Today's Readings
(Audio)
The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.
That the messiah would suffer had been predicted by the prophet Isaiah. But it was still hard to accept. It did not seem like it ought to have been necessary, or that it could lead to a positive outcome. Surely there was a more direct way to experience the rewards Isaiah mentioned when he wrote, "he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand" (see Isaiah 53:10). It seemed Jesus was choosing the opposite of what Moses suggested, death rather than life.
There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death (see Proverbs 14:12).
But in fact, he was only choosing against a shallow and temporary life. He chose death, not as an end, in order to destroy it. He accepted the necessity of his death because it would allow him to unleash the blessings of salvation on the world. Without his death the problem of sin would have remained unanswered. Without his sacrificial self-offering all of the dividing walls between people and each and between people and God would have remained impermeable. People could not have been brought together in one body. Jesus was entitled to divine and eternal life in virtue of who he was. But it was only because of his death that others may now share in that life.
If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
The path by which Jesus gave life for the world did not look like it would lead to life, but in fact led to life in abundance. So too for the path by which Christians may appropriate that life. It begins for us at baptism when we are baptized into his death. But then it must take shape in our lives through the choices we make. We must forego the shallow ways of living that are not true life. We must be willing to die to the old and fallen parts of ourselves so that new life may emerge. But just as Jesus did not die for his own sake, neither now are we called to do so. We are called to be completely reoriented from selfishly seeking our ego first, to living as offerings of love for the sake of others, and in particular, love in response to the love of Jesus himself who loved us first.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
The reason that we are free to choose to put others first is precisely because Jesus made it possible by dying for our sakes. In doing so he put our selfish egos to death with him. And the love he showed us is now meant to be the primary thing that motivates and orients us in the new life that is his gift to us.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?”
We are not as fully committed to only and always choosing life as Moses would advise, especially because it often seems to us that in the short-term it is the more difficult path. But we know what happens to those who merely store up treasure on earth. We know that the whole world, even if we possessed it, comes with an expiration date. Even during this life we recognize that the world always underdelivers on its promises to satisfy us. Even as mortals living on earth we recognize that it is only when we answer that call of Jesus that we begin to experience the joy and satisfaction that can truly last forever.
Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Newsboys - Lead Me To The Cross
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