Reflection for 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

All of us get inundated with junk mail or robocalls every day. Sometimes a piece of mail might catch our eye with something like “You’re a winner! Guaranteed!” Or the caller might say, “You have earned a free vacation at one of our beautiful resorts.” We’ve all read and heard it enough to know that it isn’t that easy. But even knowing that, many of us now and then will take the time to open the envelope to read more. It’s when we get to the fine print that we find the catch - which costs us something. We don’t get something for nothing in this life. Today’s Gospel gives us something of the fine print for successful Christian living. It teaches us that we can’t get something spiritual for nothing, either. It costs us something.

Last Sunday, Peter confessed Jesus as the Son of the living God. And now, one week later, he’s lost it. Peter’s response to Jesus is so typically human: who chooses suffering and death? Not me! Not you! Regardless of Peter’s good intentions to protect his Master and Lord, Jesus turns Peter’s objections to suffering into the profound meaning of everything Jesus is about. Jesus recalls the message that he has emphasized with us in Matthew’s Gospel.

His followers must deny themselves, take up their cross, and go where he goes. They must lose life (self-sacrifice) in order to find life. The cross leads to agony but also to glory. Unless one dies, one cannot rise. That’s the message of Jesus.

Most of us have carried crosses in our life. Some of you have carried the cross of cancer or serious illness; some of you have carried the cross of caring for a loved one with kidney failure or dementia; some of you have carried the cross of a struggling or broken marriage; some of you have carried the cross of children who have left the family or the Church; some of you have carried the cross of addiction; some of you have carried the cross of unemployment and financial stress; some of you have carried the cross of lost friendships or alienation; some of you have carried the cross of doubt and shaky faith. And we could go on and on, couldn’t we? We have all had crosses to bear. And, if you’re young and have not had too many so far, your chance will come.

And I’m sure that at times some of us have asked, “Why do I have to bear this cross?” Jesus’ command to take up the cross is often misinterpreted. What comes across is – “look, we want you to be a Christian, and we promise you humiliation, pain and suffering. So come join us.” Who would want to do that? I read somewhere that the cross has two pieces, one going vertical and one going horizontal. It becomes a symbol of decision. At different times in life, you can go one way or the other; you’re at the crossroads. At that moment, Jesus says, “Unless you take up your cross daily, unless you make daily choices that make a difference, you’re not worthy of me.” That’s the cross, and sometimes that’s a far harder cross, in one way, than physical suffering.

So what does take up your cross mean for us? It means this: in your own quiet way, you make ethical decisions; in your own quiet way, even if you lose some financial gain, you’re honest; in your own quiet way, you refuse to cheat or be unfaithful; in your own quiet way, you raise issues that deal with humanity; in your own quiet way, you care for others; in your own quiet way, you become known as a witness to truth and justice and decency. You are not going to witness to something foreign. You are going to witness to something that people want to say, but don’t have the courage to say. You’re going to resonate that deepest desire for God that they cannot name.

So the Gospel tells us: Unless you take up your cross daily; unless you make those daily decisions, some of which are easy, some of which are joyous and some of which cause pain; unless we do that, we’re not worthy of Jesus.

If you have a brief faith reflection on today’s reading that you would like to share, please send it to me at deaconruss@holyspiritunoh.org.