24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B, Year I)
Community Word: Those who trust and serve God are open to His will.
Theme: We are open to God’s will when we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Christ.
Promise: “The Lord God is my help therefore I am not disgraced; I shall not be put to shame.” (Is 50:7)
Reflection:
In today’s gospel, Jesus defines the true disciple: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me,”(Mark 8:34). It is love that motivates a person to follow the Master, but self-denial and the willingness to share the burden of His cross are proofs of that selfless love.
Our Lord does not ask us to give up living when He invites us to “die to ourselves.” All He wants is for us to accept the newness and fullness of life that only He can give. As human beings, we have a tendency to think only in terms of ourselves and our interests. We tend to imagine that our world revolves exclusively around us, our concerns and our interests. Self-denial requires the surrender of our right to do as we please, and to place our life and our will in the hands of God. It requires the surrender of control to Christ.
To accomplish this, we need to bring more areas of our life under the dominion of King Jesus. As He wins our heart, our spirit learns to stay away from deliberate disobedience to His commands. We come to realize and acknowledge our insignificance, and the importance of pleasing Christ. We come to see our life as gift, and to value it like St Paul who, in Galatians 2:20 declared, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”.
When Jesus tells us to pick up our cross, what he means is for us to be ready to face and bear with perseverance, the trials and difficulties that may come our way. This can be difficult within and outside Community, and/or the Church. We contend with all kinds of challenges: conflicting schedules between work and community service, family issues and financial problems, illnesses and infirmities. There are occasions when we face rejection and ridicule, not only in our mission field, but also among our friends and family, when we bring the gospel to them, or for choosing to serve the Lord, over the pursuit of fame and fortune. Carrying the cross of Jesus involves the willingness to stand up for the Truth we believe in. St John Paul II describes it this way, “When the cross is embraced, it becomes a sign of love and of total self-giving. To carry it behind Christ means to be united with him in offering the greatest proof of love.”
The struggles and challenges we face in our journey through life are sources of strength and power. When we suffer for and with Christ, we experience His powerful and abiding presence in our lives, as St. Mark assures us, “For whoever wishes to save his life, will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.“(Mark 8:35).
As disciples of Jesus, we should have no fear of failure, difficulties, isolation, or loneliness, because in all circumstances, He will always be by and on our side. He will help us, guide us and comfort us through our trials – large or small. We just have hold on to His promise, “The Lord God is my help therefore I am not disgraced; I shall not be put to shame,”(Is 50:7).
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are my life, my hope, my strength. How wonderful life is with you. I bring my burdens and sufferings to You. Let Your love and Your comforting arms embrace me so that I may be strengthened unto the end. Amen
Reflection Questions:
1. Are you willing to sacrifice convenience and your comfort zone to follow Jesus?
2. What experiences in Community and in the mission field make you want to pick up your cross and follow Jesus, and what experiences, if any, make you feel like quitting to follow Jesus?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
September 13, 2015 (Sun) Is 50:5-9/Ps 116:1-2,3-4,5-6,8-9/Jas 2:14-18/Mk 8:27-35
September 14, 2015 (Mon) Nm 21:4-9/Ps 78:1-2, 34-35,36-37,38/Phil 2:6-11/Jn 3:13-17
September 15, 2015 (Tue) 1 Tm 3:1-13/Ps 101:1-2,2-3,5,6/Jn 19:25-27
September 16, 2015 (Wed) 1 Tm 3:14-16/Ps 111:1—2,3-4,5-6/Lk 7:31-35
September 17, 2015 (Thu) 1 Tm 4:12-16/Ps 111:7-8,9,10/Lk 7:36-50
September 18, 2015 (Fri) 1 Tm 6:2-13/Ps 49:6-7,8-10,17-18,19-20/Lk 8:1-3
September 19, 2015 (Sat) 1 Tm 6:13-16/Ps 100:1-2,3,4,5/Lk 8:4-15
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
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