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Commentary on the Gospel of Friday, August 9, 2024
Follow me…
Peter professed his faith in Jesus as the Messiah, but when he heard his Master speaking of suffering and death, he wanted to dissuade Jesus from going ahead with the possibility. Jesus performed an exorcism on Peter, saying: “Get behind me, Satan!”
After this incident, Jesus elaborates on the requirements for following him. He presents three specific expectations for anyone who decides to follow him: «Renounce yourself, carry your cross, and follow me.»
Denying yourself means stopping to think about yourself. It involves going against the usual principles that guide interpersonal interactions. The disciple of Christ is called to give up any personal ambitions. Even our good works or acts of charity shall not be to accumulate merits in heaven. Jesus calls us to love freely, in pure loss, as does the Father.
The second command: «Carry your cross,» does not suggest enduring life’s challenges and difficulties, whether they are significant or minor. The cross does not signify suffering in order to appease God. Instead, it represents love and utter selflessness. To bear your cross means to walk in the footsteps of Jesus: loving unconditionally, doing good, and bringing joy to others.
The third imperative, “follow me,” means to share the choices of Jesus, take part in his project and to bet your life on love. We permit the cross displayed on the wall in our homes or the cross we wear as a symbol of our desire to be connected with Christ while lovingly caring for our fellow human beings, particularly the most vulnerable and smallest among us.
As a result, if we want to be his disciples, we are called to imitate him, expending our life without any reservations, out of love of God and neighbour.