24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel Bullet Points (Mark 8:27-35)

• After the disciples, through Peter, have acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, Jesus reveals to them that he will be rejected, must suffer and die, and will rise after three days. Peter could not accept this teaching. For that, Jesus rebuked him severely. The image of Christ suffering and dying is not the idea that Peter was expecting. They were expecting a powerful leader who would liberate them. Jesus then teaches the crowd and the disciples to follow in the way of the cross.
• The gospel speaks about dying to ourselves and taking up one’s cross, as Jesus himself has shown us. It challenges us to deny ourselves by rejecting the worldly gospel that offers false promise—the promise of Today’s gospel challenges us to say NO to the worldly gospel that provides the false promise of NO CROSS, ALL CROWN.
• That is the road we, too, must tread. It isn’t reasonable for anyone to think or even hope that life will be sacrifice-free. There will always be a cross in our life. Happiness in this world is simply partial and imperfect. There is no complete happiness in this world without the cross. Why? Because it is through the cross that we can have real happiness and eternal life.
• Let us, then, carry our crosses joyfully and gracefully with His guiding hands.