DAILY HOMILIES #cross

Spiritual creativity is not a luxury; it is the essence of our faith. Either I am winning for Jesus or betraying (denying) him. I can only imagine Jesus's pain, knowing that those who shared the same plate with him would betray him. Nevertheless, Jesus said: “Woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

Has my love for the world made me a sterile Christian? What things must die so I can bear the right fruits? Could it be my desire for comfort or pleasure? The book of Hebrews teaches: “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Hebrews 12:4).

God who made you without your cooperation will not save you without your cooperation. God will never force His way on us. It will always be up to us to decide what becomes of us through our daily choices.

Just as Jesus was hated by so many, anyone who wants to follow Christ’s footsteps should prepare to have a lot of enemies. If you are a people-pleaser, you would end up trying to please the devil and, thereby, compromise your Christian values. Love your neighbour as yourself, but at the same time, don’t be afraid of losing friends who want you to disobey God.

“It is harder to watch the pains of those we love than to bear our pains.” Mary stood beside her son in his moments of agony, scourging at the pillar and carrying on the cross and crucifixion. She remained even while his close friends, the disciples, fled for their dear lives.

Just as a tree was the source of humanity's downfall in the Garden of Eden, a tree (the cross) was the object upon which Christ redeemed humanity. When Jesus carried the cross, he corrected the mistake of Adam. The tree, a symbol of death for Adam, has now become a symbol of life for humanity.

Let’s face it: though we live in the world, we do not belong to this world, and the world hates us. (John 15:18-19) If you have not been experiencing this hatred (if you have never suffered anything for the sake of God), it is because you have been compromising your Christian values. As the saying goes: “If the devil is not fighting you, it is because you have been working for him.” Do not be conformed to this world.

Carrying the cross entails embracing the difficult aspects of our Christian faith, such as: loving our enemies, forgiving hurts easily, and upholding strong moral values such as faithfulness to one’s marital vows, purity of heart, honesty, kindness, etc. In a world that further immerses itself in darkness, keeping God’s commandments faithfully is a huge cross. Nevertheless, this is our calling.

Mary Magdalene saw the risen Jesus but she thought he was the gardener. For a moment, she was blind to reality staring her in the face. Jesus visits us daily but we hardly recognize Him. Recall the words of the sixth station of the Cross – “Can you be brave enough to wipe my face? ‘Where is your face?’ you may ask me, and I will answer: ‘In the streets, traffic jams, the remote and dirty villages, wherever suffering exists, my face is there and I look for you to wipe away my blood and tears.”

Because Jesus once took our flesh, Jesus knows exactly what it means to be betrayed, insulted, made to suffer injustice, seriously grieved, lied to, treated with ingratitude, and so on. Through his suffering and death, Jesus has gone through every possible emotion that we go through. This makes Jesus the perfect High Priest as the Book of Hebrews explains

Even today, the greatest persecution we face come from those who claim to know God but do not know Him. One lesson we learn from Jesus’ action today is that even when our life is under threat, we should not be afraid to continue our good works. Do not drop the cross. Be faithful to the end.

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus sends out an open invitation to us, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me for whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.”