Jesus said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Mark 8 v34b)

This saying goes against what most people believe both inside the church and outside the church. Many people want to put themselves first and they try to make it sound alright by saying, they are putting their family and friends first. But this is not what Jesus wants from us. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan to explain to us that even if someone is our enemy and they need help then we should give that person help.

In the world that Jesus is calling us to, there is no them and us, there is just us. We are all in this together whether we like it or not. This is not easy, it is always a challenge and can bring us pain and suffering just as it brought pain and suffering to Jesus.

Wherever there is suffering the crucified Christ is always present suffering with his suffering brothers and sisters. There is no exception, Christ doesn’t take sides he is always present where suffering happens whether we think of the victims of war in Ukraine, Gaza or Israel, or the suffering in our Accident and Emergency Departments, to name two obvious types of suffering but also with those who are being bullied and abused, the list is endless.

If you are suffering, Christ is with you even when you can’t feel his presence, he is there. In this sense the crucified Christ is still suffering as if he is on the cross and will go on suffering as long as we, his children, feel pain of any kind in the world. This is where the call to us to join him in caring for others is so important. By showing the compassion of God by the way we treat those around us we become an extension of the Divine Compassion and Love. We become the hands, the ears, the eyes and the voice of Christ to each other and those we meet in our daily lives.

It is also the fact that as we live a life of care and compassion we are being evangelists in the world. It is by our actions that people are brought to faith or sadly put off, please remember that. Yes people may have questions but it is by example that people can then begin to copy what they see and begin the journey of discipleship. This process of care, compassion and conversion never stops and will not stop until all are brought to Christ. That may seem impossible but like many things that seem impossible it progresses one by one, step by step. Our job is not to complete the task but simply to carry it forward. In the end it is all in the hands of God, we are simply being invited to be his helpers.

So let us go from here and truly be disciples of Christ. Amen.

​​​​​​​​​​​Andrew SSL