Homily: 24th Sunday in OT - 2015 - Taking up your cross

The author of today’s Gospel passage, St. Mark, was probably a very good friend of Saint Peter.  Peter called him “my son Mark” in his first epistle.  St. Mark probably got his information about Jesus from Peter, and some ancient writers called Mark’s Gospel “Peter’s Gospel” for that reason.  So even though St. Mark was not an apostle or an eyewitness to all of the events described in his Gospel, it is based on an eyewitness account: St. Peter’s.

And like St. Peter, St. Mark traveled to Rome, and probably wrote his Gospel there around the year 60 A.D.  St. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest of the four Gospels, it is clear, precise, orderly, direct, just like Fr. Klasinski’s homilies, he doesn’t waste a lot of words. 

And the ancient Romans, to whom Mark wrote, were in many ways like modern Americans.  They were a practical, pragmatic people who emphasized deeds more than words, action more than theory.  They got things done.  They conquered the known world.  Since, his original audience admired people who got things done, St. Mark emphasized these aspects of Jesus, the most effective man who ever lived—accomplishing our salvation through his suffering and death on the cross.

One can imagine St. Peter telling today’s Gospel story to Mark, maybe when they were still in Jerusalem together, or maybe somewhere in ancient Rome. You could imagine saint mark, asking Peter, “he called you what?” “That’s right, he called me Satan.”  In seeking to dissuade the Lord from the cross, Peter was making himself an obstacle to Jesus’ mission. 

Perhaps, more than any of the apostles, Peter shows a great aversion to the cross, he’s always running away from the cross.  We know from the Passion story, Peter denied Jesus three times, so he wouldn’t be arrested and crucified with the Lord. 

I’ve told this story before, but there is an ancient legend about St. Peter’s martyrdom. Peter had finally come from Jerusalem to Rome, the seat of the empire around the year 64, about 30 years after Jesus’ death, and for a while Peter showed great courage, preaching the Gospel, ministering to the small community of Christians there,  knowing that he was likely to be arrested and killed.  But when he began to agitate the local Roman authorities, the threat of the cross loomed too close for comfort, Peter began to flee Rome, but when he got to the city gate, he saw the Lord Jesus coming towards him carrying the cross.  Peter, falling to his knees asked him, “Domine, quo vadis?  Lord, where are you going?”  Jesus replied, “I have come to Rome to be crucified, since you will not.”  It was like Peter was fleeing the cross, yet again.  The Lord’s truth struck Peter, and now, understanding the need to remain steadfast in faith, returned to his ministry, preaching the Truth of the Gospel.  He was arrested, and like our Lord, Peter was crucified; only he asked that he be crucified upside-down because he felt he was unworthy to die in the same way as his Lord.

In the Gospel today, Jesus affirms, explicitly and uncompromisingly, very clearly, so even Romans could understand, that he and all of his followers must "take up the cross." For following Jesus is about more than calling oneself a Christian, to quote same James, “faith without works is dead.” Jesus goes so far as to say that those who refuse to accept the sacrifices and sufferings that God sends will "lose their lives", they will lose the promise of eternal inheritance.

It is not easy to be faithful to the teachings of the Church, to the Ten Commandments, to the will of God; Jesus sweated blood over it.  Faithfulness involves real self-restraint, mastery over our passions, self-governance and, sometimes, humiliation and persecution. Jesus doesn’t sugarcoat what it means to be a disciple; to be his faithful friend will involve sharing in his cross, there is no way around it.

One of the biggest obstacles to the spread of the Catholic faith, is the counter-witness given by Catholics who at first sign of the cross, of suffering, of difficulty, act like they do not know Jesus, like Peter during the Passion. 

So often, we are willing to bend over backwards to get what we want, but prayer, going to Mass, standing up for the truth are the first things to get crossed off the to-do list, when being a Christian becomes difficult.

India's great leader for independence, Mahatma Gandhi, famously commented on this phenomenon. He had been educated in western universities, where he was exposed to the beautiful teachings of Jesus. But he was also exposed to the hypocrisy of people who called themselves Christ's followers, but made little effort to follow Christ's teachings.  Reflecting on this experience, he later said: "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”  Gandhi could have been converted, if one more Catholic took their faith more seriously, perhaps standing with him, or fasting with him, to convert hearts.

To be fair, I also think Gandhi was a bit hypocritical, because he is most often quoted as saying, “be the Change you wish to see in the world.”  If you don’t think Christians are trying hard enough, then you try it, be the Christian we are called to be. 

It reminds me of another quote I saw on the internet recently: saying I don’t go to Church because of the hypocrites is like saying I don’t go to the gym because of the out of shape people.”  We come here precisely because we are not the Christians we should be, we are sinners who need a savior. Our souls are out of shape, we are overly attached to earthly passions, we like Peter are deathly afraid of the cross, so we come here, week after week, in order to learn from Our Lord’s example. 

So what will it mean to take up your cross this week? Will it be to pray when you don’t feel like it, to take a few extra minutes to reflect on the timeless truths of Sacred Scripture? Will it be to do penance for past sins? Will it be to go and make peace with a family member with whom you haven’t spoken to in months? Will it be to visit the lonely widow next door? Will it bear to wrongs patiently, without complaint, without seeking to get the last word in when arguing with a spouse, or refrain from talking back to your parents? Even sharing your toys when you’d rather be selfish, can be a share in Jesus’ cross.

The cross sounds terrifying. But our cross, when borne together with Christ, is the royal road to resurrection.  If we follow him on the path of self-denial, "losing" our self-centered, making God’s Will the center of our lives, instead of our own selfish desires, we will "find" true life in communion with Him.

The cross will come in many forms this week, will you take up your cross, will you lose your life for his sake and that of the Gospel, for the glory of God and salvation of souls?