Jesus tells the disciples that He is going to suffer. The one on whom all their hopes are pinned states that His journey will be on the road of pain and death. Despite their protestations, Jesus says that is the way it has to be. They may not be able to understand now, because human thinking does not always accord with God’s will. All will become apparent later. After His death and resurrection, and the descent of the Holy Spirit, the disciples will look on this episode with different eyes. Jesus makes it clear that to follow Him will involve a share in the cross. If the disciples lose their lives for His sake, they will find the true meaning of their lives; what is important is not material gain or power. Earthly goods and control over others mean nothing. It is only by taking their share of Chtist’s cross through an honest appraisal of themselves, and recognition and acceptance of their own sufferings, that they can be assured of finding their true selves. To know who they really are requires letting go in order to gain true life. Ultimately Jesus will come to judge all, and that judgement will take into account the extent to which their actions and words have been in accordance with the values of the kingdom of God.
Just as the language of the cross was difficult for the disciples to understand, so it is for most of us. What today’s readings afford us, though, is the opportunity to reflect again on the crosses in our own lives. We can ask ourselves whether we accept our crosses and align them with the cross of Christ, or whether we use them as an opportunity to become embittered. If we make the time to sit in silence and reflect, with God’s help we can begin to identify the crosses that we carry in our own lives. Then we can begin to accept the Lord’s help to bear them. The concerns of work, or difficulties with a spouse, or the pain of growing older and losing one’s independence are examples of crosses which we may be carrying. If we become resentful, it can prevent us from living the fulfilled and loving lives that God wants us to live. If we can accept His love, walk with Him and bear the cross together, it will not only give us strength but draw us ever closer to Christ.