The denial of oneself from pleasurable things is a difficult state to attain, yet when it is attained it becomes the basis for growth. Jesus thought us today that the key to an enduring love is in denial those things that seem to give us happiness but leads to doom. Again, suffering is not an act of denial from pleasurable things, but an act of discipline. In suffering we learn to love God and to help our fellow human beings to grow.
Our gospel of today tells us about Jesus’s prediction about His Suffering and death. Jesus knew He would suffer greatly, be rejected and be killed. He said, “the Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day” (Luke 9:22-25).
This seem too much for Him and His disciples to bear but that is the reality of Jesus’s mission. Now imagine, if we are to have a vision about our future, seeing that we are going to suffer, tortured and be killed by our loved ones, what would be our reaction about life. How would we have felt about it?
Most people would be filled with fear and become obsessed with trying to avoid it. Some of us would even decide to take away our own lives because we do not want to suffer. But Jesus accepted death and suffering for our sake. He knew of the victory ahead but the pain of suffering was very intense. This reading above shows just how intent He was on embracing His Cross with unwavering confidence and courage.
Let us like Jesus embrace our fate and develop great faith and courage to accept life as it is. Everyday life involves sacrifices and this sort of sacrifices involves the denial of oneself from pleasurable things to attain salvation. Jesus asked us a question, He said, “what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but losses his soul.” Our Christian struggle is mainly not to loose our soul but to gain eternal life. Let us ask Jesus within this period of lent to accept our sacrifices to deny ourselves of things that will make us loose our souls and give us the grace to follow Him diligently. Peace be with you.
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