How To Pick Up Your Cross

I'm items father Mike Schmitz and this is ascension presents so um when I was in high school I think I got my first Bible my first I got it from the TRO Wayne County Fair in central or northern Minnesota it was one of those little Gideon Bibles you know the little smaller green ones that have the New Testament and the Psalms and the Book of Proverbs in them and I remember being so excited about this and be able to read the Gospels and I came upon both in Matthew's Gospel and in Luke's Gospel where Jesus gives the conditions for discipleship I thought well dad I want to be a disciple I yeah what are they and because yeah I just had a sense of like I realized that God is calling me to more than just kind of like believing in him he's calling he's calling me and calling everyone who follows him to more than just kind of like accepting him but we're reclined and called to do something be disciples basically and here's what Jesus says in Luke chapter 9 this is his condition he says Jesus said to all whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself take up his cross daily and follow me for whoever wishes to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it I remember reading that going look okay that's it that's um I want to do that I want to deny myself take up my cross daily and follow after Jesus um but here's an interesting thing what I find is we kind of break some of these things down is sometimes people fall into the trap of thinking okay deny yourself okay what that means this is a trap this is a myth people believe and if this myth is super prefect pervasive when it comes to deny yourself what they immediately translate that to mean in their minds in their hearts is harder is holier we often fall into the trap of thinking harder as holier and almost no other time in the in a year do we fall into that trap more heavily then then two times during Lent and we're making big decisions or making any kind of decision so during Lent it's like well the harder is the holy earth clearly because it's not yourself Jesus has denied yourself so if I do something really hard that's automatically gonna be holier false also when we make decisions people think like well I want to do this thing that's perfectly fine and good I don't want to do this other thing therefore God must want me to do the thing I least want and so I'll be loving him most when I do the thing I want the least which is completely false harder is not holier that is an error that is you might even say heresy that it's incorrect when Jesus says deny yourself what he's ultimately meaning is in all of those areas where your will are what you want is in conflict with God's will or what God wants those are the moments use not yourself not harder as holier what holier is holier is saying yes to God saying as to the father and that is going to mean that there are times when wow what I want is also what God wants phenomenal so good what a joy but there's also gonna be some times when what I want is not what God wants and in those moments I'm gonna need to deny myself so I can say yes to him because ultimately holier is not harder holier is saying yes to the Father okay right the second part of that it's great to know yourself take up your cross and daily and third part being follow me I want to focus on this take up your cross daily part and a highlight couple things one Jesus says take up your cross daily he doesn't say take up my cross daily uni doesn't say take up someone else's cross daily he says take up your cross daily which means that the crosses that are in our lives in some ways are personalized the prices that are in our lives are in some way personalized it says take up your cross daily now our crosses typically take two forms they look like the kind of two shapes there's they purify us right they sanctify us they are either active or our passive crosses you might you would say like it's the process of active purification or passive purification so what I mean by active we had a Archbishop or not it's bishop cousins he's the auxiliary bishop of these Archdiocese st. Paul Minneapolis give retreat for the priests of my diocese and he highlighted this it was so so powerful so good he'd noted that active purification or active sanctification is when we say yes to all of those things that we've chosen so we say yes to all the things we've chosen that's active sanctification so gave an example as a priest I made a promise to pray the Liturgy of the hours five times a day every day and so I chose that it's part of the condition of being a priest but like still I like I said yes to that so active purification is my continuingly say yes say yes to that ICS to what I've chosen if you're a married person you chose to love honor and obey the your spouse and so when you actively choose that we actively say as to that you are being actively purified whether you're single or whether you're married you might have a job might go to school so when you choose to say yes to I'm showing up to work or to school on time I'm gonna be prepared they told me they gave me this assignment or this task at work so I'm gonna do that as best I can when you say yes to those things that you've chosen then that's active purification and during Lent perfect during Lent we choose things right we say okay I'm gonna give this or I'm gonna give this up when we actively say yes to those things we've chosen to do that's active sanctification right or active purification that's an that's our like our active cross but there's also a thing like a passive cross or you might say passive purification and that's when we're called to say yes to all those things that we did not choose and we do not want those things those crosses are abundant in our lives don't they and we say yes to all those things that we did not choose or do not want all of us have things in our life that we didn't choose and we don't want that we wish they were gone they we wish they were different I think there can be an illness I just I wish they would I wish this wasn't here I don't want this thing it could be a situation life like I I I'm stuck in a job that I have to take I didn't I didn't choose this one I had to take it and this is my circumstance in life and I did not choose this and I do not want this some of us have experiences our past it can be incredibly tragic that you did not choose and you do not want but to say yes to those crosses that are allowed into our lives is this passive purification now here's a quick little clarification I'm not saying fatalism fatalism is like throwing up your hands and saying well I can't do anything about this so like I guess I'm sick maybe God wants me to be sick I won't take my meds like no no no no take the medication like do the operation or whatever could actually help you do that thing it's not fatalism it's not when your car breaks down on the side of the road just like well I guess God wants me to be here on the side of no no purification sanctification is getting out of the car and I doing something about your situation now you might not be able to remedy the situation entirely but to engage with it to embrace it to say yes to it to take up your cross means I'm doing something with this situation that I did not choose and I do not want so please don't misunderstand that passive purification means you just sit there past that the passive part means I didn't choose this I don't want this but I'm going to engage with it I'm gonna do something about this I have a situation in my life that I again I said for the 12th time didn't choose and don't want but I'm gonna take this up so I know so many people who didn't choose sickness right they didn't choose the tragic events of their lives I know so many people that getting out of bed in the morning is just overwhelming because their anxiety because of their depression may be an addiction someone could have that sense of like I did I have these attractions in my life and I didn't choose that I don't want them in my life but here they are okay this is these are the crosses that God is allowed these are the circumstances that God has allowed in my life not that he not that he like forced them upon us that he wants them for us no but he's allowing them into our lives because he knows that if we choose to engage to embrace that take up these crosses with him he can do something in our hearts so powerfully that we cannot do without these crosses I mean this is the reality right is that Jesus Christ was thrust into a place where he had to pick up his cross that was a cross in Jerusalem all the way to go Gotha that he didn't choose that he actually said I don't want he said let this cup pass from me not my will be your way he didn't want but he actively engaged he embraced it he took up his cross in what happened that cross became his crown and the same thing is true for you and for me Jesus says deny yourself take up your cross daily that active purification and that passive purification of this is a reality in my life that I didn't choose and I don't want but listen if I engage with this and I embrace it if I say yes to this in this particular way then that cross can become the crown but here is the last thing and it's so important Jesus goes on to say whoever wishes to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life will save it that's actually not what he says I left out three very important words he says whoever wishes the same his life will lose it but whoever loses his life hears the three words for my sake will save it because this whole process of active purification of embracing our crosses or past the purification of again engaging those crosses that we didn't choose it's not just about like you know getting like tough and keep being like super stoic or being less you know brave or being a buff when it comes to the spiritual life it's about doing it with him and for him who embrace my cross lose your life for my sake my brothers and sisters here's the deal that life as you know can be so difficult and that those crosses can be so heavy but here's the most powerful thing is that God did not leave us to just carry these crosses alone that even if he permits them into our lives it's not like he just permitted them and walked away he's permitting them and he's walking with us he's walking with you throughout Lent throughout your life throughout your crosses throughout these situations that you didn't choose and don't want Jesus said and listen do this do this please for my sake but also with me by my side through the three words for my sake behind my side another three words with my strength for my sake by my side with my strength this act of purification and this passive purification of denying myself taking up my particular cross daily and following Jesus for his sake by his side and with his strength is what will transform your cross into a crown that will give him glory forever in eternity so don't be afraid take up your cross no matter what size it is to matter what shape it is and follow him for all of us here as nature presents my name is Bhavik god bless

Channel: Ascension Presents

Views: 201,419

Rating: 4.9629669 out of 5

Keywords: pick up your cross, your crosses, pick up your crosses, Matthew 16:24, denying yourself, follow Christ, for my sake, Fr. Mike Schmitz on discipleship, discipleship, take up your cross, jesus christ, pick up your cross and follow me, pick up your cross and follow jesus, pick up your cross daily, pick up your cross and follow me meaning, pick up your cross meaning, denying yourself and taking up the cross

Id: WhivUtZhdRI

Length: 10min 59sec (659 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 10 2019