Take up your cross.

Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
http://www.usccb.org/nab/021706.shtml

Reflection:

Friday, St. James continues to expand and refine the Justification theme he began two days ago. This time he does not mince words and this is a big reason Martin Luther rejected St. James way back in the day. What he says makes sense to me and is in keeping with Catholic teaching:

"So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead."

It is clear as a bell and that brings us to the Psalm reminding us that in following God's law, we find peace and happiness. And this leads us right into the Gospel from Mark.

Jesus gives us his famous instruction: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me." Jesus may have been using a metaphor here since this took place before His execution by crucifixion. But the meaning is clear. If we wish to be his disciples, we must follow his example. His example was one of love for others (always – St. James calls this faith made real through actions) and first and foremost His love of God the Father.

At a very practical level Jesus tells us that the road to discipleship is difficult. It means we don't follow the secular crowd and by not following that crowd we risk exclusion and ridicule. It means we don't necessarily do what's best for ourselves, we turn the other cheek, we give of ourselves to others. We follow the "Great Commandment" to love our brothers and sisters (even our enemies) as we love ourselves. All this we do giving glory to God. Wow, that is super tough and we take that on joyfully.

Pax


I am going to give the Bible scholars out there a treat today and include the back up research from the Jerome Biblical Commentary. Since I could not find it on line and, to the best of my knowledge it does not come on a searchable CD (that would be a great idea), I have scanned in the appropriate passage and included it below. Although I generally look at this reference as part of my reflective process, I don't normally scan it. (To be honest, I did it this time because my eyes were tired and it was easier to read on the screen. The book font is, like, 8 point). If the readers find it helpful, give me a comment and I can make it a regular feature of this Journal.
Friday, St.
Gospel
Mk 8:34–9:1

Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the Gospel will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
What could one give in exchange for his life?
Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words
in this faithless and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of
when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

He also said to them,
"Amen, I say to you,
there are some standing here who will not taste death
until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power."

Jerome Biblical Commentary
Edward J. Mally S.J.

54 (iii) Instructions on discipleship (8 :34-9 :1). Here Mark topically arranges a series of isolated sayings of Jesus on commitment. 34. come after me [opisô mou]: Jesus has just told Peter to "get behind me" (opisô mou); this is the catchword bond that links this series to the preceding. His words are now directed to "the crowd with his disciples" and concern true commitment to himself. let him deny himself: These words reiterate the original thought of Jesus' saying; it is a question of staking one's whole life for the eschatological good now within reach. let him take up his cross: To the Christian reader Christ's cross is a symbol of the redemptive suffering, which all his followers must bear. It is doubtful; however, that here Jesus had his own crucifixion. in mind, and outside Christian literature the Roman form of capital punishment was not an image of suffering. The anointing or marking of a person with a cross (+ or X, the ancient form of the Hebr letter tau) was, however, practiced among Jews as a sign of repentance and of "branding" one as God's possession (Ez 9 :4-6; Pss Sol 15 :6-9). It was often connected with penitential and baptismal rites and is at the basis of the NT theme of the' baptismal seal(2Corr:21-22; GaI6:17; Ephl:13; 4:30; Ap3:12; 7:2-8; 9:4; 14:1). Jesus' saying may originally have run, "Whoever does not put on [mark himself with] his + [i.e., does not repent and dedicate himself wholly to God] cannot be my disciple" (Lk 14:27).

(Dinkier, E., "Jesu Wort yom Kreuztragen," Neutestamentliche Studien fur R. Bu/tmann [BZNW 21; Berlin, 1954] uo-29. Fridrichsen, A., "Sich selbst verleugnen," CoftNeot 2 [1936]
1-8.)
35. to save himself: Lit., "to save his psyche," a word that in the LXX translates the Hebr nepes (breath, life principle, hence "living being," "self" [Gn 2 :7]). Jesus'
words mean that there is an eschatological 'phase of
human existence and that no sacrifice is too great to attain it. whoever destroys himself for me and the Gospel will save himself: Mark's expansion of "for me" by "and [for] the Gospel" is tantamount to saying that Christ is somehow present in and identified with the proclamation of the good news (cf. 1:1; 10:29; 13 :9-U), and betokens a time when the Church was undergoing persecution for the Gospel. 38. in this adulterous and sinful generation: See comment on 8 :12. In the OT, infidelity to God was often called adultery (Jer 3:3; Hos 2 :2). the Son of Man will be ashamed of him: Jesus 'demands an allegiance that severs his disciples from "this generation" and is the condition of salvation. The early Church seems to have taken what was originally a saying on eschatological retribution (cf. Lk 12:8; Mt 10:32) and transformed it into a prediction of the parousia by adding "when he comes in the glory of his Father with his holy angels." 9:1. there are some who will not taste death: An analogous eschatological theme-the coming of God's kingdom in power-has attracted this isolated saying to that of 8 :38. It is a prediction of the "certain and imminent establishment of God's rule on earth-the Church-by God's power" (J. Huby, Marc, 54). It has also been interpreted as an ironic reprimand addressed to those still unwilling to undertake the arduous program of discipleship sketched in 8 :34-38: even among my disciples there are those who simply will not take any risk unless they have incontestable evidence that God's kingdom is breaking in upon them (E. Trocme, SE 2, 259-65). .65). .