Sunday Reflections

“What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit one’s life?”
~ Matthew 16: 25

Jesus demanded and demands a whole new way of living and thinking. He asks his followers to adopt a completely different set of values from the world around them, to lose one’s life for his sake, to live in what Henri Nouwen described as the upside down world of Jesus Christ. We are to ignore the standards of the world and model ourselves after Jesus. 

But this is no easy task. The world we live in surrounds us with values that can distract us from the Gospel values of love, and service, which invite us to the path of least resistance. Whatever may separate us from the love of Christ, however good they may be in themselves, must be rejected. The words of St. Paul to the Romans should be our guide: “Do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds, so that you may judge what is God’s will, what is good, pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12: 2)

This is a very difficult path to follow especially when it seems that those who do embrace the world and its values seem to prosper and are happy, living the good life. Following the example of Jesus can also appear foolish in the eyes of those whose values we choose not to embrace. In this too we are walking in the footsteps of Jesus who was rejected by many even to being put to death. But, like Jesus, who triumphed over rejection and death, we will gain the ultimate victory over sin and death if we are but willing to lose our lives for his sake.