In Mark 8:34 Jesus says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” This image of us carrying our own crosses has found its way into many people’s mind, even for people that are not as familiar with the Bible. Some people interpret this as “everyone has a cross to bear”, meaning that if even the Son of God had to suffer, we should expect to also have difficult problems or burdens in our lives. Knowing that everyone carries some type of a cross makes us feel less of a victim. It's not personal!

Others interpret the statement from Jesus as meaning that even in the middle of difficult and painful situations, such as having a spouse who drinks too much or battling a long-term health condition, we should put our trust in God, knowing that he loves us and will help us bear this cross. Both of these interpretations are true and very helpful. Our God is a loving God that helps us and comforts us when we need him the most. I have used this imagery many times in my life to help me cope with difficult situations. However, through this statement Jesus is actually asking more of us. He is asking us to give of ourselves and take an active role in the mission of salvation; out of love. We need to understand what happened before and after this passage to appreciate its deeper meaning.

Before this statement, we see that Jesus and his disciples were walking to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. This was a city to the north of Israel, and thus away from the listening ears of Pharisees who would try to get Jesus and his apostles in trouble and away from the terrible Herod Antipas. Jesus was in a safe zone and was able to ask, “Who do people say that I am?” The disciples gave him some options, but then Peter, on behalf of the apostles said “You are the Messiah.” This was a climatic event. The apostles were finally acknowledging who he was, or at least who they thought he was; which was someone with a higher calling than a prophet. They thought he was the anointed one, a soon to be king from the Davidic line, someone who was going to liberate them from Roman oppression and kindly rule the Jewish people. Finally things were going to be great...

But Jesus immediately killed this exhilarating moment by announcing that he was going to “undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” This made no sense to them since they thought he was the Messiah and Peter began to rebuke him. Jesus was teaching them that he was the fulfillment of the suffering servant from Isaiah 53 who was going to take our pain, bear our suffering, and bring justice. This is what transpired before Jesus said “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Jesus then gave us a lesson on what it means to be a Christian. We must always have our eyes set on the prize, which is eternal salvation in the magnificent presence of God. We can’t be distracted by the ephemeral worries of the earth. Yes, love life, deal with difficulties, serve others, be grateful for all, but stay attentive to not get sucked into things that wont last and can actually derail our journey to holiness. Don't get consumed with things that have a transitory nature. If we allow the graces of the Holy Spirit to work in us, we will be able to exercise self-denial for the sake of Jesus and the good news of the Gospel. Out of love for God and our brothers and sisters, we will joyfully bear the difficult demands of living the teachings of Jesus. This is the cross he refers to. It is always about us loving God, others, and being love.

If we choose the things of the world as our prize (fame, wealth, pleasures, etc.), we will end up with nothing. This is the deeper meaning of this statement, if we want to follow Jesus, we need to be all in, deny ourselves of the transient worries of this current life, and be willing to sacrifice, to carry our cross, and follow him into eternal life. It's not easy, but he will give us the graces we will need along the way.

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