A man found a cocoon and took it home to watch it change and become a butterfly.  One day a small opening appeared, and for several hours the moth struggled but couldn't seem to force its body out.  The man thought something was wrong and so he took scissors and cut open the cocoon so that the butterfly could come out easily.  However, when the butterfly came out, its body was large and swollen while the wings small and shriveled. He expected that in a few hours the wings would spread out in their natural beauty, but they did not. Instead of being free to fly, the butterfly spent its life dragging around a big body and small wings.  The cocoon and the struggle to pass through the tiny opening are God's way of forcing fluid from the body into the wings to make the wings strong. Sometimes the easy way is not always the right way.  Sometimes the struggle is exactly what we need.

The gospel today tells us what type of person Jesus is.  Jesus himself said, “The Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day”.  Jesus must suffer, rejected and put to death.  He did not choose the easy way.  He could have chosen an easier way to save us from our sins, but the only way that he chose is the way of the cross.       

When Jesus was born, he could have chosen to be born in the palace because he is King of kings and Lord of lords…but he chose to be born in a manger.  He could have lived an easy life surrounded with comfort, wealth and riches, but he lived a simple life in Nazareth as a carpenter and grew up being familiar the struggles of life.  Someone once said, “Jesus walked where I walk.  He stood where I stand.  He felt what I feel.  He understands”.  But the way of the cross does not lead to death but to life because even though Jesus must suffer, rejected and put to death, but he must also be raised up on the third day.  By his resurrection, he is victorious over suffering and death.  Suffering and death have no more power over him.         

The gospel today also tells us who a disciple of Jesus is.  Jesus himself said, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross everyday and follow me”. 

1.      The first thing that a disciple of Jesus has to do is to RENOUNCE HIMSELF.  The root of sin is self, that is, putting ourselves no.1 in our lives over God and other people in our lives.  Self always thinks about satisfying one’s needs without any consideration for the needs of others.  “I” always comes first.  The first step in becoming a disciple of Christ is to renounce the ‘self’, that is, to take the “I” down from the throne of our hearts and make Jesus the center of our lives by living our lives in Christ.  St. Paul reminds us in the second reading that the center of our lives is Christ.  In just 4 verses, he mentions the word, “Christ” 5 times.   

-          Faith in Christ

-          Baptized in Christ

-          Clothed in Christ

-          One in Christ

-          Belonging to Christ. 

2.      The second thing that a disciple of Jesus has to do is to TAKE UP HIS CROSS EVERYDAY.  The way that leads to life is through the cross.  In his life and service, John Paul II showed the world that suffering in obedience to God’s will is the center of our Christian life.  Even in the last days of his life, he continued to proclaim the message of the cross by accepting suffering as a witness to the gospel of Christ to the world.  He always say, “Be not afraid”.  We cannot be true disciples of Jesus unless we are willing to suffer for him and his message. 

3.      The third thing that a disciple of Jesus has to do it to FOLLOW HIM.  This is the most important thing to do because we can renounce ourselves and we can suffer but if we do not follow Jesus, then all the renouncing and suffering will not do us any good.  To follow Jesus means to let him be in front of us and we at the back, like the shepherd to leads his flock.  Jesus says, “The sheep that belongs to me listens to my voice.  I know them and they follow me”.  In order for us to follow Jesus, we need to constantly listen to his voice and develop a personal relationship with him through prayer and faithfully reading his word every day.  Being a Christian is more than just church membership.  The goal and purpose of every Christian is to become a disciple of Christ.   

That is why Jesus says at the end of today’s gospel, “For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will save it”. 

In other words…

If we have Christ,

we have everything. 

If we do not have Christ,

we have nothing.