In today’s gospel Jesus is brutally honest with his disciples about the cost of following him. It will include suffering, loss, challenge and conflict. While this is true of any human life Jesus is making it clear to his disciples that following him will not help them to avoid the suffering of life.
On the contrary, he calls them to accept that suffering willingly, refusing to give into the temptations of avoidance and grumbling which can be so soul destroying. He says to them:
“Those who do not take up their cross and follow in my footsteps are not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it; those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
While his words are a challenge, they also carry hope and promise. He challenges us to look honestly at the tactics we use to numb our pain instead of accepting it as part of life and as something we can, by the grace of God, grow through towards new life.
Knowing human suffering from personal experience he offers us the hope of completely understanding our suffering, however unlikely that might sometimes appear.
He promises us that whatever sufferings we face in life he will be there with us, a compassionate, loving presence in even the darkest of times. While neither the hope nor the promise will remove the sufferings they offer a framework to encourage us to face them.
This message of hope is especially relevant today as we face dark and frightening times amidst a myriad of possible distractions that deny rather than offer hope.
What cross is Christ calling you to take up today?