Jesus said to his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.” Luke 9:22
Jesus knew He would suffer greatly, be rejected and killed. How
would you deal with that knowledge if you somehow knew this about
your own future? Most people would be filled with fear and become
obsessed with trying to avoid it. But not our Lord. This passage
above shows just how intent He was on embracing His Cross with
unwavering confidence and courage.
This is just one of several times that Jesus began to break the
news to His disciples about His pending fate. And each time He
spoke this way, the disciples for the most part remained either
silent or in denial. Recall, for example, one such reaction of
Saint Peter when he responded to Jesus’ prediction of His Passion
by saying, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to
you” (Matthew 16:22).
In reading this passage above, the strength, courage and
determination of our Lord shine through by the fact that He speaks
so clearly and definitively. And what motivates Jesus to speak with
such conviction and courage is His love.
Too often, “love” is understood as a strong and good feeling. It’s
perceived as an attraction to something or a strong liking of it.
But that’s not love in the truest form. True love is a choice to do
what is best for another, no matter the cost, no matter how
difficult. True love is not a feeling that seeks selfish
fulfillment. True love is an unwavering strength that seeks only
the good of the person who is loved.
Jesus’ love for humanity was so strong that He was driven toward
His pending death with great power. He was unwaveringly determined
to sacrifice His life for us all, and there was nothing that would
ever deter Him from that mission.
In our own lives, it’s easy to lose sight of what true love
actually is. We can easily become caught up in our own selfish
desires and think that these desires are love. But they are
not.
Reflect, today, upon the unwavering determination of our Lord to
sacrificially love us all by suffering greatly, by enduring
rejection, and by dying upon the Cross. Nothing could have ever
deterred Him from this love. We must show the same sacrificial
love.
My loving Lord, I thank You for Your unwavering commitment to
sacrifice Yourself for us all. I thank You for this unfathomable
depth of true love. Give me the grace I need, dear Lord, to turn
away from all forms of selfish love so as to imitate and
participate in Your most perfect sacrificial love. I do love You,
dear Lord. Help me to love You and others with all my heart. Jesus,
I trust in You.
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