“Whoever does not carry his/her cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”
Today’s Gospel reading is a concluding passage on Jesus’ ‘Discourse on Mission’ (Mt 9:35 – 10:42). As a conclusion, Jesus presents two parallel thoughts on discipleship.
The first one is a radical commitment to Him and to His mission.
The second is to those who cannot fully commit to the mission. They are invited to support the mission of Christ through their generosity and sharing.
Without any exemption, every disciple of Christ has a duty for the mission which, Jesus presents in unequivocal terms in the Gospel.
“Whoever does not carry his/her cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” These words of Jesus had totally different bearing on the listener in Jesus’ time. Present day, we have a great reverence to the cross. We have been conditioned to use it as a symbol of our faith and salvation. In Jesus’ time, people shuddered when they heard the word ‘Cross’. Crucifixion was a form of execution, mercilessly implemented by the Roman authorities for slaves and political rebels. To create fear in people, crucifixions took place just outside the city on an elevated place where the crucified would be visible to all, after being paraded through the city streets amidst public booing and mockery. The corpses were left on the crosses for days and many a time became food for vultures. The suffering that a crucifixion created was both physical and psychological, and the public disgrace it induced made the word ‘cross’ a most abhorred term.
Jesus is making it clear to His followers that the cost of Discipleship is enormous. It is as huge as carrying the cross. Of course, his disciples will have His example – He will embrace that Cross and fulfill His mission. Discipleship and the proclamation of God’s Kingdom are much greater than life and death. The true joy of finding the Kingdom is embedded in ‘losing oneself’.
‘Losing oneself’ in Christ is a particularly important aspect of discipleship. It creates priorities in life. A disciple should not be dissuaded by any form of family bonds. If a family bond is stronger than the call to discipleship and mission, then as Jesus says, he/she is “not worthy” of Him. Evangelist Matthew, here, gives us a glimpse of the early church condition. Conversion to Christianity divided families into many fractions. Matthew reminds the followers that it is in losing even the family bonds and affections, that we will find Jesus.
Matthew drives home the value of the mission of/for Christ. Even though the cost of discipleship is huge, the reward for supporting the mission is also huge. Jesus promises the prophets reward and righteous reward. Giving a cup of cold water is very inexpensive yet, an essential provision in the hot climate of the Palestinian – Middle Eastern desert. This small gesture of kindness given to the disciple of Christ because he/she is the ‘little one’ of Christ is enough to attract God’s rewards.
–Fr. Ranjan D’Sa OCD