Matthew 16:21-27
‘If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.’
There’s a scene in the Nun’s Story which is etched in my memory. Sr Luke, a young sister in First Vows, is asked by her Reverend Mother to intentionally fail her medical exams in order to show humility. She can’t do it and suffers the consequences when she is sent to work in a mental hospital rather than the Congo. Sadly this model of Religious Life was fairly prevalent. Those who study religious life refer to it as the Control Model. The structures were such that they could be used to break a person’s will. But is this what our Gospel text is asking today?
In all honesty I don’t think this is what Jesus or Matthew are intending to say. Matthew writes for a community who have already experienced persecution. When Matthew records Jesus’ words the hearers are invited to see their own sufferings as part of the dynamic of death and resurrection which Jesus experienced. Ultimately it is about where they place their focus. To ‘lose your life’ is not to obliterate your person, but rather to find in Christ’s death and resurrection the true meaning of your life. Largely we don’t need to go looking for penances or ways to make our crosses heavy. As our lives unfold there will be many circumstances which bring us suffering. The invitation to us all is to hold fast and to set our hearts on the tiniest glimmers of resurrection.
St Benedict makes no explicit mention of the cross in his Rule. However, the Rule is thoroughly Christocentric and in its pages you’ll find invitation after invitation to live out that self-emptying love (kenosis) which lead Jesus to the cross.
How can you choose self-emptying love this week?