On one occasion, Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter, with his typical enthusiasm, responded saying, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (vs. 15-16). Jesus praised Peter, telling him that, “flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven” (v. 17). But as we see only a few verses later, Peter did not yet fully comprehend the deeper significance of what he had proclaimed so enthusiastically.
Jesus continued to speak to the disciples, foretelling his coming death and resurrection, revealing what he would have to endure to fulfill his mission on earth. Peter, out of his human affection for Jesus, couldn’t bear to think of such unjust and terrible things happening to him and, out of a friend’s desire to defend him, took Jesus aside and told him, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you” (Mt. 16:22).
This deeply human sentiment sounds so humanly familiar to us. Jesus then shocks Peter, whom he had just moments before praised for his insight, saying to him, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do” (v. 23). This sharply directed comment to Peter is directed at us as well. Are we not often guilty of thinking in the ways of the world, rather than in the way, the truth, and the life that Jesus models to us?
Now we get to the center of what it means to truly be a disciple of Jesus. “Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life, will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” Jesus is telling the disciples (and us) that following in his way still has its consequences in this world.
Let this be a powerful Good Friday reflection for you. When the Passion of Jesus begins, we see that only James and several of the women remain with Jesus, but they are said to “remain at a distance”. We are told that after the arrest, Peter himself followed “at a distance” in the crowd that was taking Jesus to the house of the high priest. We also see that when confronted, Peter denies his relationship to Jesus…three times. We don’t know where the other Apostles are, but we know that they are not there.
In truth, it is not easy to follow Jesus. It is not easy to draw close to the suffering, the crucified Jesus. It is not easy to follow his way, his truth, and his life in this world that still rejects him and his wisdom in countless ways. The fact is that the same potential consequences for following Jesus, that is, suffering and crosses of many kinds, remain very real today. And if we are honest with ourselves, although we truly desire to be followers of Christ, there are times when we “follow from a distance”. To live the life of Jesus publicly is still a concrete and dangerous challenge to the world.
The truth is that Jesus still loves the world and desires that it be redeemed. It is our calling, our purpose, and meaning as followers of Jesus Christ to be engaged in his ongoing mission to redeem the world. The world still resists. Our self-obsessed, postmodern, post-religion times often vehemently reject, or are completely indifferent to, the ways of God, much less his love for us. Knowing this gives a whole new meaning to Jesus’ words, “You must deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.”
To truly and openly follow Jesus in the world is to be a stark and challenging sign of contradiction to its ways. But if we learn to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses willingly, for the sake of Jesus, for love’s sake, we will also receive all of the graces we will need to bear them purposefully and joyfully. Thanks be to God!
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