Jesus offers us the key to discipleship in today’s Gospel reading: “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 will find it” (Matthew 16: 24-25). Paradoxically, this is also the key to fulfillment and happiness.
To be Christian disciples, we must deny ourselves by emptying ourselves of sin, pride, and selfishness. We must detach from this world and become firmly attached to Christ. We must also take up our crosses and follow Christ to Calvary. We take up our crosses when we offer ourselves as a “living sacrifice,” as St. Paul exhorts us in our second reading (Romans 12:1).
“If you want to reign with Me, bear the cross with Me.” – The Imitation of Christ
There are many ways to become a living sacrifice. We can offer God our sufferings, such as physical or emotional pain. By uniting our sufferings with Christ, we can actually find the courage and strength to rejoice in our sufferings (Romans 5:2-3). We can also offer other types of self-sacrifice: though contrition for our sins (Psalm 51:19); by giving praise and witnessing to God (Hebrews 13:15); by humbly doing His will, especially when it is difficult for us (Hebrews 10:10); and—most of all—through the gift of self-giving love: agape. Jesus said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
We imitate Christ when we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, and we live by what St. Pope John Paul the Great called the “law of the gift.” He said, “We become most truly human in the measure in which we go out of ourselves and give ourselves for the sake of others…” What a paradox: to find my life I must give it up as a sacrifice. We find the true meaning and joy in our lives precisely to the degree that we give our lives away to God and others.
Abba, Father, You loved us so much that You gave us Your Son (John 3:16)—a priceless gift we could never repay. Help me to pour myself out in self-giving love. Give me the courage to take up my cross and follow Your Son.
PS – if you have a copy of The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, read chapter 56 (LVI) sometime this week: “That We Must Deny Ourselves and Bear the Cross with Christ.” If you don’t already have a copy, you can download a version in several different formats here on the Gutenberg Project website (a open source site for works that are in the public domain).