Reflection
Today’s Gospel takes place right after Jesus’ first prediction of his passion, death and resurrection, and Peter’s rebuke of what Jesus foretold.
Peter was the Rock when he listened to the voice of the Father, but he became a stumbling block when he listened to the lies of the devil. The same disciple who confessed Jesus as the Christ needed to be purified in his understanding of what it meant for Jesus to be the Messiah. Peter wanted the glory of the kingdom without the suffering of the Cross. Jesus taught him that the path to resurrection must first pass through death, and the disciple must follow the same path.
Jesus then tells his disciples that not only will he suffer on the Cross, but that they, as his followers, must also carry their own cross. The way of Christ leads to glory but passes through the Cross. If we renounce our cross and try to hold on to the passing things of this life, we risk losing the gift of eternal life. To take up the cross is not simply to endure unavoidable hardships; it is to freely surrender our lives to the will of the Father, just as Jesus surrendered himself in love. The Cross reveals the pattern of Christian discipleship: we must die to selfishness to receive the fullness of life that God desires to give us. Every attachment that competes with our love for God must be surrendered so that Christ may live more fully within us.
Jesus turns the gaze of the Apostles, and our gaze, from the things of earth to the things of heaven. As we look toward heaven, we see that he is the Son of Man who comes with his angels in the glory of the Father. In fact, three of the Apostles will see the glory, dominion, and kingship of the Son of Man in Jesus’ transfiguration, which we just celebrated yesterday. The glory revealed on Mount Tabor is the Father’s answer to Peter’s temptation: the Cross is not the defeat of the Messiah; it is the path by which the Son of Man enters into his glory.
Today’s Question for Prayer and Reflection
Am I greedily storing up treasure on earth for myself, or am I giving to the poor, serving my brothers and sisters, and storing up treasure in heaven?
Source for today’s reflection: https://epriest.com/reflections/view/3515