Discipleship

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Discipleship

Cost   Conduct

Deny   Oneself   Yes To God

Take Up A Cross

Follow

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   Matthew 16:24

Jesus was talking to Peter and the other Apostles about the suffering that He would be facing. They found it hard to accept this part of the teaching of Jesus.

Jesus told them:

"If you want to follow Me, you must take up your cross and follow Me."

Reflection

How do you react when someone challenges you to do something that you really don't want to do?

In our reading from Matthew that is exactly the situation that Peter and the Apostles find themselves in. They do not want to hear that Jesus will have to suffer. We can't blame them. We would react the same way. We feel terrible that Jesus underwent the sufferings He endured.

We continually ask ourselves "Why?" in the face of suffering. We get mad at God because there is suffering in the world. We get disgusted and upset when we see the pictures of innocent children dying in war zones. We hunger for a better world.

There are times in life, however, when we have to pay a cost for our beliefs, our faithfulness to God's teachings, and our struggle to achieve justice in a world that we know is very far from justice.

I think of John Lewis on a bridge in Selma, Alabama, getting his head bashed in because he wants to help Black people to vote.

I think of Nelson Mandela locked in a prison for over twenty years because he wanted to end apartheid in South Africa.

I think of Martin Luther King, Jr., assassinated because he was advocating for the rights of his people and for sanitation workers to have a better wage.

I think of our soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

There is a cost when we try to follow the Good News of Jesus. Will we conduct our lives in such a way that we are willing to pay that cost or will we remain quiet and uninvolved because we don't want to make waves or stand up for what is true and right?

There will be times when we have to deny ourselves the comfort of going along with everyone else and turning away from the challenge of confronting an evil in our society. Others might caution us not to raise our voices and take a stand. They are, like Peter and the Apostles, very well intentioned. They do not want us to get hurt.

We face the choice sometimes: will we say "Yes" to their voices urging caution and timidity or will we say "Yes" to God because we know that God wants us to help those who are in need, those who are struggling to survive?

Jesus had to take up His cross because He faced misunderstanding and opposition. If we are His followers, why would we ever think that we would escape taking up the cross as well?

We know that our world is not perfect and that there are evils around us and within us all the time. As we try to follow Jesus, we ask for His strength and guidance to be able to take up the crosses that daily confront us and to walk in the paths where He will lead us.

We are not alone.

We are His disciples.

We follow!

1. How do you react when you are confronted with suffering?

2. What is your feeling when you contemplate the sufferings that Jesus faced?

3. Are you willing to pay a cost for believing in Jesus?

4. Who are some of the people you know who have had to pay a cost for following Jesus?

5. What do you feel as you ponder Kathy's photo?

(Scripture adaptation, reflection, and questions by John McNamara)