Carrying a Cross by Carrying a Cup
In today’s Gospel, Christ speaks dangerously.
False messiahs, false prophets and religious cults lead their followers to destruction, suicide and murder by demanding loyalty as fierce as Christ demands in today’s Gospel.
Only God would have a right to call for such steadfast faith.
So, Christ is speaking as one who knows he is truly God, or he is lying blasphemously or he is insane.
We own that he is True God and True Man.
What he demands of us is no less than what he himself fulfilled and is still fulfilling.
He offers up all that he is in love and deed, in Spirit, flesh and blood.
He offers up all that he is for the glory of the Father and the good of the world.
Our following him can only require the same:
- to offer ourselves up, with all our mind, heart, soul and strength;
- to offer up our all in love and deed, in Spirit, flesh and blood;
- to offer up our all for the glory of the Father and the good of the world.
It is a high and noble ideal to live entirely for the glory of God and the good of the world.
How might we go about fulfilling it?
In today’s Gospel, Christ upholds that serving God’s glory and the good of the world can be as simple as giving a cool drink to the least of our neighbors.
If one does so little a thing while mindful of following Christ, then Christ says he will surely not lose his reward.
In the same way, we can and ought to give handouts to beggars.
We could also call for big changes that might make begging and beggars rare.
However, we must still give first aid.
When we see people get run over, we must give them first aid.
Afterwards, we could lobby for more traffic lights and lower speed limits as needed.
But FIRST aid always comes FIRST.
And giving beggars handouts is first aid.
So is— as Christ says in today’s Gospel— giving only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink.
Little deeds for God’s glory can count for following Christ and loving him more than loving one’s parent or child.
Yes, we must take up the cross of self-renunciation in big ways and with big ideas.
But we must also take up the cross in little things and in little ways, or else we might be famous for the big things, but have no integrity because we don’t follow through in the little things when no one is looking.
To take up one’s cross and follow Christ— to renounce all we have and are— even, as he says, to turn our backs on our dear ones— this could be holy ONLY if it came out of love that chose the glory of God and true good of everyone over and above all else.
In today’s second reading, the word of the Lord says: you too must think of yourselves as dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.
Here in his Eucharist, Christ is sacrificing his all and living for the heavenly Father in love and deed, in Spirit, flesh and blood— but under the mere seeming of food and drink.
In his Eucharist, Christ is not unlike the kind little deed he calls for in today’s Gospel: only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple.
In this, Christ simply and truly offers his all for the glory of the Father and the good of the world.
Unless we begin to do the same even in some small way, we can never begin to deserve the name of Christian.
Take … my Body … given up for you … my Blood … poured out for you and for many…. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.
Christ in his Eucharist calls and commands us to give up OUR bodies and pour out OUR blood for HIM and for MANY.
We take on that mission in having come here now to celebrate the sacred mystery of this new and eternal covenant.
Turn. Love. Repeat.
