What does it mean to “take up our cross” as Jesus mentions in the gospel? Basically it means going from here to there . . . to make a move or make make a change.
Funny Story: It’s like the news report that I heard lately. A certain private Catholic school was faced with a unique problem. A number of 7th grade girls were finally allowed to wear lipstick and would put it on in the school’s restroom. But after they put on their lipstick, they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of lip prints.
All throughout the day, the maintenance man would have to clean the mirror; and this kept happening. Signs were put up to stop this behavior. Teachers told the girls to stop. But nothing was working. Finally, the principal, Sister Mary, decided that something had to be done. She called all the seventh Grade girls to the restroom room and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian, who had to clean the mirrors every night. You can just imagine the yawns from the little princesses.
To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, Sister Mary asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror. That stopped the problem!
If there is a difficulty, how do you change it? I need a couple of volunteers [Have them hold the ends of a long rope] Pretend that this rope is a bridge. With any situation in life, we are all on some part of this bridge. [Demonstrate] This is the side of yuck, of suffering, of pain. That other side is the side of ease, with no suffering, no pain.
When there is a problem some of us stay at this side of the bridge with statements like “What do I do? I am stuck here; there is no options for me.” And then there are some who want to leave the “yuck” side [Demonstrate walking halfway across “the bridge”] but then have second thoughts such as “Wait a minute for me to leave that painful situation, somethings need to change . . . and maybe others won’t like my decision. Maybe I am better off just stay on that side . . it is painful, but at least I know what to expect. I don’t know what to do.”
I call this the bridge of transformation. Let me repeat a line that I used last week in case some of you missed it. “It you do not transform your pain, you will always transmit it.”
Jesus’ entire journey told people two major things: that life could have a positive story line and
that God was far better than we ever thought.
Jesus did not just give talk about the bridge of transformation, he lived it. He tells the disciples in the gospel that he will have to suffer and be killed. He faces his path, moves on it (even while not getting a lot of support, especially from Peter) and Jesus says (as we just heard in the gospel), “Follow me.”
You see, we can stay on the side (of the bridge) of resentment and pain and grief and loneliness. Our wounds are not necessary to convince God that we were lovable; the wounds are to convince us of the path and the price of transformation.
Notice that Jesus does not say, “Well just hang on your cross and suffer.” Instead, he invites us to take up the cross and start moving . . . i.e. to make some changes, be proactive, do not just wallow in self-pity with a “poor me” victim attitude. Psychiatrist and author Scott Peck (most known for his famous book, The Road Less Traveled) writes, “Problems are the cutting edge between success and failure. Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and our wisdom.”
Christ’s wounded body on the cross an icon for our wounds, our sufferings and our sins.
Christ’s resurrected body is an icon of God’s response to our wounds, sufferings and sins.
The two images contain the whole message of the Christ mystery. Yes, there is pain . . . but there is also hope and goodness.
In the second reading, St. Paul says, “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” There is a quote attributed to the great Albert Einstein it says, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results.”
Here’s a challenge for you. Think of a problem (or a wound or a suffering) that you are currently facing. Now picture an actual bridge (big or small; wood or steel . . . it doesn’t matter). Picture where you are on the bridge. Now sometime today (in your prayer time) talk over with God “What is the next step for me on this crossing, this changing, this transformation?” And remember, picking up the cross is not how someone else needing to change . . . it does not mean, “Gee, he needs to stop doing this. Or she needs to change that.” No, it’s about how you need to change!
We can't be afraid of change. We may feel very secure on this side of the bridge, but if we never venture out of it, we will never know about the wonderful things on that side. We have the invitation to take up our cross and to trust that God has some wonderful things in store for us.
As Jesus said, “Whoever loses their life (to make changes, become better, etc.) for my sake with find it.”