Luke 9:18-24 (RSV-CE), "Now it happened that as he was praying alone the disciples were with him; and he asked them, “Who do the people say that I am?” 19 And they answered, “John the Baptist; but others say, Eli′jah; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen.” 20 And he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” 21 But he charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” 23 And he said to all, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it."
Here, Jesus talks about the essence of discipleship. There are requirements for us to follow Him based on the text itself, and that is:
1. Deny ourselves
2. Take up our cross
3. Follow the Lord
1. Deny yourself- There are times when we often think of ourselves instead of others. St. Vincent Ferrer said, "Whatever you do, think not of yourself, but of God". We seem to worry much about what others say about us, instead of what God thinks of us. But the truth is that, God alone knows us from head to foot. He said in Jeremiah 1:5, here's what it says:
Jeremiah 1:5 (RSV-CE),“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,and before you were born I consecrated you;I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Even I myself seem to worry about that once, but then, as I mature and engage in prayer life, I am starting to think about not what others, but what God thinks of me. Even if I should get the medals myself, I started also to think about what our Lord said, "What profit is there for a man, if he gains the whole world, but lose his own soul?" (Matthew 16:24).
2. Take up our cross- There are instances wherein we seem to carry our crosses. As Fr. Larry Faraon, O.P. said in his sermon, one of the crosses we carry is our sins, but one way of lighting this burden is to confess this to the Lord Jesus. He Himself said in 1 John 1:9
1 John 1:9 (RSV-CE), "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
We can be assured of forgiveness by confessing this to the Lord and also through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Through this, we restore not only the grace we lost due to sin, but that we are reunited with the Church.
But sometimes, we carry other's burdens. The question is: Who carries our own? The answer is Jesus Christ Himself! Carrying other's burdens and submitting ours to the Lord is one way of giving sympathy to them. Even the Apostle St. Paul did this in 1 Corinthians 10:33
1 Corinthians 10:33 (RSV-CE), "Just as I try to please all men in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved."
St. Paul also exhort us to, "bear one another's burdens, and by doing so, we fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2), and that is love as Jesus said, "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34). When we learn to bear one another's burdens, even problems, then and only then, can people see Jesus in us.
3. Follow the Lord- Sometimes, following the Lord is not an easy task. In the song, "Maling akala" by Brownman, they said there are rumors saying that salvation can be easily attained. But Jesus said the opposite. He said that it is not easy to inherit salvation. It will involve trials, persecutions, and sufferings. Following Him does not involve, "IFS". We tend to resort to this when Jesus challenged us to follow Him. "I'll follow Him IF...." Rather, we should say, "Even if trials come, I will still follow the Lord", just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who chose to follow Him even if the cost would be death (Daniel 3) and like Daniel himself who chose to follow the Lord even if the cost would be death to the lion's den (Daniel 6). But we have this promise from Jesus Himself, "I will never leave you nor forsake you.....I will be with you always, even to the end of the world" (Matthew 28:19, Hebrews 13:5).
By following Him, we go with Him to the way of the Cross for our eyes are fixed on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith (Hebrews 12:2). By uniting our sufferings with that of our Lord, our sufferings become sweet as St. Bridget of Sweden says. Contemplating also on the Passion is proof that we are not alone as we go through sufferings because Jesus our God is with us always. The saints say about the Passion:
"He who desires", says St. Bonaventure, "to go on advancing from virtue to virtue, from grace to grace, should meditate continually on the Passion of Jesus." And he adds that "there is no practice more profitable for the entire sanctification of the soul than the frequent meditation of the sufferings of Jesus Christ."- St. Alphonsus Liguori
I would like to read a verse from 2 Timothy 2:11-13 as a conclusion
2 Timothy 2:11-13 (RSV-CE), "The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself."
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento