THE COST OF FOLLOWING CHRIST

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Jeremiah 20:7-9; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27

There are times when doing the right thing is not the easiest thing. We may know what God asks of us, yet obedience can demand sacrifice, inconvenience, or even suffering. Today’s readings remind us that following Christ is not simply about receiving His blessings. It also means accepting the cost of discipleship.

The Gospel continues from last Sunday’s great confession of Peter. After Peter acknowledges Jesus as the Christ, Jesus tells His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer greatly, be killed, and be raised on the third day. This is not what Peter expects to hear. He takes Jesus aside and says, “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Peter loves Jesus, but he has not yet understood what kind of Messiah Jesus is. He expects glory without the cross, victory without suffering, and a crown without Calvary.

Jesus therefore rebukes him strongly, saying, “Get behind me, Satan!” Peter has become an obstacle to the fulfilment of God’s plan because he is thinking according to human expectations rather than God’s will. This is the central issue. Peter wants a Messiah without suffering, while Jesus knows that the way to resurrection must pass through the cross.

We can easily fall into the same temptation. We want Christianity without sacrifice, discipleship without discipline, forgiveness without letting go of resentment, holiness without self-denial, and resurrection without the cross. Yet Jesus makes the condition of discipleship clear. “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” The Christian life therefore requires us to move beyond the question, “What do I want?” and ask, “What does Christ want of me?”

The first reading shows us how difficult this can be. Jeremiah has faithfully proclaimed God’s word, yet his mission has brought him rejection and ridicule. He even speaks to God out of his frustration. Nevertheless, he cannot remain silent because God’s word has become “a fire burning in my heart.” His struggle reminds us that faithfulness does not mean that we never become tired, discouraged, or even angry with God. It means that, despite these struggles, we do not abandon the calling we have received.

Saint Paul then shows us what this discipleship looks like in practice. He urges us to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.” Our worship, therefore, cannot end when Mass ends. Our whole life must become an offering to God. Our faith must enter our workplaces, businesses, families, relationships, finances and daily decisions. Otherwise, Christianity can become nothing more than a comfortable identity.

In all, may God give us the grace to think not merely as the world thinks, but as He thinks; to embrace the sacrifices that discipleship demands; and to follow Christ faithfully, even when the road passes through Calvary. For, as Jesus reminds us, whoever loses his life for His sake will find it.