A CROSS-LESS CHRIST AND A CHRIST-LESS CROSS?

Friday in the 6th Week of the Ordinary Time
Mk 8:34-9:1

Take away the word “Christ” from the word “Christian” and we are left with the letters i, a, and n. The letters i, a, and n rightly stand for “I am nothing”. Indeed, without Christ, we are nothing. Christ is our everything.

Christ, however, comes with a cross. There is no cross-less Christ just as there is there should be no Christ-less cross. Accepting Christ is accepting His cross. Accepting our cross should always be accepting Christ as well. It cannot be otherwise. It should not be otherwise.

A cross-less Christ is a phony. It is a fake Christ. It is not Christ at all.

A Christ-less cross is a burden, nothing else. It is suffering without grace. It is not the cross that Christ requires us to carry each day.

What kind of a Christ do we follow? What kind of a cross do we bear? The answer is clearly seen in way we live our lives.