Gospel Luke 9:22-25
Jesus said to his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”
Reflection I often wonder what the disciples must have felt when Jesus reveals to them that He must suffer greatly. Be rejected, be killed. And then this confusing phrase rising from the dead three days later.
But if you want to see how this passage is written by Luke, he goes on to explain what basically Jesus is saying in his ministry. It's a reflection of what he told his disciples in private. It's just saying you have to deny your very self, meaning your false self. You're not your true self. You must do whatever is asked of you and basically do it with an unselfishness that says,
I'm not focused at all at taking care of myself, but losing a sense of importance to surrender to something more important, which is building the kingdom.
Closing Prayer Father, suffering, accepting everything is not natural to our ego, but it is natural to our hearts, our core. We know we are called to surrender to everything you have offered us, no matter what the cost. And we know that we should not be working for ourselves, but for our brothers and sisters. So bless us during this season of Lent with a greater understanding of this core teaching, we must be in service to each other. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.