Take up your cross and follow Jesus
A Gospel Enquiry
The Church celebrates the feast of St Wenceslaus, the patron saint of Bohemia, on September 28. Wenceslaus (907-929) was the ruler of Bohemia and gave witness to his faith: love for the poor, devotion to Mary, a spirit of penance, and the desire to grow the faith in Bohemia. He experienced opposition and his brother supported his assassination. It is little wonder, then, that the Church has chosen the following Gospel to celebrate his life and his faith.
Jesus said to his apostles, “Don’t think that I came to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. I have come so that
‘a son will be against his father,
a daughter will be against her mother,
a daughter-in-law will be against her mother-in-law.
A person’s enemies will be members of his own family.’ Micah 7:6
“Those who love their father or mother more than they love me are not worthy to be my followers. Those who love their son or daughter more than they love me are not worthy to be my followers. Whoever is not willing to carry the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who try to hold on to their lives will give up true life. Those who give up their lives for me will hold on to true life” (Matthew 10:34-39 - New Century Version).
SEE
What happens in this part of Matthew’s Gospel that would help to explain this radical and perplexing statement from Jesus? Have you ever been confronted with a message about commitment like the message of Jesus found here? How did you respond? What did you do?
What has happened in Jesus’ mission that leads him to speak about commitment to his mission in this way? What can you recall from the Gospel that supports Jesus’ decision to speak about commitment to him in this way?
According to Jesus, what are the consequences for those who choose to commit themselves to him? What are the consequences for those who choose to ignore his invitation to follow him, or who choose to reject those who are committed to following him?
JUDGE
What do you think about how Jesus describes the sort of commitment required of those who want to follow him?
What does your faith tell you about how to deal with the consequences of committing oneself to following Jesus?
Ideally, how should people who choose to commit themselves to following Jesus be treated by others?
ACT
What needs to change so that people who choose to follow Jesus are affirmed by people who know them?
What simple action can you take over the next week that will encourage people to affirm those who choose to follow Jesus?
Who can you involve in this action and how will you go about involving them?
Author: Pat Branson
Image source: https://blog.truthforlife.org/what-does-it-really-mean-to-take-up-your-cross-and-follow-jesus
Good reflection! In school we used to refer to this passage in Matthew as T"he Jesus Nobody Wants To Know"...it is really hard as humans to first think of this Gospel passages as NOT being in conflict–but it is all about "peace with God" and it is Jesus calling us to love God more than we love ourselves. And Jesus is telling us our God understands our sacrifices to have the same motivation as His–LOVE.