What Jesus tells us to do in today’s Gospel is highly profound in light of what He did for us 2000 years ago: dying a brutal human death to give us eternal life. St. Paul tells us in Philippians 2:6-8 that Christ emptied Himself, humbling Himself by “coming in human likeness” and becoming obedient to death on a cross. He is asking us today to do something greatly symbolic of the same thing: denying ourselves in order that we let our sinful past die so that we might entrust Him with our deepest pains and journey toward eternal life.
This is far from being an easy thing to do, and that is why Jesus uses such intense language when speaking to us today. He says that we must take up our crosses and follow Him in order to go after Him; He tells us that the way to find true life is by losing our current earthly lives and desires for His sake (Matthew 16:24-25). This might take some of us aback at first, but the shocking language used truly does draw our attention to what is being said. If we really want to follow the Lord and experience the true joy He has in store for us, we cannot keep participating in actions that are directly opposed to how He created us and meant for us to live: in goodness. We were made for goodness. When we sin against God, we are not adhering to the goodness and joy we were designed for. Therefore, “what profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” (Matthew 16:26). What are we gaining other than a sin-stained soul in the world when we go against God’s love in that way? We were not made to live for the approval of other fallen humans; we were made for God, and we must show Him the love He has shown us.
Jesus tells us that “the Son of Man will come with angels in His Father’s glory, and then he will repay each according to His conduct” (Matthew 16:27). We often hear that we need to fear God, and this also can startle a lot of us. What do you mean we need to be scared of God? But, that is not what this saying means. We are not supposed to be scared of God; if we were, it would cause us to run away from His love and mercy. What is meant by “fearing” Him is that we are supposed to love Him so much that we never want to offend Him by sinning against Him. Still, even if we do, He just wants us to repent and run back into His loving arms. What Jesus says in Matthew 16:27 is this same idea: when we sin, we are to repent. If we refuse to repent, we will be repaid according to that conduct. If we do repent, joy awaits us. We are told that “there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom” (Matthew 16:28). Just a few verses later in Matthew 17:1-2, the Transfiguration of the Lord happens; Peter, James, and John see the Lord in His Kingdom. When we repent, this is the glory in store for us.
Jesus denied Himself, in all His divine abilities, to literally take up a cross and die for our sins, all to give us the chance at eternal life. Being images of God, being made for communion with Him, we must give our troubles to Him; take up your cross, let Him guide you through it, and make eternal life your earthly life’s mission.