jesus lived a life of self-sacrifice: healing the sick, expelling demons, feeding the hungry, and preaching of God's love.
He "denied himself," giving up any ambition for personal gain or attaining the approval of men.
But, we don't read in the gospels about the challenges and pains of Jesus' daily life.
In His years of travel, he walked hundreds of miles on tired human feet. He slept on the ground or in the houses of strangers.
Much like a mother with a house full of children, when He was hungry and exhausted, people clamored and grasped at Him, looking for Him to minister to them.
Jesus goes on to say that anyone who wishes to be like Him must...."take up his cross, and follow me."
Jesus does not promise following Him will be easy or be a guarantee of a privileged life.
On the contrary. He is saying that if I wish to follow after Him, I cannot use the burdens, responsibilities and challenges of my life as an excuse to avoid helping others.
To follow after Him, I must carry my cross as I go.
I have the great privilege of seeing Christ every day. I see Him in the lives of single mothers sitting on the front step of an apartment house on a sweltering day. They try to catch a breath of air before trudging to their stifling hot, third floor apartment to tend to their children.
Carrying the food box into their home, I see the handmade decorative sign on their kitchen wall which tells of their hope in Christ: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart."
Their sacrifices and hardships remind me of the words Jesus spoke in today's gospel, "......but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
"Let us sacrifice our today so our children can have a better tomorrow."
- - Abdul Kalam