Deuteronomy 30:15-20 / Luke 9:22-25 (2022)
Shocking words are not what we usually like to hear because they disturb us.
But when the same shocking words are repeated over and over again, we become numb to it. It loses its "kick", so to speak.
So when we hear the words of Jesus in today's gospel, what is our response?
Are we raising our eyebrows and wondering if what He is saying is for real?
Yesterday we began the season of Lent with an emphasis on prayer, penance and almsgiving.
All this are not ends in themselves but are means to help us feel for others, to feel our "within" and more importantly to feel God in our lives.
All this is to help us respond to God's Word.
Like what Moses said to the people in the 1st reading: See, today I set before you life and prosperity, death and disaster.
The words of Jesus may not sound very consoling to us.
But those are the words that point us to the way of life and eventually to eternal life.
The way of life is the way of the cross.
To choose otherwise is to choose ruin and disaster.