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Gospel: Mark 8:34 – 9:1
Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
“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
and that of the Gospel will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
What could one give in exchange for his life?
Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words
in this faithless and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of
when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
He also said to them,
“Amen, I say to you,
there are some standing here who will not taste death
until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”
These are some of the most famous – and difficult – words ever spoken by Jesus.
Some have interpreted his words to mean the heavier the cross, the more difficult life is, the better. Religion is meant to make us miserable.
But they couldn’t be farther from the truth!
Jesus doesn’t want us looking for extra burdens; in fact, he promises to help lift them. So, what kind of cross might he be referring to?
That clumsy, awkward, often hard to carry cross called life.
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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.
There’s the added stress of marriage, bills, sobriety, fending off temptation, and trying 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 to be faithful to the tasks we’ve been given in life.
If you’re a parent, provide generously for your children; shower them in love. If you have a job, do the things no one else wants to do – and do it without complaint.
If you’re a recovering addict, continue on the road to sobriety. If you’re burdened with an illness, endure it in faith.
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“Whoever wishes to come after me,” Jesus says, “must deny himself, take up his life, and follow me.”
What might that look like for me today?
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Image credits: (1) Truth for Life Blog, Alistair Begg (2) Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Naperville, IL (3) LinkedIn