Face the Cross
by Paulist Fr. Rich Andre
September 17, 2018

Paulist Fr. Rich Andre preached this homily on the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year B) on September 16, 2018, at St. Austin Parish in Austin, TX. The homily is based on the day’s readings: Isaiah 50:5-9a; Psalm 114; James 2:14-18; and Mark 8:27-35.



Today, we hit the turning point in the Gospel of Mark. So, let’s review the story thus far:

Jesus bursts onto the scene without much introduction, in a flurry of activity. There’s no time to wait! The people are excited about the miracles Jesus performs. At the same time, people, especially the authorities, are shocked – but not necessarily as excited – by the authority of Jesus’ teaching. Today, immediately after Jesus has healed a blind man in stages – it doesn’t seem to “take” completely on the first try – he turns more strongly to teaching what it means to be his disciple. Moments after Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus begins to reveal that discipleship requires commitment and sacrifice. This slow revelation mirrors the stages in which the blind man comes to see.

So, who do you say that Jesus is? If our answer doesn’t affect our day-to-day living, perhaps it’s time to re-examine who Jesus is in our lives. As the founder of the Paulist Fathers, Isaac Hecker, wrote: “The one who has no cross is no follower of the crucified.” Let us ask God to continue to shower us with mercy.


You’ve probably heard some feel-good homilies over the years based on the first half of our gospel passage today. I know that I have. Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” It’s a great question for each of us to reflect upon. It’s an even more fantastic question to pray upon. “Who do you say that I am?” And remember that prayer is conversation with God – so expect Jesus to respond when you say who you think he is! 

The Church has given us a set of other readings today that direct our consideration to the later part of the gospel passage. So, once again, I quote Isaac Hecker, the founder of the Paulist Fathers: “The one who has no cross is no follower of Christ.” 

There are a lot of different kinds of crosses that we may bear in our lives. What kinds of crosses do you bear in your life? There are the disciplines that we voluntarily take up – for example, fasting and almsgiving during Lent. Or perhaps we give up video games, Netflix, or certain foods. There are the sacrifices that are natural consequences of making choices. By choosing one field of study, you are choosing not to study something else. In marrying one person, you choose to forsake all others. There are also the denials that we don’t choose – illnesses, opportunities denied to us, personality quirks that we can’t seem to change no matter how hard we try. And lastly, there are the unmitigated tragedies of our lives – accidents, natural disasters, and the unexpected deaths of loved ones. 

What kinds of crosses do you bear in your life? Our first reaction to our crosses – whether they be small disciplines or huge tragedies – is the very human reaction of Peter. Surely any kind of suffering is a sign that we’re not following God. God wants us to be happy, right?

That human reaction is a “satan” talking to us. In the Old Testament, the word “satan” can simply mean an obstacle. An obstacle to what? An obstacle to being a disciple of Christ. The crosses we bear may not even have been given to us by God, but the attitude with which we bear our crosses is the test of discipleship. We must set our faces like flint and soldier on. As Isaiah declares, “The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced.” Can we stay true to our Christian vocation, even when it becomes difficult?

All of our crosses have the ability to bring us life in abundance. We choose to give up video games or Netflix because we realize that they are distracting us from more important things in life. The personality quirks that we struggle with make us more humble and more able to relate to other people. The tragedies we bear? Well, the search for meaning in those cases is much harder. But let us remember that Jesus’ own death on the cross was something that seemed senseless but has become the source of our salvation!

Every Lent in the seminary, I used help out at a parish in suburban Maryland with something called “the Passion Play.” It was a huge production, involving lots of people, costumes, lighting, and a sound system for musically re-telling of the events of Holy Thursday and Good Friday. And it was powerful. Over the years, Lila, the director, had gathered together (and in some cases, composed) songs that perfectly fit the action. As Jesus was about to be crucified, the choir sang a song called “Face the Cross.” The first verse talked about how Jesus knew that this was his destiny. During the second verse, Mary ran forward and embraced Jesus, as the choir sang that she, too, had to face the cross. And then, at the conclusion of the Passion Play, after Jesus’ death, the choir would sing the third verse of the song to the audience:

How hard it is to look upon that dying form
To resist the urge to run for cover from the storm
But each of us is free to choose to turn away, or to stay –
And embrace the cross.
Stand and face the cross
The salvation of the world hangs in the balance
Stand and face the cross. Never turn away. Follow and obey.
Knowing God will make a way for you to face the cross.
Face the cross.

—Ruth Elaine Schram and Scott Schram, “Face the Cross”

As followers of Christ, we acknowledge that there are greater things in life than our personal comfort. And if personal comfort isn’t our highest value, then there will be times when other values will take precedence. We must face our personal crosses. Sometimes, we’ll understand why we must take up a particular cross. But at other times, we won’t.

And in those moments, we will have no choice but to cling to Jesus’ promise: “Whoever loses his life for my sake and [for the sake] of the gospel, will [have life eternal].”