13th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Take Up Your Cross6-28-20
|
|
For your convenience you can now listen to Fr. Bob’s reflection, click here
.
|
|
A man by the name of Clarence Jordan
published what became known as the cotton patch version of the New
Testament in the 1950s-60’s. During this period he also got involved in
the Civil Rights Movement. He helped organize marches and sit-ins all
over the south. When he started to get into trouble for these activities
he turned for help to his brother, Robert who had become a prominent
Georgia lawyer and politician. Clarence was shocked when his brother
refused to help him. In fact, he made it known that he would have
nothing to do with the Civil Rights Movement. When Clarence reminded his
brother of his commitment to Jesus Christ and how that commitment
should compel him to get involved, his brother’s reply was, “I follow
Jesus Christ up to a point.”
|
|
“I follow Him to the cross, but not on the
cross, I am not getting myself crucified.” Clarence looked at his
brother and said, “Robert, you are not a follower of Jesus, you are only
an admirer of Him.” That true story came to my mind when I read today’s
gospel. Jesus pulls no punches, He is straight-forward when He tells us
whoever does not take up His cross and follow in His steps is not fit
to be My disciple. What kind of disciple are you?
|
|
Do you stop to realize that Christ is the
Word of God? Everyone else is a byword, Jesus is the Word. All of us are
letters. I am sure that there are times when we can relate to Robert’s
feelings. There are times in our lives when the name of Jesus Christ was
only a curse word. When the last thing we want to get involved in is
carrying a cross and following Him. In fact, we want to turn away and
run, avoid any kind of pain.
|
|
And, we have many ways of running. We can
remove ourselves from a painful situation or escape it with alcohol or
drugs, work or pleasure. Hardship and tragedy enter all of our lives at
some time or another. It is part of the human condition, we may try to
run away, but we cannot. Just last week I was speaking to a young man of
26 who will spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair because of a
drunk driver. I know of a woman who is struggling to bring up two kids
alone, only to find out that she had contracted the AIDS virus from her
alcoholic ex-husband. What do people like this do? When the cross that
has suddenly been thrust upon them seems to exceed their strength to
carry it? What do we do?
|
|
At these times it is good to recall that
there was a time in the life of Jesus when His cross exceeded His
strength to carry it. And, when that time came, Jesus had to accept the
help of a stranger Simon of Cyrene. Think of it, the Son of God, the
Savior of the World had to admit it to Himself and to the world that He
lacked the strength to carry His cross. If the Son of God had the
humility to do this then, certainly, we should have the humility to
follow suit. When the cross in our life becomes too heavy for us to
carry we should reach out for help, just as Jesus did. And, to whom do
we reach out? First and foremost, we reach out to Jesus Himself.
|
|
He knows us better than we know ourselves.
He knows what it feels like to stagger and fall beneath a cross. He
knows what it feels like to have to admit that a cross has become too
heavy to carry alone. He knows what it feels like to have to humble
yourself and accept help from another. Besides reaching out to Jesus, we
should reach out to those around us. God often works through other
people. Friends, family or even, when needed a professional counselor.
|
|
Finally, the story of how Simon of Cyrene
helped Jesus carry His cross and the story of how Robert Jordan refused
to help his brother in his time of need make us ask ourselves, how do we
respond to people when they reach out to us for help? Are we Simon of
Cyrene or are we Robert Jordan? Another question, are we out of practice
in our faith? Do we live and breathe our faith?
|
|
If someone watched us for a day, would they
say that is a true Christian? The help that we may be asked to give can
be as simple as a sympathetic ear or just encouragement. In other words,
my friends. Are you a follower of Jesus or just an admirer?
|
|
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment