There are few times in the Gospels where Jesus sets a condition for following him. Today’s Gospel passage is one of them. He gives his disciples an “If/Then” statement. He says, “If anyone wishes to come after me, [then] he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.” Jesus teaches this lesson in the context of his own passion and death that he just predicted in this Gospel passage.
He affirms, without compromise, that all his followers must “take up the cross daily,” that we must accept suffering in this life. To follow Jesus in this fallen world means that you agree that this earth will never be heaven; that you will never have a day without a cross. Jesus even goes so far as to say that those who refuse to accept the sacrifices and sufferings that God sends or allows will “lose their lives.”
The joy of following Jesus necessarily involves the pain of self-denial and self-sacrifice. This is the paradox of the gospel. It’s not easy to be faithful to your conscience and to the teachings of the Church because it demands self-governing and, sometimes, humiliation and persecution. If Jesus had to suffer in order to open the gates to heaven, we will have to suffer if we want follow him in. Jesus never sugarcoats his call to discipleship; to be his friend, you have to share his cross; there is no other way.
But the cross, when carried faithfully, always leads to resurrection. If you follow him on the path of self-denial, losing your self-centered life in order to be faithful to him, you will find true meaning and happiness. This is the formula of Christian love: giving yourself to God and neighbor, instead of indulging yourself. Perhaps no other gospel lesson is more difficult to learn, or more important.
Christ’s Passion Was not a Mistake
Through the centuries, some critics have considered the cross to be one of the weak points of Christianity. They claim that since God hasn’t eliminated human suffering, he must not exist, or he must be a weak God. This is a false argument for two reasons.
First, these same critics never consider how much suffering God does prevent. They can’t explain why there is so much good in the world. If there is no God, or if God is weak, then the universe should be in total chaos. But it isn’t. Alongside sin, evil and suffering, we all experience goodness, beauty and joy on a daily basis.
Second, why would an all-powerful, all-loving God have to eliminate suffering in this life? Why can’t he solve the problem of suffering and evil in another way—by giving it meaning? Well, that’s what Jesus did. Through the Incarnation, Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension, God gave meaning to suffering and pain. When we suffer, we can unite ourselves to Jesus on the cross, becoming co-workers with him in the ministry of redemption.
Most of our suffering comes from our own selfish choices. To eliminate suffering, God would have to eliminate our free will. But without free will we wouldn’t be able to choose him on our own. God values our friendship too much to turn us into robots. The link between joy and the cross isn’t a weakness of Christianity; it’s our greatest strength.
Spreading Joy in the Storm
Christian joy includes the cross. This truth is at the heart of the Gospel, even though it brings us pain. The sooner we learn to accept and value this truth, the sooner it will be able to penetrate our hearts and change our lives.Is there anything we can do that will help us learn this difficult teaching? Yes, there is.
The best way is to bring joy to others who are feeling the weight of their crosses. This is God’s amazing plan: He redeems the world not by eliminating suffering, but by conquering it with His love!