HOMILY OF FRIDAY OF THE 6TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Genesis 11:1-9, Mark 8:34-9:1
THEME: LEADING WITH HONESTY
“If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
QUOTES: Strife can only be handled by determined people.
We would be better off the moment we concur to the aphorism “Nothing good comes easy.”
The number of frustrated persons who would not reconcile themselves with the realities of life will definitely increase in a society where people believe they could get whatever they desire all the time. Such a society is bound to experience high rates of suicide. Life is not a bed of roses. It comes with some hurdles which can only be handled by determined people.
Jesus came out in today’s gospel with what I would call divine honesty. He did not promise a rosy life, but cross and self-denial. He did not lure or trick anyone into fellowship. He came to prepare us for the hurdles of life. Jesus came to challenge us to attain greatness. And he said,
“If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
When Garibaldi, the great Italian patriot, was appealing for recruits, he expressed himself in similar manner, “I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor provisions; I offer hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles and death. Let him love his country in his heart, and not with his lips only, follow me.”
Inarguably, Jesus was prepared to embrace the kind of life he offers. His style isn’t the kind that reeks of eye service sort of, rather he’s a leader indeed. He was on the way to the cross and expected his disciples to follow suit. To experience the dividends of our pains, we ought to be fixed in Jesus’ shoe so as to garner the stamina to forge ahead.
St Paul said,
“it is no longer I who lives, but it is Christ who lives in me.” (Gal 2:20).
If we attempt to understand life from our perspective, we may not be able to survive. But when our gaze is focused on Jesus and all that he endured for our sake, even though our body may become weak, we will be strengthened to carry on. God allowed his son so he could be bruised and become an anchor of courage to us amidst our daily struggles. His cross is surely a prerequisite for his crown of glory.
May we always fix our gaze on Jesus that we would always find strength in days of trouble. Amen
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