The Cross and the Giving Up
The cross in today’s Gospel is a symbol of the concept of giving up all for the sake of the Kingdom. The cross in today’s Gospel is a symbol of our personal conviction to the call of discipleship.
From the moment of our entry into this world at the time of our birth, our mothers and fathers have been the centrality of our lives. Mothers for the most part have been our soul mates, care givers, companion, guide, psychologist, teacher, and the director of our lives.
There comes a time however in every person’s life when we are faced with the decision to leave the comforts of home—the comfort of our mother’s loving care so as to venture out into the world on our own merit. I can certainly testify to this.
The love and comfort of the family is integral to the very soul and fiber of our being. More than anyone in this world, our mothers are the primary source of our earthly existence. May God bless the mothers in our lives. Truth be told, what would have become of our lives had it not been for our mothers and fathers?
In the ancient world, family relationships were and still are as important as they are in our present culture around the globe. Our family means the world to us—we cherish the love of family. We may even lay down our life for family.
Considering the importance of family in our human existence, what are we to make of Jesus’ reference to the crowd following him, "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
Jesus knows quite well the debt and intensity of family love. Prophetically speaking, Jesus’ expectation of every person in the crowd and of each of us is that we cannot become his disciple unless we are willing to forego our most pride procession, our family and be loyal toward his call to follow him.
Just as the disciples did, they left their boats, family and friends to follow Jesus. “Come follow me for I will make you fishers of men…”and without hesitation they journeyed with him, forsaking all others including their livelihood.
Jesus’ reference to the word hate is that we forsake all else for his sake. Are we willing to forsake all else for the sake of Christ—for the sake of discipleship?
"...do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:2
Jesus’ reference to the word hate is that we deny ourselves of the comforts of this world to follow him. “To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self—to see only Him who goes before us on our earthly journey.
Moreover do we dare take up our cross and follow him. "Only when we have become completely oblivious of self are we ready to bear the cross for His sake. If in the end we know only Him, if we have ceased to notice the pain of our own cross, we are indeed looking only unto Him. If Jesus had not so graciously prepared us for this word, we should have found it unbearable.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Jesus, more than anyone else knows the cost of discipleship. We remember Jesus’ confrontation with his mother when it was believe that he was lost and was found in the temple with the elders.
We remember his agony in the garden of Gethsemane how he prayed to the Father.
We too must pray to the father to help us along the way. Each of us is call to carry our own cross along the way forsaking all others as we journey for the cause.
“Only a man thus totally committed in discipleship can experience the meaning of the cross. The cross is there, right from he beginning, he has only got to pick it up—there is no need for him to go out and look for a cross for himself… Every Christian has his own cross waiting for him, a cross destined and appointed by God. Each must endure his allotted share of suffering and rejection.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
