In today’s Gospel passage, three parts are easily recognized.
In the first, Jesus is alone with the twelve disciples and questions them about their identity: about what people think of him and about what his own disciples think of him.
What is his deeper identity?
This part concludes with the declaration of Peter, who, in the name of all, proclaims: “You are the Messiah”.
Then, in the second part, Jesus begins to explain to his disciples that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer much, to be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes, and to be delivered up to death in order to rise again on the third day.
In other words, Jesus makes a clear announcement of his future passion, death and resurrection.
In the face of this announcement, Peter takes him aside for a conversation alone, during which he tries to dissuade him.
According to Peter, the Messiah cannot have such an end; the Messiah must conclude his life in this world with victory, not with the defeat of death.
Jesus rebukes Peter and calls him “Satan” for having thoughts contrary to God’s designs: “You do not judge according to God, but according to men”.
Finally, in the third part, Jesus summons the crowd and his disciples and declares: “Whoever wishes to come with me must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.”
This sentence is an invitation to follow Jesus in the passion he has announced, which is his vocation and future, and which Peter does not want to accept for Jesus.
Not only does Jesus assume that vocation, but he invites his true followers to imitate him.
“He is near to me who does me justice, who will fight against me? The Lord is my help, who shall dare to condemn me?”
In the light of the first reading, it seems that the Church is directing us to focus our attention on the second and third parts of today’s Gospel.
Indeed, the passage from the prophet Isaiah that we have read describes the voluntary suffering to which the servant of the Lord submits himself out of fidelity to God.
In the midst of suffering, the servant declares his confidence that God will help him: “He who does justice to me is near, who will fight against me? The Lord is my help, who will dare to condemn me?”
The commentary we can make on the passage refers us to the catechism.
Who was responsible for the death of Jesus on the cross?
Why did Christ have to die on the cross?
What did Christ redeem us from?
How does the salvation that Christ won on the cross come to me?
These questions introduce us to the mystery of God’s designs.
They are things we do not fully understand, but with the help of the Holy Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church we can attempt an answer.
No. 117 of the Compendium of the Catechism answers the first question.
Although some Jews, especially some members of the Sanhedrin, were responsible for the death of Jesus, neither the entire Jewish people of that time nor the Jews who came after them can be blamed for his death.
Every sinner, that is to say, every person, is really the cause of the Redeemer’s sufferings, and those who fall more frequently into sin are more guilty.
Christ took upon Himself, as the representative of all mankind, the penalty, the atonement, which we had to make for our sins.
In question 118, the Catechism clarifies: “In order to reconcile to himself all men, destined to death because of sin, God took the loving initiative of sending his Son to give himself up to death for sinners”.
Explaining a little more: every person who commits a crime, and this is evident in the civil and criminal sphere, must assume part of the damage caused by his actions.
The more serious the crime, the more severe the penalty imposed on the offender before he can be reintegrated into society.
In criminal law, everyone must pay for the crimes they have committed, either with a fine, prison time or other penalties stipulated in the law.
Also before God, each of us must accept the damage caused by our sins in order to qualify to receive God’s forgiveness.
But Christ became man in order to be in solidarity with humanity, and he bore and atoned in himself, by his passion and death on the cross, what we were unable to do.
Thus, thanks to Christ’s passion and death, we are enabled to receive God’s forgiveness and grace freely.
We participate in Christ’s victory over sin and death when we unite ourselves to him through faith and the sacraments: baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist.
However, Christ not only enabled us to freely receive God’s forgiveness and grace through his passion and suffering on the cross; he also conquered our death, so that death would not be the definitive end of human existence.
Christ, in his human condition, shared the death of man and overcame it by his resurrection.
Thus, whoever is united to him through faith and the sacraments participates in Christ’s victory over death and can hope to live beyond death in God and with God, united to Jesus Christ.
We participate in Christ’s victory over sin and death when we unite ourselves to him through faith and the sacraments: baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist.
These sacraments unite us to Christ and to the Church and enable us to participate in salvation.
However, we must also, in some way, participate in the sufferings of Christ.
We must carry our cross, as Jesus instructs.
Although he took upon himself the sin of the world, we, by offering our pains, sacrifices, adversities and sufferings in obedience to God, take up our cross together with Christ and unite ourselves to him in his death in order to reign with him also in the resurrection.