Life has meaning only in union with Christ.

We regularly publish a small column under various titles in our daily newspaper, such as “A Grain of Wisdom. With one thought or one sentence, the responsible editor wants to remind the reader of a serious matter that one should read and think about. True, no one forces him to do so. The reader must decide for himself.

In this Gospel, too, we encounter a nugget of wisdom, and Jesus, as the Supreme Editor, wants to give it to us today to ponder and thus to enrich our lives. Of course, he does not force us to do so either. He also leaves us believing people, endowed with reason and free will, to decide for ourselves.

We could say that Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel are a collection of his sayings using which he wants to show us the greatness of the Christian. A true confessor of the teachings of Jesus Christ follows in the footsteps of Jesus. Therefore, the words: “Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me” (Mk. 8:34), becomes a matter of course, and he does not question the fact that he fulfills the commands of Jesus and yet has a more challenging time than those who do not meet them.

The disciple of Jesus is also aware of these words: Can a disciple be more than his teacher? Therefore, on the way to the cross, he is willing to forsake everything that is not Jesus, to give up everything, as if he were to betray his Lord. It is a beautiful thing to follow the Lord Jesus with the cross on one’s shoulders, to give up an earthly career for the Gospel, to confess Jesus even at the cost of shame, loss of place, often even of life. These are the strict demands of the Lord Jesus. And the most challenging part is that Jesus’ words apply literally. So let’s remember his words: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mk 8:35).

Therefore, in the history of the Church, we see that true Christians have staked everything on one card: on Jesus. We know that they gave up themselves, and Jesus became central in their lives, actions, words, and thoughts. After such a surrender, the persecutor Paul wrote: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20).
But the history of the Church also tells of others who compromised with sin and selfishness, taking from Christianity only what they liked, what suited them. It was, perhaps, beautiful and pleasant even, at first sight, they were admired, for they often sat in church, they prayed, and yet their lives did not conform to the words of Jesus, for even in the performance of their duties, they thought more of themselves than of the will of the Lord Jesus.

When we choose to be truly Christlike, we must take Jesus’ words literally. Jesus’ words are addressed to people of goodwill. We realize that they touch us as well. For us, Jesus not only uttered them but requires us to put them into practice, and once we do, we must expect reward or punishment for putting them into practice.

Yes, we are weak. We are often afraid of putting Jesus’ words into practice. But when Jesus demands it, we must recognize that nothing is so complicated that we cannot make it happen. Jesus knows no compromise; he doesn’t buy people off on some dubious advertising because everyone can be convinced that Jesus’ evidence of his mission is genuine. This makes us all the more aware of the words: “For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his soul?” For what will a man exchange his soul for?” (Mk 8:36). These are such eloquent and timely words that they leave us in no doubt about their authenticity and value at the same time.
Therefore, we understand this Gospel as a call to persevere on the way to Jesus, not to slacken, or, if it has not yet been as he wants it, not to delay and to set out on the way that alone leads to eternal life.

Let us each reflect alone on this little piece of wisdom from the Gospel: “Whoever is ashamed of me and my words before this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mk 8:38)