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Mark 10:34 – 11:1
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s enemies will be those of his household.
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
“Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet’s reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is righteous
will receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”
When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,
he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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“Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.”
These are some of the most famous – and difficult – words ever spoken by Jesus. Why must we carry a cross? What kind of cross? Does God invite suffering?
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Jesus doesn’t want us looking for a cross; he isn’t asking us to carry extra burdens. In fact, Jesus wants to help lift them. So what kind of cross is he referring to?
That clumsy, awkward, often hard to carry cross called life.
We might re-interpret Jesus’ words to say: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his life, and follow me.”
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So many of us have children to provide for, difficult jobs, illnesses and grief in our hearts.
For some, there’s the added stress of marriage, bills, sobriety, an aging spouse or parent, and our inner attempts to grow in virtue.
We don’t have to add any extra weight to our shoulders.
We simply can’t shrug it off.
That’s the cross.
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What Jesus asks of us is simply to devote ourselves to the tasks we’ve been given in life.
If you’re a parent, provide generously for your children; affirm them; shower them in love. If you have a job, do the things no one else wants to do – and do it without a complaint.
If you’re a recovering addict, continue on the road to sobriety. If you’re burdened with an illness, endure it in faith. If you’re caring for a loved one who’s sick, do so tenderly.
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“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his life, and follow me.”
But do so knowing that the Lord is shouldering your burdens with you, sometimes making what seems impossible to carry, possible.
“Behold,” Jesus says, “I am with you until the end of the age.”
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Image credits: (1)Whattsup With Kids (2) Springline Parish (3) Carrying Crosses, Emedatio