Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Denied! To contradict; repudiate; declare untrue; refute; contest; oppose; reject; decline; turn down; veto. There are many ways to interpret and use the concept of denial. By definition, to deny is to state that one refuses to admit the truth or existence of. We have entered the month of August and I know a lot of students and teachers who are in denial about going back to school soon. How many of us have been in denial about some impending appointment, situation, or the result of an event? Some of us are in denial about the fact that we are getting older. Heck, I confess that, earlier this week, I was in denial about the fact that I needed to write a reflection for today. But in today’s gospel, Jesus is talking about a different kind of denial.
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Mt 16:24-25)
An alternative definition for deny is to give or grant something to someone or, similarly, to refrain from satisfying oneself. We had movie night earlier this week with our kids and watched a newer animated film called The Bad Guys, a movie about some stereotypically villainous characters–a wolf, a snake, a shark, a tarantula, and a piranha–attempting to become good guys. In the movie, there is a beautiful scene (to me at least) where one of the characters defines goodness as “putting the needs of someone else before yourself”. It was a striking reflection of Christ’s message today.
Our Lord invites us to let go of our ego and enter into God’s story. Our lives, our actions, our decisions, and our freedom are best understood in relation to others. We are invited into something greater than ourselves. I often need a reminder that I was created in the image and likeness of God, not the other way around. How often do we trap ourselves in the chains of judgment, pride, and selfishness? At times, I catch myself wallowing in pity and self-loathing about some minor problem or stressor. Life often presents us with a variety of burdens (crosses), some more difficult than others. It’s not easy to accept the weight of the cross bearing down–illness, finances, family challenges, depression, addiction, joblessness, loss. Jesus invites us to bring those crosses to him. Are we willing to pick it up and bring it along?
A reality of life is that it will involve some sort of suffering as much as it will produce joy, love, peace, and comfort. What we tend to forget though is that through the burden, Jesus is with us and will help us carry our cross. Through God’s grace, we find comfort, healing, peace, and strength as we carry our cross.
Let us continue to strive toward a life of discipleship; put the needs of others before our own, take up our cross(es), and follow our good and gracious God to the glory of the kingdom of the son of man.
Peace,
Brandon Meyer