The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to embrace the fullness of life that is revealed in our humble acts of loving self denial.
The reading from the Book of Deuteronomy declares the Lord is God and praises God’s Fidelity and Love.
Psalm 77 recalls God’s Mighty Deeds.
* [Psalm 77] A community lament in which the speaker (“I”) describes the anguish of Israel at God’s silence when its very existence is at stake (Ps 77:2–11). In response the speaker recites the story of how God brought the people into existence (Ps 77:12–20). The question is thus posed to God: Will you allow the people you created to be destroyed? (Psalms, PSALM 77, n.d.)
The Gospel of Matthew presents the Cross and Self-Denial.
* [16:24–28] A readiness to follow Jesus even to giving up one’s life for him is the condition for true discipleship; this will be repaid by him at the final judgment.
* [16:24] Deny himself: to deny someone is to disown him (see Mt 10:33; 26:34–35) and to deny oneself is to disown oneself as the center of one’s existence.
* [16:25] See notes on Mt 10:38, 39.
* [16:27] The parousia and final judgment are described in Mt 25:31 in terms almost identical with these.
* [16:28] Coming in his kingdom: since the kingdom of the Son of Man has been described as “the world” and Jesus’ sovereignty precedes his final coming in glory (Mt 13:38, 41), the coming in this verse is not the parousia as in the preceding but the manifestation of Jesus’ rule after his resurrection; see notes on Mt 13:38, 41. (Matthew, CHAPTER 16, n.d.)
Tamora Whitney comments that Jesus tells his followers that they actually need to follow him. They need to follow his example, even when it isn’t easy, and it isn’t easy. Being selfish, only thinking of oneself isn’t the right way to go, it’s actually the opposite of the right way.
The things of this world are not truly valuable. The person who is only interested in material gain and monetary profits will not profit in the bigger sense. The things of this world are temporary. Material success is temporary. It’s more important to do the right thing and gain an eternal success. Losing one’s soul is not a good trade-off for gaining the world. (Whitney, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “Walk as Christ has walked,” by Caesarius of Arles (470-543 AD).
"When the Lord tells us in the Gospel that anyone who wants to be his follower must renounce himself, the injunction seems harsh; we think he is imposing a burden on us. But an order is no burden when it is given by one who helps in carrying it out. To what place are we to follow Christ if not where he has already gone? We know that he has risen and ascended into heaven; there, then, we must follow him. There is no cause for despair - by ourselves we can do nothing, but we have Christ's promise... One who claims to abide in Christ ought to walk as he walked. Would you follow Christ? Then be humble as he was humble. Do not scorn his lowliness if you want to reach his exaltation. Human sin made the road rough. Christ's resurrection leveled it. By passing over it himself, he transformed the narrowest of tracks into a royal highway. Two feet are needed to run along this highway; they are humility and charity. Everyone wants to get to the top - well, the first step to take is humility. Why take strides that are too big for you - do you want to fall instead of going up? Begin with the first step, humility, and you will already be climbing." (excerpt from SERMONS 159, 1.4-6) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 16:24-28 comments that Jesus promised, “Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25). So what are those little losses that can help us “find” more abundant life in Christ?
What is God asking you to “lose” today? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see where an instance of self-denial will draw you closer to him or better reflect his love to the world. If it seems too simple, do it anyway. It might just be another step in “finding” your life in him.
“Jesus, help me to take up my cross and follow you in all things.” (Meditation on Matthew 16:24-28, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that the Deuteronomist author tends to write history as it should have happened. We are urged to live in the Commandments. Friar Jude discusses three parts of the text from Matthew including the time of the Establishment of the Kingdom.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Buddhist meditation teacher and author Tara Brach describes our true nature as “loving awareness”: She tells how the false self is developed and sustained, even as the True Self is indestructible:
Adding layer after layer to protect ourselves, we become identified with our coverings, believing ourselves to be separate, threatened, and deficient. Yet even when we cannot see the gold, the light and love of our true nature cannot be dimmed, tarnished, or erased. It calls to us daily through our longing for connection, our urge to understand reality, our delight in beauty, our natural desire to help others. Our deepest intuition is that there is something beyond our habitual story of a separate and isolated self: something vast, mysterious, and sacred….
Even though the gold of your true nature can get buried beneath fear, uncertainty, and confusion, the more you trust this loving presence as the truth of who you are, the more fully you will call it forth in yourself and in all those you touch. And in our communities, as we humans increasingly remember that gold, we’ll treat each other and all beings with a growing reverence and love. (Rohr, 2023)
When we take up our cross daily we need to attend to the prompting of the Spirit that presents the truth about our goodness that becomes apparent in self denial.
References
Deuteronomy, CHAPTER 4. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 11, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/deuteronomy/4?32
Matthew, CHAPTER 16. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 11, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/16?24
Meditation on Matthew 16:24-28. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 11, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/08/11/756113/
Psalms, PSALM 77. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 11, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/77?12
Rohr, R. (2023, August 11). The Hidden Gold — Center for Action and Contemplation. CAC Daily Meditations 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-hidden-gold-2023-08-11/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Whoever Loses His Life for My Sake Will Find It. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 11, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=aug11
Whitney, T. (2023, August 11). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved August 11, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/081123.html
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