Lk 9:22-25
22 [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.”
23Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”
Deny self, take up cross, follow me. Deny self, take up cross, follow me. Often focused on Jesus’ suffering, we balk at the heaviness of denying ourselves, carrying our cross, losing ourselves, and following Jesus. No wonder, Christianity is sometimes seen as a religion of suffering and martyrdom.
While these elements are part of living our faith, I believe that the fight or crusade of Jesus is not about blindly accepting suffering. Jesus shows what evil man is capable of doing. People easily discredit those who fight for truth and freedom; they silence those who shout for the voiceless. Jesus tells us to be ready to face the obstacles that come our way in our fight for what is right and good.
Prophets, they say, do not live to see their dreams come true. In fact, a prophet fears the day when he will be crucified. But he believes in his heart that the day will surely come when his dreams will come true for his children. And he offers his life so that the day will come—even long after he is gone.
Son of Man. “Son of man” is used to designate a mortal human being like the prophet Ezekiel (Ez 33:1) or corporate Israel taken into God’s glory for its faithfulness (Dn 7:13). Jesus uses the title to refer to himself as the Messiah who will be rejected and be killed. But the title also refers to Jesus who will rise triumphant from the dead and who will one day return to judge the peoples of the earth. He will come upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Mt 24:30).