THE WORD
Dt 30,15-20 / Lk 9,22-25
Jesus said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What pro t is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”
IN OTHER WORDS
On one occasion, a rather outspoken young lady blurted out that she could not be a nun because of Jesus’ mandate: “…If you will be a follower of mine, deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me.” (v. 23). She said, “I love money and material things and I want to be my own boss.”
Obviously, she believed that following Christ or discipleship is only for priests and religious and not for lay people. She missed the rst part of v.23 –“Jesus said to all people…” Of course, her blatant declaration would make a vocation promoter hesitate to” waste time” on her.
This lady is only one of the many young people today who are immersed in materialism and consumerism; whose sanctuary are the malls, the internet cafes, the disco pubs. Sad to say, in the Philippines the majority of these young people are baptized Christians. Christian means follower of Christ. Unfortunately, as PCP II reports, most Filipinos are sacramentalized but not evangelized.
In today’s “easy life” facilitated by access to technology, people are no longer attuned to pain and suffering. Sacrifice, patience, perseverance, etc., sound alien and meaningless. So when faced with hardships, quit! When conflict is not resolved, get a divorce!
Something is missing –LOVE! Love nurtures patience, delity, commitment. LOVE is of God. GOD IS LOVE. CHRIST brings God’s love to us through his suffering, death and rising. The question is who is Christ for me?
- Sr. Angelita Roferos, SSpS | CHS, Manila
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
