ACCEPTING OUR CROSS

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) 
Jeremiah 20:7-9/Psalm 63/Romans 12:1-2/Matthew 16:21-27 

There is a story about a man who was following the Lord and carrying his cross. While the person was carrying his own cross, he felt that it was too heavy for him to carry. So, he asks the Lord if he can cut parts of the cross down. Once he got permission from the Lord to cut parts of the cross, he cuts parts of the cross until the cross was light enough for him to carry. When he and the Lord reached a cliff, the man thought that their journey was over. But the Lord said, "No, our journey is not yet over. We are going to the other cliff." The Lord used His cross in order to cross to the other cliff while His companion tried to reach the other cliff using his cross, but it was too short for him. 

This Sunday's Gospel talks about accepting our crosses in life. Last Sunday's Gospel talks about Peter's confession about Jesus' identity. Through the grace of God, Peter confessed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. Because of this, Jesus rewarded Peter by making Peter the rock on which Jesus will build His church and giving him the keys to the kingdom of Heaven, showing Peter's authority once Jesus leaves this world. Now, in today's Gospel reading, Jesus talks to His disciples about His mission as the Messiah sent by God. 

In the first part of the Gospel reading for this Sunday, Jesus now talks about His mission in the world - to suffer and die on the cross for the sake of mankind. But on the third day, Jesus is to rise again. The apostles, especially Saint Peter, did not understand what Jesus meant. When the Lord said that He is going to die for the sake of humankind, Peter and the rest of the apostles objected. Peter himself expressed his objection to what Jesus was saying. The apostles, especially St. Peter, could not understand or accept what Jesus said. 

"Get behind Me, Satan!" This is what Jesus said in response to Peter's objection to what Jesus said about Him being killed. For sure, we can bet that Peter felt hurt because of what Jesus called him. At first, Jesus made Peter the rock on which He will build His church and gave him the keys to the kingdom of Heaven. Now, Jesus calls him "Satan." Isn't that insulting of Jesus? Yes, the Lord sure sounds insulting. But, the Lord uses strong language to express His point. Jesus uses "Satan" to say that Peter is interfering. "Satan" means "adversary." The Lord does not refer to Peter as "Satan" or "Lucifer." 

Jesus teaches the disciples the conditions of discipleship in the second part of today's Gospel reading. Jesus tells His disciples that it is not easy being His disciple. Being a disciple of Jesus is going to be very hard. Why? If anyone wants to become a disciple of Christ, they would have to forget anything about themselves, take up their cross and follow Christ. There will be hardships and crosses when we follow Jesus. 

The truth hurts. We may have a very hard time or not accept it, but it is the truth. There will be times when we will be tested in being a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just like the Lord said, it won't be easy. One example of hardships in life are the loss of a loved one because of illness or very strong calamities. In those times, we will see ourselves questioning God. Questions like, "What did I do that God did this to me?" or, "Why have done this to me, O Lord?" It is not easy being a follower of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus Himself had His share in following the will of God the Father. On the night before He suffered, the Lord prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane to save Him from the hour of His death. Although Jesus knew that He has to die for the sake of mankind, His obedience to the Father was tested. Jesus knows the pain of the whip, the crown of thorns and the nails that will nail Him to the heavy cross He will carry. This made Jesus pray to the Father and ask for the Father's help.  

At the end of His prayer, Jesus says, "Not My will, but Your will be done." Jesus surrenders to the Father's will. He submitted Himself to the will of the Father. The Lord chose to be brave and faced His death on the cross. After His prayer, the Lord did not back down. The Lord faced His death, in obedience to the will of the Father. The Father was the source of Jesus' bravery in facing His death. If Jesus wanted, He would've escaped His death easily. But, Jesus faced the cross and His death with full bravery. 

God the Father is the source of bravery. Let us pray to the Father for bravery, just like Jesus. The bravery God gives us will help us in facing and accepting our crosses in life. God will always be with us in every step of life. Taking up the crosses of our lives is not easy. But, God will always be with us in every step in our journey and will always help us at problematic times. Let us be one with Jesus in taking up His cross. Let us be brave in taking up our cross and follow the Lord. 

Dear Lord, grant us bravery and strength to face the challenges in life and take up our crosses so that we may become followers of Jesus. Amen.