Reflection on the Daily Gospel - Mt 16:21-27
A cross for those who are willing, for those who walk - light
The topic of the cross is not easy. Because the cross by itself is a dark, lonely and even shameful reality. And yet ... It is the cross according to the hymn of Lauds for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross that gives light: "Here is where the sign of victory shines, The cross rises above the world.
Can darkness shine? Can the greatest humiliation, rise? Can what is rejected on the margins of other, because the cross is light, humiliation is an exaltation. Difficult to understand, but it's worth pausing for a moment. The truth is most easily understood by man if he learns it in his own life. True, life teaches. It’s a good teacher. So, let's look at the life of a disciple of Jesus.
For the willing, something difficult - "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself " (Mt 16:24)
On the pages of the Gospels, Jesus left a very accessible hint when it comes to our own life, knowing the cross and the light. He says in the Gospel according to St. Mathew 16:24 "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." So, if I want to be like Jesus and live with Jesus, I am invited to deny myself first and then take up the cross. One might ask: where is the theme of light, brilliance? There is apparently no light here yet. For now ... Because whoever is invited by Jesus is faced with a task - to deny himself. What does it mean? Originally it suggests an effort of the will, something must be done! But from the Greek translation, "to deny yourself" means to "say no to yourself, to renounce yourself." The point is to enter your inner life in such a way as to center it, to your true humanity, the one created by God and united in faith so that you can give yourself completely. By "breaking free from oneself", by giving oneself, one experiences one's own authenticity and a person knows that he is not closed, finished, dark, because there is something that attracts him beyond himself.
The birth of a man with a wide horizon - a course for a "rift" with light
Leaving the narrowness of his own "ego world”, man becomes a man with a horizon around him - he becomes a man of faith. We are more than our experience, our present. Faith creates "gaps" in our existence, introduces a pillar of light - it opens. In order to live, one must disown himself, "something more" must speak to us. To be "finished" is the drama of a stiff, numb heart. Faith is like a boat that casts us towards "something else." Therefore, those willing to follow Jesus are invited to leave themselves, that is, to take a course to the wide horizon, which ultimately leads to the "rift" - the cross. This narrow passage, however, becomes a ticket to the good path of following Jesus. He is the Way! And a good disciple who is amenable to learning to live knows that this is a one-way ticket. In 2016, in Częstochowa, Pope Francis spoke about it to young people willing to follow Jesus: “It is a journey without a return ticket. The point is to make a departure from our "I", to lose my life for him (cf. Mk 8:35), following the path of self-giving”.
Whoever sets out, the darkness does not force him - " Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. " (Jn 8:12)
Is it worth it and is it possible? Again, it is worth referring to the Gospel to see what happens to the lives of those who follow Jesus with the cross - "whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (Jn 8:12). There is a significant difference here - "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself" (Mt 16:24), and "He who follows me will not walk in darkness" (Jn 8:12). Self-denial frees himself from darkness - nothing brings so much pain, but at the same time soothing warmth and light, as the cross. It's like throwing yourself hopefully into that "crack" that introduces a pillar of light. If someone wants to go - he has to decide whether he will let God speak in his life and whether a person will use only "yes" or two words in freedom of heart - "yes" and "no." And if he does, he is sure that he will not walk in the dark. But that is not a promise 24- hours illumination of the roads ... This is not the point. The core of the light is in faith in His Presence, then " the night will be bright as the day, because darkness is for (Him) like light "(Ps 139). To leave darkness is to forget about yourself and accept God, because there is light in Him.
The cross brings into the light - in the dark a dawn breaks out, flooding with light
Then faith becomes the Way. Jesus is the Way. It leads to something more. He tells you to get up from the couch and put on your shoes to go on the path that is Jesus himself. Let us return for a moment to these two Gospel passages to see the promise of faith. The promise is at the end: "take up his cross and follow me" (Mt 16:24) and "he will have the light of life" (Jn 8:12). The light of life is in the cross and in following Jesus. The cross is light, it leads to dawn. It is from darkness that light is born. Jesus appeared at dawn (Jn 8:2). The cross helps to come out of darkness, introduces you to the pillar of light, and the rest belongs to Jesus: when will he appear? It comes as dawn ... Sunrise (especially it is visible on the wide horizon of the sea) it is sudden, quick, unexpected ... like the coming of Jesus. In the darkness a dawn emerges, flooding with light. Exactly as forgetting oneself teaches the cross, which introduces Jesus' life, his death and resurrection, because He is "He who is above all"
(Rom 9: 5).
Until Tomorrow
fr. george