One size does NOT fit all!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The Glorious Mysteries
Romans 13:8-10
Psalm 112:1b-2, 4-5, 9
Luke 14:25-33

I must admit sometimes there are verses in Holy Scripture that make me so on edge that I don't want to read on for even one more word. Yet, I just can't slam The Book closed and say, "This isn't doing anything for me," and go do something else, like surf the web. The Bible is, after all, the Word of God.

So, what do I do?

I go to God as I am, with all my questions, misgivings and emotions, and ask His help. After all, it's His Word; Who is better to help than the Author of it all?

So I move on and what do I find, just one verse away?

The words of God I need to hear and think about right now—but I wouldn't have thrown my arms around them like a drowning man unless I had been moved by my love of God to read beyond words like: "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters. . . " ( Luke 14:26)

Here they are, the words I need for right now. "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." (see Luke 14:27)

Did Jesus really mean we should hate our parents, in contradiction with the laws of Moses? Did Jesus really mean that we should hate our lives, while He loved every life he encountered? Perhaps, but the message is much deeper than this. Jesus wanted His followers to realize that the reward–the pearl of great price–was of such value that we must be willing to sacrifice all for it. He also wants His followers to realize that their lives are in constant need of change and conversion and we should hate our sinful selves and strive for holiness. Finally, He knows that material belongings can quickly become idols, drawing our attention away from Him.

The demands are great, but so is the ending. Jesus was very up front in saying that following Him was not easy, but nothing that is worth having is gained without sacrifice.

This passage may contain some of the most difficult words that Jesus shared with us. Hating father and mother, carrying crosses, renouncing possessions--what does it all mean, what sense can we make of it? There is such richness here it's impossible to encompass it all, but what I hear almost every time I go back is "whoever does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." And I am always encouraged to remember that crosses are not "one size fits all."

Sometimes we look at others and wonder, "Why is it so easy for them? What cross are they carrying?" It does us well to remember that what is a cross for one may not be a cross for another. Crosses are not one-size-fits-all. They are individually tailored to the person we are, and they are excruciating (literally) precisely because they are designed to straighten out what we have made crooked--they are designed to rectify what we have corrupted through our poor choices. Sometimes they are to help others bear their own burdens because we all participate in the economy of salvation--what another cannot carry, we help to bear so that we all advance together.

We must always bear in mind that, like Simon of Cyrene, we do bear the cross, but we bear it for the One who takes away all sin, the One who makes the crooked straight and the lame walk. Jesus doesn't say we need to be nailed to it in the way He was. Rather, He tells us that our job, like that of Simon, is to bear part of the burden for all of humanity. We carry our crosses, but ultimately it was and is Jesus who is nailed to it. We bring the burden of sin--He takes it all away.

Don't give up on God; He won't give up on you. Don't slam closed The Book. It is the Word of Eternal Life.

Owe nothing to anyone except love . . .

Another of the great passages from Paul's letter. Love is the fulfillment of the law. It is the fulfillment in a great many intricate ways. Jesus said, I come not to do away with the law but to fulfill it. And what is Jesus but incarnate Love?

Love does no harm. It wishes no ill. It does not flatter or puff itself up. Love is selfless and love is joining with incarnate love in the desire for the salvation of the entire world.

Love cannot be outdone or undone. Love speaks to us in our hearts and tells us what we should do. Love serves all and rejoices when there are more to serve. Love is Jesus Christ entering for a moment into our lives. Jesus Christ is Love incarnate, redeeming, protecting, and calling all to salvation.

Love is the fulfillment of the law and the first duty of all Christians. So let the world know we are Christians by the love we display each day. Let love be our evangelization.