Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16:24

JOURNEY TO THE CROSS – Series

The weeks leading to Easter are known as the season of Lent. Lent culminates in the Cross, the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. The Cross leads to the victory of the Resurrection. It is no exaggeration that the cross is at the heart of the Bible, at the heart of the Christian faith. And all who would follow Jesus are asked to take up our cross.

This is a hard thing to ask of anyone. Jesus himself agonized before he accepted the Cross. The Cross means suffering, loss of meaning, and eventually death, and the darkness of the tomb. Why would Jesus ask us to take up our cross? Because the cross is the only way to follow Jesus. Jesus is the way (John 14: 6), and the cross is his way.

On the cross we see the face of Jesus our saviour. Jesus does not save us with a show of his divine power, through his anointed teaching or through the power of his miracles. The pure sacrifice of Jesus on the cross rectifies the fall of man, as nothing else could. On the cross the heart of God our Father is revealed: he loves us so to the point of giving up his beloved Son. And we can also say that the unity of the Holy Spirit with the Crucified One also manifests when Jesus cries out, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46)

Over the next few weeks we will accompany Jesus on his journey to the Cross. Along the way we will attend to the inspired words of Paul, who will illuminate many of the facets of the Cross: wisdom, mercy, humanity, humility, and victory. These are really qualities of Jesus, seen at their greatest depth at this supreme moment. Let us contemplate the mystery of the Cross in our hearts, so that the Spirit of God will transform us more and more into the image of his Son, “to maturity, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13)