Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.” He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.
He 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.”
Gospel Trivia:
The gospel mentions two titles of Jesus: "the Christ" and "Son of Man". I've discussed this in a previous blog and you can click here to learn more about it.
The phrase "take up his cross" is also mentioned by the evangelists Mark and Matthew. Today's gospel is by Luke and he adds one word not found in Mark and Matthew -- "daily."
For Luke, "taking up the cross" does not refer to martyrdom (as Mark and Matthew would mean it), but a daily dying to self; a lifestyle of self giving.
Note too that this pronouncement was addressed to all ("then he said to all") and not just to the apostles. This was also done after Jesus prayed in solitude, a dominant theme in Luke (where it is mentioned 9 times, much more often than in Mark and Matthew). This establishes the significance of Jesus' pronouncement of daily dying, and the link between it and prayer.
Reference:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Manila: St. Paul Publications, 1988), p. 337-338.
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