SPEAKER_00: There are moments in the gospel when Jesus says something so shocking that if we're honest, we almost wish he had said it differently.
SPEAKER_00: Today's one of those moments.
SPEAKER_00: Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
SPEAKER_00: Then he goes even further.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
SPEAKER_00: If Jesus were trying to attract followers, this seems like a terrible recruitment strategy.
SPEAKER_00: Doesn't promise comfort, doesn't promise success, he doesn't promise that life will become easier, he promises a cross.
SPEAKER_00: Because Jesus is teaching us one of the greatest spiritual truths we will ever learn.
SPEAKER_00: There are only two ways to live.
SPEAKER_00: The first is to make ourselves a center of our lives, or the second is to make Christ the center.
SPEAKER_00: Everything else flows from that choice.
SPEAKER_00: The world is very good about telling us that happiness comes from putting ourselves first.
SPEAKER_00: Watch out for number one.
SPEAKER_00: We hear it constantly, it's all over the place.
SPEAKER_00: Follow your heart, do what makes you happy.
SPEAKER_00: You get decide, you get to choose what's best for you.
SPEAKER_00: Protect your peace, live your truth.
SPEAKER_00: The problem is not that these phrases are always false.
SPEAKER_00: The problem is that they subtly teach us that life revolves around me.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus proposes something completely different.
SPEAKER_00: He says that life is found not by grasping but by giving, not by demanding but by serving, not by protecting ourselves at all costs, but by loving even when it costs us something.
SPEAKER_00: Think about every authentic form of love.
SPEAKER_00: A mother will lose sleep for her newborn.
SPEAKER_00: Father will work long hours so his family can flourish.
SPEAKER_00: Husband sacrifices his own desires for his wife.
SPEAKER_00: A wife forgives when forgiveness is difficult.
SPEAKER_00: A priest gives his entire life to become a spiritual father.
SPEAKER_00: None of those sacrifices make life smaller.
SPEAKER_00: They make love greater.
SPEAKER_00: That's why Jesus says we must deny ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: Notice he does not say we must deny our dignity.
SPEAKER_00: He does not say we must deny our personality, and he certainly does not say we should hate ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: To deny ourselves means refusing to let our ego become king.
SPEAKER_00: It means saying, Lord, your will before mine.
SPEAKER_00: And that's exactly what Jesus Himself prayed in Gethsemane.
SPEAKER_00: Not my will, but your will be done.
SPEAKER_00: If the Son of God walked the road of surrender, why would we imagine there's another road for his disciples?
SPEAKER_00: Then Jesus tells us to take up our cross.
SPEAKER_00: Many people misunderstand this.
SPEAKER_00: A cross is not simply some inconvenience.
SPEAKER_00: Waiting in a traffic is not a cross, standing in long line is not a cross.
SPEAKER_00: A cross is that part of your life which God permits that requires to love when loving is difficult.
SPEAKER_00: It may be an illness, it may be a broken relationship, it may be a difficult marriage, it may be the loss of a loved one, an adult child who has wandered from the faith.
SPEAKER_00: The hidden sacrifices no one else sees.
SPEAKER_00: Those are the places where Christ meets us most profoundly.
SPEAKER_00: The cross is not God's punishment, it is God's classroom.
SPEAKER_00: It is where he teaches us to love like his son.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if we turn to the first reading, it helps us understand why this matters.
SPEAKER_00: Nineveh, one of the most powerful cities in the ancient world, it appeared invincible, its armies were feared, its wealth was immense, its enemies thought it would stand forever.
SPEAKER_00: Yet the prophet Naum announces its destruction.
SPEAKER_00: Its power disappears, its glory fades, its riches cannot be saved.
SPEAKER_00: History has proven this again and again.
SPEAKER_00: Every empire eventually falls, every kingdom passes away, every earthly success has an expiration date.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus asks the obvious question.
SPEAKER_00: What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?
SPEAKER_00: That question deserves to echo in our hearts.
SPEAKER_00: What good is it to be successful in a wonderful career if I neglect my family?
SPEAKER_00: What good is wealth if I become spiritually bankrupt?
SPEAKER_00: What good is popularity if I lose my integrity?
SPEAKER_00: What good is it gaining everything this world offers if I arrive before God with empty hands?
SPEAKER_00: The saints understood something we often forget.
SPEAKER_00: The purpose of life is not to accumulate possessions, it's to become saints, it's to get to heaven.
SPEAKER_00: At the end of our lives, Jesus will not ask how many people followed us on social media.
SPEAKER_00: He will not ask how impressive our resumes was.
SPEAKER_00: He will ask whether we learned to love, whether we forgave, whether we served his people, whether we carried our cross with him.
SPEAKER_00: Every morning we wake up with the same decision.
SPEAKER_00: Will I spend this day asking, What do I want?
SPEAKER_00: Or will I ask, Lord, what do you want from me today?
SPEAKER_00: That single decision changes everything.
SPEAKER_00: The paradox of Christianity is that when we cling tightly to ourselves, our lives become smaller and smaller.
SPEAKER_00: But when we place our lives into the hands of Christ, we discover a freedom the world can never give.
SPEAKER_00: The cross always looks like a loss on Friday.
SPEAKER_00: But by Sunday morning, we discover it was the doorway to life, to freedom.
SPEAKER_00: The same is true for every disciple who chooses to follow Christ, and that is his will for us.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.