Year B-Taking the Road Less Travelled
(Isaiah 50: 5-9a; Ps 116: 1-9; James 2: 14-18; Mark 8: 27-35)
Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap
Introduction: What did Jesus mean when He said to take up the cross? What does it mean to “take up” or “bear a cross”? What does the Bible teach about “cross bearing?” When Jesus says take up your cross and follow me, first of all, we see the startling honesty of Jesus. Jesus never tries to bribe us by the offer of an easy life. During the WW2, when Winston Churchill took over the leadership of England, all that he offered his people was “blood, sweat & tears.” Same was offered by Garibaldi to the people of South Italy. And that is very much like what Jesus is offering to His followers, too. We must remember that Jesus never calls upon us to do anything that He was not prepared to do Himself. What He asks us to face, He has already faced. And when He calls upon us to take up a cross, He, Himself, has already borne one for us. So, let’s see a few things about cross bearing.
Cross Bearing Was Confusing: Paul wrote: “Jews demand miraculous signs & Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews & foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews & Greeks, Christ the power of God & the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:22 24). We can understand the Jews stumbling over the idea of their Messiah hanging on a cross. They were an oppressed people. They had been oppressed by Assyrians & Babylonians & Greeks, & now by the Romans. But one thing kept them going through it all, God’s promise of the Messiah. Fathers would tell their children, “One day the Messiah will come & set us free. He will be a magnificent king with legions of soldiers behind him. They will defeat our enemies & make them bow down before us.” Then the Messiah came, but not as they had expected. He came as a carpenter, a preacher from Nazareth. Some called Him a madman. His army was made up of twelve men. And instead of great military victories, there was a crucifixion. So, the cross was a stumbling block to the Jews. It wasn’t what they expected. It wasn’t what they wanted to hear. And neither do we.
JESUS CLARIFIES THE CONCEPT OF CROSS BEARING
- Cross Bearing is Always Voluntary-Jesus calls us, & challenges us, but it is our decision. Taking up a cross & following Jesus is voluntary.
- Cross Bearing is an Act of Love– Cross bearing is not an accident that happens to us, or something unavoidable that we must face. Cross bearing is an act of love that we choose to do. It is a task that we undertake, a price that we pay, out of love for Him. For Jesus it meant going to a cross to die because He loved us so much, He could do nothing else. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:13). It means reaching out to people who are unlovable & unlovely & who may never return the love. And yet we are to keep on loving because that’s what Jesus did. 1 Cor 13:4 reads (exchange the word “love” with “cross bearer”): “A cross bearer is patient. A cross bearer is kind. A cross bearer does not envy. A cross bearer does not boast. A cross bearer is not arrogant or rude. A cross bearer is not self-seeking. A cross bearer is not easily angered, nor keeps records of wrongs. He does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. A cross bearer always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” That is what cross bearing means. It means taking the love of God to the very ends of the world. To touch the lives of people who are unlovable. It means denying & sacrificing. It means paying the price regardless of the hardships we must endure.
- Cross Bearing is Hard– Off course it is hard. Whenever the message of the cross has been preached, people have always objected to it. Jesus talked about His impending death on a cross & His apostles recoiled at that. They tried to keep Him from going to Jerusalem. They said, “We don’t want you to die.” When He did die on the cross, they hid behind locked doors, fearful of what might happen next.
Conclusion: If you really love Jesus, take up the Cross and follow Him.
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference”- Robert Frost