Gospel of 18 February 2021
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Luke 9:22-25
Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘The Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.’
Then to all he said:
‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, that man will save it. What gain, then, is it for a man to have won the whole world and to have lost or ruined his very self?’
Reflexion
Spoiler alert for those who do not know how the story of Lent ends. Today’s gospel provides us with a glimpse of the end right from the very start. The whole story played out during this season of Lent will ultimately lead to the cross. Knowledge of this is definitely no spoiler. It merely spells out in clear terms what a disciple of Christ must do; no fine print at the bottom of the page to lull us into a sense of false security. Our Lord tells us that those who want to be His followers must be prepared to walk the same path, carrying their cross after Jesus. And Luke adds that it is something we must be prepared to do every day.
At the centre of our faith is an instrument of cruel torture - the cross. Some people find our attitude to difficulty and suffering very bizarre indeed, and it seems that our faith requires that we wallow, even enjoy, the suffering that comes our way in life. Even as Christians, the business of taking up our cross does not sit easily with us. Too often we may be tempted to take down the cross hanging on our walls or sitting on our altars, and put it in a drawer, or at the very least turn it around so that its truth could not remind us that we need to be more patient and more accepting of the more difficult aspects of life.
But are we asked to look for trouble? I don’t believe the Lord is asking us to do that. In our lives many trials come our way. We do not have to go looking for them, because they seem to be able to find us all on their own! By accepting our trials, from the little daily irritations to the bigger, more challenging moments of crisis and loss in our lives, we seem to have so much to lose. And today's Gospel confirms our suspicion.
That is why the call to deny ourselves and take up our daily crosses is so difficult. It goes against our normal instincts. Renouncing self goes against our desire to advance ourselves in the eyes of others. But our Lord is saying that a life spent focused only on ourselves and our self-advancement is ultimately a recipe for self-destruction. We are bound to be disappointed. The only way to live is, like Jesus, to offer our lives for the benefit of others in love. This is the only way truly to find ourselves and to come out winners. What is the good of winning the whole world and to lose one’s integrity, one’s self-respect, one’s dignity as a person, one’s happiness?
The way of the cross means we lose our lives. But the dramatic events that our Lord foretells - His own death and resurrection - should always remind us that if we unite our trials and sufferings with Him, we will find meaning in them, a meaning which will bring with it new life, just like after Good Friday, comes Easter.