Thursday After Ash Wednesday
As disciples of Jesus we are called to imitate Him in our daily lives. Today, Jesus tells us that we must deny ourselves and “take up our daily crosses.” What might that mean for us as Catholic Christians?
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells His disciples about His passion, death and resurrection. He further explains that His disciples must also “take up the cross daily” to follow Him. It is when we “lose our life” for Jesus, that we are saved. As I reflect on this reading, I wonder what the disciples were thinking about these challenging commands.
This reading is also directed to us as disciples today. Although we have many centuries of scripture study, these lines still are difficult to understand. I think that today’s first reading provides some insight on what Jesus might mean when He calls us to follow Him. Moses is instructing the people about God’s covenant with the people, and he reminds them how to “choose life” –by loving God, walking in God’s ways and keeping God’s commandments. This commitment to God and his decrees does involve “death” to self. When we follow God’s ways, we choose love over hate, mercy over vengeance, and peace over war. In many ways it is harder to love, have compassion and seek peace, since this often entails choosing to do things to help the other instead of ourselves. We “die to self” when we love others, since we seek what is best for them. Loving might entail doing an act of kindness for another instead of using that time/ effort for our own benefit. We “lose” ourselves when we do not allow vengeance and violence to be the means of finding just solutions. When we take steps to find a mutual agreement, we give up the necessity to be “in control” and forcing our ways on others. These are a few of the small “daily crosses” that can be hard to carry.
Despite the challenge, Jesus promises us that if we are willing to allow God’s grace to lead us in our daily decisions, these daily deaths to self will actually bring life and hope. Jesus’ death on the cross demonstrates the ultimate form of surrender and love. Jesus’ death is followed by His resurrection, so He shows us what will occur when we accept our crosses. Not only does Jesus show us the way, but He walks with us as we bear our daily crosses assuring us that we are never alone. As we choose God’s ways and allow God’s Spirit to lead us, our daily crosses will find meaning and bring joy to others. When we carry our daily crosses, we may not “gain the whole world” as our society may be encouraging us to do. Our daily deaths to self, however, will unite us with Christ as bearers of light and hope for others in our midst.
—Marylynn Herchline