NOTES for Luk 9:23-27

Having revealed the Father's will that the Son of Man must suffer greatly, be killed, and rise on the third day, the Lord, as Luke writes, addresses “everyone.” Evidently, the evangelist means the crowds that followed Jesus and gathered around Him wherever He appeared. Yet such is the mystery of the divinely inspired books: a strictly historical indication sometimes becomes something more universal in them. Of course, the words of Christ that we read today are addressed to all people: “Whoever wishes to follow Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” Like a Shepherd walking ahead of the sheep, the Lord has shown the way of salvation and life: His Way of the Cross.

This is a path from which a person gains nothing by standing aside. If you do not walk this path of giving your life entirely to God, you remain within your human limitations and mortality. In essence, this means fairly simple things. Above all, the Lord expects our time and strength, attention and love to be given to other people, and thus to God. The path Christ calls us to is a life not for ourselves, but for God, who has chosen to dwell in our neighbors. It is an agonizingly difficult path, because it is hard to renounce self-will and accept the world's hatred. Of course, it is the way of the Cross: the Lord says so plainly. But no less importantly, it is the only path to resurrection.