Take up Your Cross

A Reflection on this Friday’s Gospel, Matthew 16:24-28 – 9 August 2024

“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.” (Matthew 16:24–25 NABRE)

     Look at the crucifix. What do you see? So often we look at the body of Christ on the cross and see only suffering and death. The cross is scary! It is so terrifying that many Christian denominations have removed the body of Christ from the cross so that the scandal of the cross is minimized. It is a stumbling block. Yet, that is our cross!

     I once heard someone remark that; “In my Church” we display the empty cross. We believe in the risen Christ, not a dying Jesus.” Yes, Jesus does live, but unless He experienced death on the cross, we have no salvation.

     I once heard a Catholic remark that we don’t need that ugly crucifix, with a bloody and tortured Jesus, so prominent in our Worship space. It is not something I want my children to see! So, even in some Catholic Churches, there are those that think to clean up the suffering Christ. If that is the thinking, we have truly lost our way.

     St Paul writes,

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18 NABRE)

     To see the crucifix as “scary” is to see the cross exactly as the world intended. If all you have is this life, everything on that cross is frightening, especially suffering and death. Who would choose the cross? If all you have is this life, why would you constrain yourselves to live with virtue? Instead, Carpe Diem! Live for the day! The world looks and says, how foolish it is that you have a celibate clergy and religious. Why deny yourselves physical pleasure? For the world, the message of the cross is “foolishness.” But to us who are saved, it is the power of God.

     On the cross we see a God who comes after us with a reckless abandon, breaking open his own heart in love in order to include us in the rhythm of his own life … not our disciplined quest for God, but God's relentless quest for us — even to the point of death.”
(Barron, The Strangest Way 11)

 

    To reflect on the crucifix is to revel in the power of God’s love. To contemplate the crucifix is to see the physical victory of good over evil, life over death, love over hate. Jesus asks us today, “what can one give in exchange for his life?” Our answer, because of our debt of sin is “nothing Lord.” To which the Lord answers, “Look at the cross, I paid the price in full, you are free!” As St Paul writes, “For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1 NABRE)

     To take up our cross is not something we should avoid. It is to embrace freedom, especially freedom from fear. Today, we celebrate the memorial of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Edith Stein, who was murdered in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. St Teresa Benedicta saw the Lord’s call to take up our cross as an offer to embrace love. She wrote that, “the true message of suffering is a lesson of love. Love makes suffering fruitful, and suffering deepens love.” (quoted in St John Paul II Homily 11 Oct 1998) That is exactly as she lived on earth, and still lives in heaven.

     To take up our cross is to allow the fire of God’s love to fill our life with His light and warmth. It is to stand before all that scares us in this world and taunt; “Is that the worst you have?” It is to be seized by truth vice shackled in fear. We do not shrink back when the Lord offers the cross but grasp it with joy.

St John Paul II preached,

     The modern world boasts of the enticing door which says: everything is permitted. It ignores the narrow gate of discernment and renunciation. … Pay attention! Your life is not an endless series of open doors! Listen to your heart! Do not stay on the surface, but go to the heart of things! And when the time is right, have the courage to decide! The Lord is waiting for you to put your freedom in his good hands.

     As you gaze upon the crucifix today, adore Christ upon it who suffers there so that you might have eternal life. Proudly and publicly wear the crucifix. It is not a sign of suffering and death but of the power of God’s love. Reflecting on the Gospel today, the next time the Lord challenges you to love someone whom you would rather not love, listen to Christ calling you from the cross of love to love,

“Take up [your] 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. (Matthew 16:24–25 NABRE)

Endnotes:

Barron, Robert. The Strangest Way: Walking the Christian Path (p. 11). Orbis Books. Kindle Edition.

John Paul II. Homilies of Pope John Paul II (English). Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2014. Print.

New American Bible. Revised Edition (NABRE). Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011. Print.