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Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C                                                                            

LLEVAR LA CRUZ CADA DÍA

Acabamos de escuchar uno de los Evangelios más severos y claros. Cristo no se anda con rodeos, establece de antemano las condiciones de su seguimiento. Aquellas gentes se sorprenden al escuchar estas palabras de Cristo, sin embargo dice el evangelista que eran muchos los que le seguían. A Cristo no le importa la cantidad sino la calidad de sus seguidores. Por eso muchos se marcharon después de escuchar estas exigencias. Tenían miedo.

1. Cristo es el dueño de nuestro corazón por eso lo exige todo. A veces nosotros queremos llenarlo con las cosas de este mundo y no de Dios. También nosotros tenemos miedo de quedarnos vacíos. Nosotros somos hombres de nuestro tiempo y preferimos instalarnos en la comodidad, por eso las exigencias de Cristo nos sorprenden. Escuchamos a diario los reclamos de la publicidad en la televisión, en la radio que nos dicen lo que tenemos que hacer "para que la vida sea más fácil y cómoda". Pero ya sabemos que lo fácil sale caro y que lo que es bueno cuesta.

2. Cristo nos invita a cargar la cruz, pero el mundo nos impone eliminar la cruz de nuestra vida: ¿te cuesta tener un hijo? ¡abórtalo! ¿Ya no puedes mantener a tu padre o a tu madre ancianos? ¡facilítales una muerte feliz! ¿Te va mal en los negocios, tienes muchos problemas? ¡Consuélate en el alcohol! ¡Refúgiate en las drogas!

No estamos acostumbrados a cargar con nuestra cruz, sin embargo nunca podremos huir de ella. Sabemos por experiencia que la mayoría de las personas que han cometido pecados como los que acabo de mencionar han terminado peor que antes. Más tristes, más desconsolados. ¿Por qué? Porque no era la solución. Tuvieron miedo de cargar su Cruz

3. En la sala de mi casa había un cuadro que representaba la orilla de una playa. Estaban dibujadas cuatro huellas de pies sucesivamente y luego las dos huellas de la izquierda iban desapareciendo. Estaba escrita una oración que decía: "Señor cuando yo era pequeño tú estabas a mi lado para que cargarme, pero a medida que fui creciendo tú te fuiste alejando". Pero Cristo respondía: "Cuando tú eras pequeño yo te llevaba de la mano, pero ahora que has crecido yo te llevo en mis brazos, las huellas que ves son las mías, no las tuyas".

No tengamos miedo de cargar con nuestra cruz porque Cristo la cargó primero. "No tengáis miedo", nos repetía el papa Juan Pablo II. No huyamos de los problemas. Hay que cargar con la cruz porque Cristo está en ella. Detrás de una gran obra hay caminos duros y trabajos fatigosos. Seguir a Cristo no va a ser cómodo y dulce. Su cruz será una fuente de paz y serenidad, de alegría y entusiasmo. Hermanos, los invito a cargar con amor nuestra cruz de cada día. Jesús va a nuestro lado, cargando también la suya para salvar al mundo entero. Que así sea.

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C                                  

CARRY YOUR CROSS EVERY DAY

We just heard one of the most severe and clear Gospel passages. Christ doesn't beat around the bush, but from the first moment he states the conditions for following him. People were surprised to hear such words from Christ, yet the evangelist tells us that his followers were many. For Christ the quality of his followers is more important than the quantity. That is why many walked away after hearing these demands. They were afraid.

1. Christ is the lord of our heart; that is why he demands everything. Sometimes we seek to fill it with the things of this world, and not those of God. We are also afraid of being empty. We are men of our age and we prefer to settle down in comfort, and that is why Christ's demands surprise us. Every day we hear ads on the television and radio telling us what we need to do "to make life easier and more comfortable." But we already know that what is easy is expensive, and what is good is costly.

2. Christ invites us to take up our cross, but the world makes us eliminate the cross from our lives. Is it hard for you to raise a child? Then abort it! Are you no longer able to take care of your elderly father or mother? Help give them a happy death! Is business going badly and do you have lots of problems? Find consolation in alcohol! Take refuge in drugs!

We are not used to taking up our cross, yet we can't run away from it. Experience has taught us that most people who have committed sins like those I just mentioned end up worse off than they were before. Sadder, more heartbroken. Why? Because that was not the answer. They were afraid of carrying their cross.

3. In my living room at home there was a painting of a beach. There were two sets of footprints and then the ones on the left started disappearing. There was a phrase written there, "Lord, when I was small you were at my side to carry me, but as I grew up you were further away." But Christ answered, "When you were small I took you by the hand, but now that you are older I carry you in my arms. The footprints you see are mine, not yours."

Let us not be afraid of carrying our cross because Christ carried it first. "Don't be afraid," Pope John Paul II told us again and again. Let us not run away from problems. We need to carry our cross because Christ is on it. Behind any great masterpiece there are difficult paths and tiring labors. Following Christ will not be easy and sweet. His cross will be a source of peace and serenity, of joy and enthusiasm. Brothers and sisters, I invite you to carry your cross every day with love. Jesus is at our side, carrying his cross to save the whole world. Amen.

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