THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

The Contradiction of the Cross. The Paradox of Life

First Reading (2 Kings 4:8-11,14-16a): A Shunammite woman gave hospitality to Elisha
Second Reading (Rom 6:3-11): Christians have died to sin.
Gospel (Mt 10:37-42): Each one must carry one's own cross
Chinese Classics:
-“It is upon bad fortune that good fortune leans, upon good fortune that bad fortune rests.” (1)
-“The old man lost a horse. Who knows if it was not good fortune in disguise?” (2)
-“To remain whole, be twisted. To become straight, let yourself be bent. To become full, be hollow. Be tattered, that you may be renewed. Those that have little may get more. Those that have much are but perplexed.” (3)

Jesus said, ‘Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.’ (Mt 10:37-39)

This is the contradiction of the cross and of life, and the unpredictable mystery of life: because we believe that death in Christ is indeed life.

The Book of Romans said, ‘We have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.’ (Ref Rom 6:3-11)

Lao Tze said, “It is upon bad fortune that good fortune leans, upon good fortune that bad fortune rests.”(1) Sometimes, bad fortune can be the source of good fortune, and lurking in good fortune is bad fortune. This is the line of reasoning behind “The old man lost a horse. Who knows if it was not good fortune in disguise? The old man got a horse. Who knows if it was not bad fortune in disguise?”(2) An old man lost a horse and everyone felt sorry for him. But who would expect that the horse would come back with a herd of horses? Therefore, who can say that losing a horse is not good fortune in disguise? However, his son rode on one of the horses and fell off from it, hurting his legs. Now, who can say that getting a herd of horses is not bad fortune in disguise?

Along this line of argument, Lao Tze said something bizarre and difficult to understand, “To remain whole be twisted. To become straight, let yourself be bent. To become full, be hollow. Be tattered, that you may be renewed. Those who have little may get more. Those who have much are but perplexed.”(3) What he meant was this: By giving concessions you can save the situation. By submitting you can have space to stretch out. Only the low and hollow places can be filled. Only by removing the old can the new come. Getting little is actually getting more. Craving for more will only confuse you. Because a person does not contend with anyone over anything, no one in the world can pick a fight with that person.

All of the above is the bizarreness of life, the agony of the cross.

On the Catholic cross one usually finds the figure of the suffering Christ. Since many other Christians do not want to worship idols, they do not wish to pay respect to the figure of a “suffering Jesus,” As a result, there is no figure of Jesus on their crosses.

Besides insisting one should not worship any idols, another reason according for them for the absence of Jesus on a crucifix is that Christ has risen. When I first visited a non-Catholic church and saw the cross and the fluorescent light coming from behind it, I thought was very beautiful. “Christ has risen” – How beautiful is the imagery! I have also seen in some modern churches Jesus drawn as dancing because he has risen. These are all correct, because Jesus has indeed risen.

However as I grow older and have more experience of life, I realize that it is indeed the figure of the suffering Christ that is the true sign of Christians on earth.

In the reality of life, it is death that we truly experience rather than resurrection; it is pain that we actually experience, not happiness.

I remember I once I celebrated Christmas Midnight Mass. Everyone was very joyful afterwards and we all went to my quarters for a midnight snack. I played the guitar while everyone sang. Around four in the morning everyone left and I went to my room for good. Once I lay down on the bed and started to gaze at the ceiling, I suddenly started to feel very empty.

From great fun and joy to a sudden feeling of emptiness is not an unusual experience. Many of us have had this experience. After all, how can there be a party which never ends, or friends who will never leave us?

We love many people, and we are also loved by many. However, how many of our friends or those we love will stay with us forever? In this world there are always traces of sadness behind the greatest love and deepest joy. Besides, it is only normal that not everything in life is to our liking.

“There are countless vicissitudes in human life.” Where can we find true and lasting joy in this worldly?

Life indeed is a constant chasing after death. We are gradually approaching death and disintegration. Life really consists of a series of sufferings. If we were to take away suffering from life there might as well be nothing left.

Then, where can we find happiness? Where can we find sheer bliss? Where is resurrection?

When we can experience resurrection from the real suffering of the cross, and see the risen Christ from the Christ crucified unto death, we will understand what resurrection means. When we kneel down to pray for our father who is suffering from serious illness, when we pray most zealously and yet our father stops breathing, and yet we are able still to believe that God has answered our prayers, then we truly understand what prayer is.

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” In the present life there is no eternal resurrection, there is no complete joy because behind happiness there is always hidden some pain. We must learn to look for happiness in suffering so that we can experience resurrection in death.

Let us gaze on Christ nailed to the cross and say to him, “Lord, you have already risen! All the agony, suffering and failure that I experience during my life are gifts from you and they all have an everlasting value.”

We must open ourselves and embrace the cross, embrace Christ who is nailed to the cross, embrace all that is part of life and believe that it is exactly when we lose our lives for Christ’s sake that we find life, an everlasting and more abundant life.

(1)禍兮福之所倚，福兮禍之所伏。
(2)塞翁失馬焉知非福。
(3)曲則全，枉則直，窪則盈，敝則新，少則得，多則惑。