23RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME C
BED OF C(ROSE)S
How do you react to the following
words? –
…Bed of roses
…On top of the world
…Cloud nine
…7th heaven
Doesn’t it remind you of your dream life? your preferred
future? your life’s goal? - “Oh yes!
That’s what I really want!”
The pleasant, the good, the easy, the unruffled, the happy
and abundant life is what each of us craves for, prays for, strives for, and works
for.
This was the life people hoped for and so they followed the
Lord expecting to be assured he would give it to them.
Imagine their surprise when the Lord, opened his mouth and
said: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my
disciple.” This is the iconic promise of the Lord – the cross!
Not money, but the cross
Not comfort, but the cross
Not bliss, but the cross
Not peace, but the cross
Not health, but the cross
What was Jesus thinking? Did he not care that he dashed
people’s hopes and destroyed their dreams? Did he not know that people wanted to
avoid the cross at all costs? It is words like these that make people today turn
away from the Lord and follow another path…
The Lord was not being a kill-joy… he was being realistic.
For life is not a fantasy world.
Real life is a challenge, a struggle, a race, a mystery to
be solved.
In this life, we encounter crosses at all turns.
…the cross in relationships at home and at work
…the cross in earning a living
…the cross in sickness, in accidents, in misfortunes
…the cross in pain, confusion, and sadness
…the cross in betrayal, deception, and lies
…this cross, that cross, and so many other crosses only you
know and experience today
The Lord is realistic. Though he wants only the best for us,
he knows and teaches us that the best will only come through effort, through
pain, through hard work, through patience… through the cross.
Our dream for a great life is also Jesus’ dream for us, and
more than that in fact. He wants us to reach heaven, where all our desires will
be fulfilled.
But there is no short cut to heaven. The crosses of our
lives form the ladder to the attainment of heavenly joy.
I sometimes cannot reply when people ask me why it is that
they suffer or how much more do they need to suffer. I try my best to assure
them that I too have my own crosses and I try to carry them because I believe
that I am not doing it alone. God is with me. Jesus carried his cross for me
and now inspires me to continue doing my part.
I kept encouraging my friend Amie in her battle with cancer,
amidst her many questions and musings about her life, her loves, her dreams. One
day, she realized the answer to all her questions:
it is not in rebelling against your situation,
not even in resigning yourself to your lot,
but it is in consenting to face/ confront the challenge or trial before you!
not rebellion... not resignation... but consent, Yes to Jesus!
it is not in rebelling against your situation,
not even in resigning yourself to your lot,
but it is in consenting to face/ confront the challenge or trial before you!
not rebellion... not resignation... but consent, Yes to Jesus!
It is in embracing the cross and carrying it that I can
conquer my pains, my fears, my problems and my doubts.
In the end, Amie said yes to her cross, and this brought her
at last to glory.
Face your cross; carry it with Jesus; and trust that he will
bring you to your dream.
