22nd Sunday
Jeremiah 20:7–9; Romans 12:1–2; Matthew 16:21–27
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Today’s Gospel presents one of the most challenging teachings of Jesus:
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” — Matthew 16:24
These words are beautiful, but they are not easy.
Jesus does not promise His disciples a life without suffering. Instead, He teaches us how to live faithfully when suffering, sacrifice, and difficult choices become part of our journey.
The same message appears throughout Scripture. The prophet Jeremiah experiences the cost of being faithful to God. St. Paul tells the Christians in Rome:
“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” — Romans 12:1
And Jesus tells us that discipleship requires self-denial, sacrifice, and following Him.
1. Let me begin with a very ordinary story.
A husband and wife had a serious argument. Both believed they were right. Both were hurt. Both were waiting for the other person to make the first move.
The husband spent the whole evening thinking:
“Why should I apologize? She was wrong.”
His pride kept telling him: “Don’t give in. Make her come to you.”
But after some time, he went to his wife and said: “I am sorry.”
She looked at him and asked: “But do you really think you were wrong?”
He replied: “Maybe not completely. But I don’t want to win an argument and lose my wife.”
Brothers and sisters, that is a small but beautiful example of denying oneself.
He did not deny his dignity. He denied his ego.
He did not say, “I have no value.”
He said: “My relationship is more valuable than my pride.”
The Bible repeatedly warns us against allowing pride to control our lives.
The Book of Proverbs says: “Pride goes before destruction”— Proverbs 16:18
And St. Paul tells us: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves” — Philippians 2:3
Jesus Himself gives us the perfect example. Though He was divine, He humbled Himself and became obedient, even to death on a cross:
“He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.”
— Philippians 2:8
Therefore, Christian self-denial is not self-hatred. It is putting God and love before our ego.
Sometimes the self we have to deny is our pride.
Sometimes it is our anger.
Sometimes it is our desire to have the last word.
Sometimes it is our unwillingness to forgive.
Sometimes it is our need to prove that we are right.
And sometimes our greatest cross is simply saying: “I am sorry.”
2. From “My Will” to “God’s Will”
We must be very clear about one thing.
Jesus is not saying:
“Do not love yourself.”
He is not saying: “You are worthless.”
He is not saying: “You should allow people to abuse you.”
Christian self-denial means: I do not allow my selfish desires, pride, and ego to become the center of my life.
It means moving from: “What do I want?” to: “What does God want?”
That is Christian self-denial.
St. Paul gives us a beautiful biblical foundation for this transformation:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God” — Romans 12:2
Christian discipleship is therefore a movement from self-centeredness to God-centeredness.
3. “Take Up Your Cross”
Then Jesus says: “Take up your cross and follow me” — Matthew 16:24
Notice that Jesus does not say: “Take up someone else’s cross.”
He says: “Your cross.”
Each person has a different cross.
For one person, it may be caring for an elderly parent.
For another, it may be patiently raising a difficult child.
For another, it may be forgiving someone who caused deep hurt.
For another, it may be remaining faithful in marriage.
For another, it may be accepting an illness or limitation.
For another, it may be working honestly despite financial difficulties.
For another, it may be serving the Church without recognition.
For another, it may simply be continuing to pray when God seems silent.
St. Paul reminds us: “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” — Galatians 6:2
This is important. Christianity does not mean that we carry our crosses alone. We carry our own responsibilities, but we also help one another.
We should not compare our cross with another person’s cross.
Someone may look happy from the outside, but we do not know what cross he or she is carrying inside.
The important question is not: “Why do I have this cross?”
but: “Lord, how can I carry this cross with You?”
4. Jesus Himself Walked the Way of the Cross
Jesus could have avoided Jerusalem.
He could have escaped suffering.
He could have chosen an easier path.
But He knew what the Father was asking of Him.
So He went forward.
At Gethsemane, when the cross was immediately before Him, Jesus prayed:
“Not my will but yours be done” — Luke 22:42
That is the deepest meaning of self-denial: “Not my will, but Your will.”
The Old Testament already prepares us for this attitude of trusting obedience.
Abraham was willing to surrender what was most precious to him because he trusted God (Genesis 22:1–12).
The prophet Isaiah speaks of the suffering servant who willingly gives himself for others:
“He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities” — Isaiah 53:5
Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophetic image.
He does not merely tell us to carry the cross.
He carries the cross before us.
Therefore, when Jesus says, “Follow me,” He is saying:
“Walk where I have walked. Love as I have loved. Trust the Father as I trusted the Father.”
5. The Cross Is Not the Final Word
There is another important point.
Jesus does not say only: “I will suffer and die.”
He also says: “And on the third day be raised.”
— Matthew 16:21
The cross is not the final word.
Resurrection is the final word.
This is the heart of Christian hope.
St. Paul says: “If we have died with him, we will also live with him” — 2 Timothy 2:11
6. The Cross in Our Families
Dear brothers and sisters, perhaps the best place to begin carrying the cross is our own home.
We do not have to travel to another country to find opportunities for Christian sacrifice.
The cross may be sitting at our dining table.
It may be in the person who irritates us.
It may be in a family member who needs our patience.
It may be in someone who has hurt us.
It may be in the responsibility we have been trying to avoid.
The Christian question is not: “How can I escape this person?”
but: “Lord, how can I love this person?”
7. The Cross and the Eucharist
Every time we come to the Eucharist, we come before the One who did not run away from the cross.
Jesus gave Himself completely:
His body.
His blood.
His time.
His love.
His life.
When we receive the Body of Christ, we are called to become a people who give our lives in love and service.
8. Three Questions for Us Today
As we leave this celebration, let us ask ourselves three questions.
First: What is the “self” I need to deny?
Second: What is the cross I need to carry faithfully?
Third: Whom am I called to follow?
“Jesus, I will not run away from my cross. I will carry it with You. I will follow You. I will seek Your will rather than my own. And I trust that, with You, every cross can become a path to resurrection.”
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