If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me

Jewelled Cross mosaic (detail), Basilica of Sant' Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna (549).  Photo by José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, courtesy Wikimedia Commons

 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to you!"  But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!  You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.  Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."

- Matthew 16:21-28

Yesterday we read that when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to you!"  But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!  You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  Immediately following the confession of Peter (above), Jesus gives to the disciples the real nature of His messiahship; that is, the mystery of His Passion.  My study bible explains that it was expected that the Messiah would reign forever, so the notion that Christ would die was not simply perplexing to Peter but also scandalous to the Jews even after the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 1:23).   Peter's protest unwittingly speaks for Satan, as the Christ's suffering and death would fulfill His mission of salvation and deliverance for humankind.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."  My study bible describes the cross as a dreaded instrument of Roman punishment, but also a symbol of suffering by Christians in imitation of Christ.  It says that we practice self denial for the sake of the love of God and the gospel.  One might think about sacrifices made to care for a child, such as lack of sleep while nursing one who is sick, or extra employment sought to pay for benefits to the child.  In this sense, we understand that accepting this sacrifice or suffering is not a punishment, nor is it an end in itself, but rather it is a means by which -- as my study bible puts it -- to overcome the fallen world for the sake of the Kingdom, and to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24).  Ultimately, as in suffering or sacrifice for a child, the purpose is love and healing, or making whole.  As Christ is the Physician, so we understand that to take up our cross and to follow Him is just this, a way to heal ourselves and by extension our world.

"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works."  Jesus asks, "What will a man give in exchange for his soul?"   The idea of accumulating worldly wealth or power for its own sake is foolish, as this cannot redeem a fallen soul, nor heal it, nor benefit a person in the life to come.  Instead, our focus for purpose must be elsewhere.

"Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."  My study bible says that this is a reference to those who would witness the Transfiguration (17:1-9, which will be in our next reading on Monday).  It applies, as well, to those in every generation who experience the presence of God's Kingdom.

Once Jesus is recognized through faith as the Christ (see yesterday's reading, above, and Peter's confession), then immediately it is the nature of His ministry and work of salvation that is revealed to the disciples.   Far from the idea of a kingdom of material abundance, Christ's first message is one of loving sacrifice -- the Cross.  His message to the disciples after Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, or Messiah, is that He will be killed in Jerusalem.   Jesus says that He will raised on the third day, but it is very doubtful that the disciples have understood what He is saying.  Moreover, the chief impact is the message that He will be killed, to which Peter vehemently replies in disagreement.  So sharp is this refusal of such news, that Jesus also responds strongly, "Get behind Me, Satan!  You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  Perhaps, in some way, we can say that Christ's words sum up the message of the cross, or rather what it means for each one of us to take up our own crosses.  Jesus will ask each one to make sacrifice for the sake of something more and something better, to trade this world for another -- for a life of the Kingdom.  There are many kinds of ways such things may come to us in our lives, such choices.  The disciples will leave behind families and social life they know in order to spread the message of the Gospel throughout the world.  Many more will follow them.  Persecution will be a part of the story of the early Church.  With all these things we are already familiar.  But what of those of us with lives in the Western world, where churches are not under threat nor hiding from the law?  We have our own set of choices to make, our own ways in which we, too, must take up our crosses.  Perhaps in your daily life, you are aware of a situation or circumstance in which you can no longer continue, which your prayer life always reminds you is untenable in the long run.  Perhaps, just as the early Christians were forced to choose loyalty to Christ or to worldly obligations, you also have a kind of test in your life in which you must choose loyalty somehow to one or the other.  As for the early Christians, each one's story and choices might be different, just as every life is unique, but the cross -- as Jesus says -- must come to each one of us.  Let us remember that, just like caring for a loved one and making sacrifices to do so, the sacrifice we might be called upon to do is for a purpose and a reason which gives our lives meaning and value.  The choice is always one of love.  It is neither punishment nor payment, but an exchange.  We exchange -- just as Jesus asks what our souls are worth -- one thing for something else of unsurpassably greater value.  We choose the cross and the Kingdom over the things that, in the end, simply will not give us as much, as deeply, as vitally to our souls.  Let us remember that this is all a product of faith, and that this all begins with Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, something that Jesus says was only possible because the Father revealed it to Peter.  There will always be that connection within us that declares the value and worth of the soul, for which no material price is sufficient.  There will always be the need for our mystical connection through prayer and through faith and worship in order to realize this healing power that makes us whole, without which the soul is not complete.  Let us consider what it is worth, the sacrifice Jesus will make for us, and how we are called to follow in His steps for a greater good, and for the life of the world (John 6:51).  This is something that will not change, regardless of how different appearances may be from one time period to another, from one country or society to another, from one life to another.  We will always be called to this mystical place in which we participate in the Kingdom, and we will always be called to make choices and sacrifices out of love for something much, much better.   Just like the story of the Transfiguration that will follow in our next reading on Monday, the Cross will always stand for both sacrifice and transcendence, the giving up of one thing for the revelation of so much more.