“If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk 9:23). These words denote the radicality of a choice that does not allow for hesitation or second thoughts. It is a demanding requirement that unsettled even the disciples and that, throughout the ages, has held back many men and women from following Christ.
Jesus walks ahead of his followers and asks each one to do as he himself has done. He says: I have not come to be served, but to serve; so, whoever wants to be like me must be the servant of everyone. I have come to you as one who possesses nothing; for this reason, I can ask you to leave all riches behind which prevent you from entering the Kingdom of Heaven. I accept denial and rejection by most of my people; therefore, I can ask you to accept denial and opposition from wherever it comes.
We cannot speak about the cross without considering God’s love for us, the fact that God wishes to shower us with good things. With his invitation “follow me,” Jesus not only says again to his disciples: take me as your model, but also: share my life and my choices, and stake your life for love of God and for neighbour together with me. This is how Jesus opens up before us the “way of life.”
--Pope Saint John Paul II
Image source: Norman Adams (Royal Academy), The Second Station: Jesus Receives the Cross, St. Mary's Catholic Church, Manchester, England, https://hiddengem.me.uk/adams-stations/
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