24th Sunday OT, Year B
Deacon Albert
St. John the Evangelist Cathedral
Have you heard of or seen the new, popular video titled “I’m a Christian, but I’m not…”? A few people explain how they are Christian but they tell us “I’m not like them… I’m like the world.” No mention of Christ, no mention of the Cross… “Get behind me Satan!” “You are not thinking as God does, but as human beings do.” So… how does God think? The Cross, the Cross, the Cross. It is the Cross for the sake of our salvation, for the resurrection, but the Cross nonetheless. Thinking with the Cross means thinking with a willingness to sacrifice everything else for the Truth – not an abstract list of ideas, but the Truth that is Christ himself, the Truth that God is real and that he designed us and all of creation to work in a certain way so that human beings can freely choose to love and glorify God. But, the simple fact is that human beings in every generation have consistently proven that they’d rather act like God than act for God. This is idolatry – we worship ourselves, or we worship our own ideas, or we worship other people and their ideas.
There is only one way to deal with a false god, an idol: you have to kill the false god, you have to destroy the idol. Our egos are in the way, so we simply need death to self. What a paradox – I want to serve God, but I am my own biggest obstacle. Death to self, great, but what in the world does that look like and how do I do it? Well, all my emphasis on death so far probably isn’t very enticing to most of you, but thank God that we don’t celebrate death for its own sake. No, there is a good reason that Jesus’ first prophecy of his own crucifixion comes only after Peter and the disciples recognize him as the Christ, the promised messiah and savior. The Cross is necessary because it reveals the true depths of who God is – the Cross is valuable because it flows from and goes back to a relationship with God, a relationship with Love Himself.
This is the first step to thinking as God does, to thinking with the Cross – get to know Jesus Christ because only faith and hope in Him can get you to start thinking with the Cross. When you get to know Jesus Christ in scripture, the sacraments, and the life of the Church, the next step – actually killing off your idols and turning away from sin – will start to become clear. Christ, through the Holy Spirit will convict you of what needs to change. James gives us a practical example: caring for those in need. I suggest cutting back on deserts, drinks, eating out, or even skipping a meal and using that extra time or money to help the homeless shelter here or to help with the refugee crisis in Europe.
A bigger example of carrying your cross is discovering your vocation – what God is asking you to do in service to Him and his people. Being a Christian doesn’t mean picking a job just because you like it or because Mom and Dad told you to – it means recognizing Christ and asking him “what do you want me to do with my life.” So, pray to know your vocation, pray for your children to seek their vocation in Christ. Marriage, Priesthood, Religious life, consecrated life – these are all different ways of carrying your Cross. More importantly, these are ways of following Christ. Two of them are also Sacraments – they are visible signs of an invisible reality. Marriage and Holy Orders are both called “Sacraments of Service” – they are not a private, personal thing. We usually see that in priesthood, but what about marriage?
When a couple gets married, their love is no longer private. Marriage is not just about two people committing to each other. As a sacrament, marriage makes God present to other people. Sacramentalmarriage = Jesus. In other words, getting married in the Church means that you are accepting a mission from God. That mission is to show God’s fidelity to his people. God will never turn his back on his people, even when they turn their backs on him. Because of this, Jesus Christ said no divorce, and we teach that same thing today. This is one of the many ways, but not the only way that marriage involves carrying your cross – it requires very real self-sacrifice to stay with someone your whole life.
But we can’t forget that this Cross has to be genuine – it has to be truly following Christ. This is where Pope Francis’ recent announcement on annulments is important. An annulment is not a divorce. It’s kind of like the review booth on a disputed touchdown in football. Sometimes, when two people go to get married, one of them holds something back or they completely misunderstand what marriage is. When that happens, it might mean that the sacrament of marriage didn’t actually happen. It’s very similar to mass: if a priest leaves out the bread or the wine – the Eucharist doesn’t happen. In a marriage, if one or both hold back something – they do not become Jesus, but remain two people who look like they are married.
When that happens, and we start to realize it later, then we need to take a closer look. We can’t forget that carrying our Cross means following Christ and we do not anyone to carry a false burden. An annulment is the practical process for when the couple asks the Church “Who do you say that [we are]?” Are we married? Are we a sign, a sacrament of Jesus or are we really two separate people in over our heads?
The Church is looking for Christ to help us follow him. At the end of the process, the Church discovers whether a sacramental marriage happened or not – either you’re free to find another way to commit yourself to God, or you have to live up to your vows a best as possible. Whatever the answer, the next step is to deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow him. Whatever that Cross looks like, you are not alone. Christ carries it with you and the more you share in his Cross, the more you share in His resurrection and even in a spiritual joy despite your suffering. If you or someone you know might need an annulment, please come to us so we can work together to seek the Truth, to seek Christ.
Whether it’s in a marriage or some other kind of life, you will end up carrying some burden, some form of suffering – you are going to lose your life eventually. You might as well put forth the effort to follow Christ, so that your suffering can redemptive, so your burden can be a burden of love and be carried with joy. If you’re going to lose your life anyway, you might as well lose it for something worthwhile, for the sake of Christ and his Gospel. The thoughts of men always end with death, but thinking like God? Now there, there is eternal life!