There is a story about some Christian missionaries who went deep into the Amazon to bring Christianity to the native tribes. They set up a small camp, put up some huts and built a small chapel. After some time some of the natives began to get curious enough to go to the camp. When it was quiet, one of them ventured into the chapel to see what was there. When he saw what was on the wall, he ran out screaming.
Today we are presented with one of the most difficult mysteries of our faith. The mystery of the cross. It is a turning point for many. This is where Christianity differs from many other religions. Many of the world religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism try to rise above suffering, so that you are no longer affected by it. For us we believe it is part of the way to God. We believe that our life is transformed through suffering. It is part of the path to heaven.
When we suffer we often cry out to God, ‘Why have you done this to me? Why do you allow this to happen to me?’ I should not have to suffer.’ I have often heard this in hospitals, where people say, ‘Father, why has God done this to me, what did I ever do wrong?’ as though it were a punishment. We forget the line from Scripture that says, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself, take up his cross and follow me.’ It is part of our life on earth.
In this Gospel, after Peter recognizes that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus immediately starts to talk about how He will suffer. You would imagine that that would be the time when He would start talking about how the Kingdom of God would eventually win out and He would return as king. Instead, Jesus speaks about the suffering and death that awaits him. Peter wants to focus on the glory, which is real and to bypass the suffering that Jesus is talking about. In one of the other Gospels Peter says, ‘Heaven preserve you Lord, this must not happen to you’ (Matt 16:22). ‘You are to be the King and all people will bow down to you.’ And Jesus said, ‘Get behind me Satan (enemy) for the way you think is man’s way, not God’s.’ Jesus is saying, ‘You don’t understand this now, but it has to be this way. This is part of the path. If you want to follow me you will suffer too.’ None of us want to hear that, but it is what the Lord told us.
The cross that we have to carry is a combination of the trials and difficulties that we go through: health problems, losing work, marriage breakup, the death of our loved ones, unjust persecution and abuse. All of it seems wrong and unfair and we cannot understand why God allows it. We tend to see it as things going wrong. Remember Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, ‘Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by…’ (Matt 26:39). He did not want to go through what was about to happen. He was terrified, because He knew what faced him and in his humanity, He recoiled from it, as any of us would. He was afraid, but He also trusted that if the Father allowed it, then it had to happen.
The sufferings we go through have a part to play in our journey to God, but we don’t understand it, and that is part of the suffering. If we knew that good would come out of the various trials we go through, it would make it a lot easier, but we don’t and this is part of the suffering. Sometimes it is when we are suffering that God seems to disappear too, making it even harder. Remember Jesus’ words on the cross. ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? (Matt 27:46). The Father allowed Jesus to feel abandoned, which is one of the hardest parts of suffering. There is no one left to turn to, not even God and Jesus was allowed to experience this too. Why did the Father allow Jesus to feel abandoned at the time when He most needed comfort? Because by doing that, Jesus experienced suffering to the maximum degree. We can never say, ‘You don’t know what it’s like! because He does.
This is one side of the cross: that we will suffer. It says in the Scriptures, ‘Christ had to suffer.’ And it also says, ‘The disciple is not greater than the master.’ In other words, we will suffer too. God is also saying to us not to be afraid of suffering. Don’t be afraid when everything seems to be going wrong, instead, turn to the cross, take it in your hands and kiss it, and say, ‘Jesus I know you are with me in this, help me to carry this cross’, and He will.
There is a beautiful tradition from Croatia where a couple getting married bring a crucifix to the church. The priest says a prayer of blessing over the cross and when the wedding is over the couple bring the cross to their new home and place it in a prominent position. The idea is that they will come before the cross in their sufferings and difficulties and ask Jesus to help them. They will not run from their problems, but face them and ask for God’s help; and most importantly that they will keep Jesus at the center of their home.
The other side of the cross is the victory of the cross. We tend to only focus on the suffering, but it was the power of the cross that broke the power of Satan and the power of sin and death. Through the suffering and death of Jesus, eternal life was won for the whole human race. That means that suffering has enormous spiritual power. The most powerful thing we can offer to God, is the suffering we go through. Think of the people you worry about and pray for. Offer your sufferings for them, uniting your suffering to the suffering of Jesus on the cross.
Think of your children, or grandchildren who have turned away from God and how much it grieves you. Offer the suffering that this is causing you, for them. It is a way of turning it around. We don’t want to suffer, yet the suffering we go through is also a weapon which we can use to help the people we love. That’s why we talk about the importance of prayer and penance. Penance is taking on some kind of suffering, even if small.
Do you believe in the power of the cross? Do you have a crucifix in your home? If you don’t, it says a lot about what you believe. By having a crucifix in your home where people can see it, you are saying ‘I belong to Jesus Christ. I believe in what he has done for me, Jesus Christ is Lord for me.’
There are many today who deny parts of their faith, while still claiming to be Catholics. They are not. To be a follower of Jesus, is to embrace what Jesus has taught us, all of what He taught us. God doesn’t ask us to accept the parts of his word that we like, but all of it, including the cross. But He also reminds us that the cross, the difficult parts, area also part of what lead us to him.
‘Whoever wishes to come after me, must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.’
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