Take Up Your Cross

In my Good Friday tradition, I am starting my day with scripture. Yesterday at the Holy Thursday Mass of the Last Supper, we heard from the Gospel of John. Today, I'm reading the Gospel of Luke, in particular the Passion Narrative. Here's what has struck me this morning: 

As they led him away they took hold of a certain Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country; and after laying the cross on him, they made him carry it behind Jesus.   (Lk 23:26)

I realized after meditating on this passage that for most of my life, whenever I heard the phrase "take up your cross," it evoked an image of me dragging the impossibly heavy burdens of life around the world on my own, with Jesus far off on a hilltop, looking down and giving me the thumbs up sign. I know, that's ridiculous. 

But really, in a culture that emphasizes individualism and self-reliance, it's not too surprising that this is how many of us think of "taking up our crosses."  Like we have to muscle it ourselves and hope God is noticing. That recalls a line from Jesus Christ Superstar (Simon Zealotes): "Christ, you know I love you; did you see, I waved? I believe in you and God, so tell me that I'm saved." There's a very human desperation in all of this.

But what results from this self-reliance in suffering? Substance abuse, isolation, workaholism, depression, addictions to sex, food, exercise, escapism, and abuse of others in our lives. 

Jesus wants us to make an act of will so that we choose to engage our suffering. But he doesn't want us to try to go it alone. He wants us to share that burden with Him, or rather, in a sense, we are sharing His burden. It becomes OUR burden, and He lightens the load by a) giving meaning to our suffering (for the salvation of souls), and b) accompanying us with His love, drawing us into deeper relationship with Him. 

The supernatural grace with which He infuses us will transform us (not just "cover" us). In this way, He uses the suffering we experience to divinize us, to make us more like Him - if we let Him. This is not the old pious saying that "suffering is good for the soul," a vacuous comment that is neither compassionate nor true. This is God taking the sting out of death.

Death's sting is removed because we enter into eternal life with Jesus when we enter into his Passion and carry our crosses with Him. Our loads will be lightened because we share them with the Saviour; we ourselves will be resurrected in spirit when we die and in body on the last day - this He has promised us. But to begin with, we must share the burdens of life with Him, inviting Him into deep communion - or rather, responding to His invitation to deep communion. In this way, we share in the Pascal Mystery.