LITURGY
AND LIFE
Tom
Saretsky
12th
Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 20, 2010
Zechariah 12: 10-11
Psalm 63
Galatians 3: 26-29
Luke 9: 18-24
Before I go to school in the morning, I often say this prayer to help
me get through the day: “Lord, help me to take up my cross daily
and to forgive those who nail me to it.” Life can be complicated
and difficult. I’m not one to get fatalistic, but think of all
the things that can unravel one’s day before it even begins: unco-operative
kids, car problems, traffic jams, gossip, grumpy bosses, grumpy co-workers,
pouring rain, unappreciative friends . . . and the list goes on. Where
is the redemption? Where is salvation? Where is the justice?
It’s a stretch to say that the cross will eventually save us,
considering that it is ponderous to carry. We carry heavy loads made
all the more burdensome when others add to the weight. We even add to
the weight of our own crosses by the things we say and do to others;
and how many times throughout the day are we actually nailed to our
crosses? Yet to be a follower we must continue to endure the weight
of what has been placed on our shoulders.
Martin Luther King Jr. expressed
it the best when he said that “the cross we bear precedes the
crown we wear. To be a Christian, one must take up their cross, with
all its difficulties and agonizing and tragedy-packed content, and carry
it until that very cross leaves its marks upon us and redeems us to
that more excellent way which comes only through suffering.”
No one wants to suffer, and
I don’t believe anyone intentionally seeks out hardship and suffering.
We usually go to great lengths to avoid any kind of hardship; but life
is difficult, and many of our problems in life are the result of us
denying this fact. In a conversation I had with my brother recently,
he remarked that our society seeks to do everything possible to avoid
any kind of frustration or struggle. He lamented that as a society we
have become softened. Any inconvenience can spiral a person out of control
to the point of despair. We all want to be pain-free, yet paradoxically,
it is now becoming more prevalent to display our suffering freely for
the world to see.
Richard Rohr, OFM, writes
that, “One look at the media is proof that life is now becoming
a competition to see who has suffered the most. Are one’s sufferings
meant to be worn like merit badges, for others to see and admire? Taking
up one’s cross doesn’t mean displaying it — we need
others to help us carry it.”
Zechariah writes in the first reading that “(God) will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David.” Compassionate thoughts usually lead to compassionate actions, with these actions hopefully leading to us carrying one another’s crosses.
Zechariah goes further to say that “when they look on the one whom they have pierced they shall mourn for him.” When “we look upon (those) whom we have pierced,” we will mourn to the point of moving to heal the hurt we have caused.
“If anyone wants to become my follower, let them deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me.” This is a difficult command,
but a necessary one if we truly want to venture forward. It is necessary
that we develop the courage to leave the comfort zones of the present
in order to journey into the unfamiliar territory of tomorrow. We don’t
know what the next moment will bring, but if we are “heirs according
to the promise,” then that means we will never be forsaken or
forgotten. God will send us Simons of Cyrene to help us through difficult
days. Since that is the case, then I should really be praying, “Lord,
help me to take up my cross daily, to forgive those who nail me to it,
and to thank you for those who help me carry it.”
Saretsky and his wife Norma have two children. He is a teacher and
chaplain at Bishop James Mahoney high school in Saskatoon.
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