Luke 9:18-24; Zechariah 12:10-11;
Ps. 63:2-9; Galatians 3:26-29.
To understand ourselves, to know who we are as followers of Jesus, we have to know who Jesus is and where he is leading us. If we don’t want to go there, then we don’t really want to follow him. This would mean we haven’t truly accepted him for what he is: the Way, the Truth and the Life; the Messiah who saves our lives on earth from “missing the mark” and who gives us life, joy, truth and love “to the full.”
“If any want to become my followers,” Jesus says — if we want to experience ourselves as followers of Jesus, know what it is to accept his Good News, understand and appreciate the gift that has been given to us as Christians — then “let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” It is in the act of denying ourselves for the sake of loving as he loves that we realize ourselves: that is, discover what our true identity is and make it real. It is when we “lose” our lives by dedicating them to the service of God and others that we really come alive. Then we know what Jesus means when he says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” We know it by experiencing it, which is the only way to really understand it.
It is a fact of experience, as well as a truth of faith, that “those who want to save their life will lose it,” and only those who “lose their life” by going out of themselves and focusing on bringing others to life through love can save their lives from turning into the deadening restrictiveness of selfishness. When we look for nothing but personal satisfaction, ultimately everything we do becomes boring.
By Baptism we were consecrated priests — that is, ministers. We were baptized “into Christ;” into his body on the cross. “All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death” (Romans 6:3). We “died” to the isolated, individual existence that seeks only self-fulfillment, and we “rose” in Christ to live as his risen body on earth, consecrated to carrying on his mission, dedicated to the redemption of the human race. As the fourth Eucharistic Prayer proclaims, by rising from the dead Jesus “destroyed death and restored life. And that we might live no longer for ourselves but for him, he sent the Holy Spirit from you, Father, as his first gift to those who believe, to complete his work on earth and bring us the fullness of grace.”
This fullness cannot be found except in living for others. Therefore it is an essential step into the fullness of life to consciously dedicate ourselves to enhancing the life of others, at whatever cost to ourselves. To accept our baptismal consecration as priests we need to commit ourselves to mediating the life of God to others. We do this, essentially, by committing ourselves to giving expression in human, physical, visible ways to the invisible reality of faith, hope and love that is in our hearts by grace.
This is what God the Son did when he became the Word made flesh: he put the truth, the love, the life of God before our eyes in embodied form. He took a body, so that he might give physical expression to the invisible truth, the intangible love, the unimaginable beauty and joy that is the mystery of God’s life. And when we “offered our bodies as a living sacrifice to God” in Baptism (see Romans 12:1), we gave him our bodies to be the medium of his continuing human self-expression on earth.
Whenever we “give flesh” to the invisible words of faith in our hearts by expressing them with human breath, through physical human lips; or whenever we let Christ’s divine love, in which we participate, find expression in our physical human actions, we are letting our bodies be the instrument and medium of God’s self-expression on earth; we are giving flesh to the Word. This is priesthood, this is love. To commit ourselves to this is to take up the cross and to experience the power of the cross.
TO PRAY DAILY:
Lord, teach me to love as you love, to give myself to others as you give yourself, to “die” to myself in order to live totally for God and other people in love. Amen.
HEARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPELS
Monday: 2Kings 17:5-18; Ps. 60:3-13; Matthew 7:1-5: “The measure you give will be the measure you get.” How exciting, how fulfilling is my religion for me? Can I see a connection between how much I try to serve God and how much I appreciate my faith?
Tuesday: 2Kings 19:9-36; Ps. 48:2-11; Matthew 7:6, 12-14: “The gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” The narrowest path in the world is a straight line. In all my decisions, how often do I guide myself by focusing on the person of Jesus and trying to please him?
Wednesday*: 2Kings 22:8 to 23:3; Ps. 119:33-40; Matthew 7:15-20: “Every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.” What is most often my motive in what I do at home, at work, in my social and civic life?
Thursday: 2Kings 24:8-17; Ps. 79:1-9; Matthew 7:21-29: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.” What words of Jesus inspire me the most? Motivate me the most? Come to mind most often?
Friday: 2Kings 25:1-12; Ps. 137:1-6; Matthew 8:1-4: “There was a leper who came to [Jesus] and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” What do I ask Jesus to do for me? How often do I ask him for the grace to dedicate myself totally to helping others in love?
Saturday: Lamentations 2:2-19; Ps. 74:1-21; Matthew 8:5-17: “When [Jesus] entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him... When [he] entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever... That evening they brought to him many who were possessed with demons...” Does this sound like my life — a constant round of responding to people’s needs? (If I am retired, do I look to the needs of those around me?) Do I find life in giving myself in love?
BELIEVING AND LIVING
As Christian:Wherever you go this week (work, school, home, parties), on the way imagine Jesus by your side and join in his desire to give himself for others in what you are about to do.
As Disciple: Each day this week make the Stations of the Cross (c. 15 minutes; you can do it at home), reflecting on how Jesus gives himself in love. How did he find joy in this?
As Prophet: This week be conscious of your motive in all you do. Where it is self-serving, try instead to act in love for the good of others.
As Priest: At Mass offer yourself with Christ and in Christ for the life of the world. Go out from Mass conscious of this offering.
As Steward of Christ's Kingship: Evaluate the groups you are part of (family, work, social, political, etc.), asking how much of what you do is self-serving, how much is service to others. See what you can do to make service more of a guiding goal and motive in the group.
