Denver Catholic

BY EDWARD SRI Senior Vice President for Apostolic Outreach at FOCUS 8 FEBRUARY 2022 | DENVER CATHOLIC AP OSTO LIC M I N DS E T Hold up the Cross in costly imitation of Christ W hen Jesus cast the vision for what it means to be a disciple, he used the most startling image: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mt 16:24). That's crazy! Of all the symbols for disciple- ship Jesus could have used, why the Cross? The image would have been utterly abhor- rent to his original listeners. Though we today might be accustomed to seeing crosses in our churches, in the ancient world, the Cross was a terrifying symbol of Roman domination, an instrument of torture and shame, and the most horrific way to die. Saying to Jews in the first century, "Take up your cross and follow me," would be like saying to people in the modern world, "Take up your electric chair and follow me." Why would anyone want to join a move- ment that has at its center such a symbol of death? Jesus holds up this shocking image of death to wake us up. He wants to wake us up out of our complacency and many distractions in life and focus on what matters most: the total self-giving love of God. But this divine love is very different than the modern world's understanding of love. Much of the world around us embraces what can be called a "self-getting love" — a love that is always seeking to get something for oneself: more pleasure, more attention, more applause… more power, more money, more "likes." But Jesus on the Cross reveals what real love looks like. On Good Friday, Jesus doesn't get a lot of praise, honor and gratitude. He doesn't get a lot of warm feel- ings from the people he came to save. But his love is not about

• Cover