“Whoever does not take up His cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (Mt. 10:38)
We were shocked by the tragedy that struck a local high school in Tacloban City, Philippines, a few weeks ago, when two teenagers shot and killed three of their high school mates and wounded many others. There are indications that the shooters were being bullied and were into watching violent video games.
Whatever reasons one may give for such a horrible and heartless crime, it is clear that we are being overcome by evil today. Whatever form the evil may take—whether executed by others upon us or found in larger society—the truth is that we are giving in to it in many ways. Jesus warned us not to search for the source of evil outside our hearts, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness” (Mk. 7:21-22).
One reason why we easily capitulate to evil is that we don’t know the power that we have as baptized Catholics. We are oblivious to the powerful grace which we receive at the moment of our baptism and how this grace empowers us to face evils and to overcome them with goodness.
Born into Christ’s Death and Resurrection
St. Paul tells us two things about baptism.
Firstly, through baptism, we are united with Christ in His death and thus share in His suffering and death. Paul writes plainly, “Brothers and sisters, are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” (Rom. 6:3). We will face the same evils that Jesus faced in His life, passion, and death. We will be rejected, tempted, falsely accused, abandoned by loved ones, face injustice, and even face death. Baptism does not dispel these evils; it plunges us into them by our union with Christ.
Secondly, we are united with Christ in His resurrection and thus share in the power of His resurrection. As St. Paul affirms, “We were indeed buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). By sharing in the power of the resurrection, we can overcome all evils and grow in relationship with God.
Because we share in the death and resurrection of Jesus through our baptism, we are able to please God by doing His will, even in the face of the most horrible evils. Paul advises, “Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11). Through baptism, we are brought into that life of Christ wherein we give glory to God at all moments and in all conditions. We can overcome sin and temptations in a sinful world as Christ did. We can endure suffering and pain in a broken, hurting world as Christ did. We can also live and love like Christ in a world of crass selfishness and wickedness. Because in baptism, God has already made us worthy of Christ by making us His beloved children: “Beloved, we are God’s children now” (1 Jn. 3:2).
Following Jesus’ Example
Jesus invites us to show that we are worthy of Him by living and loving like Him. Jesus loved the Father above all and always did what pleased His Father. We cannot be worthy of Him when we seek to love others while displeasing Him, for “Whoever loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Mt. 10:37). Being a child of God means that our first and greatest allegiance is to love God above all and to love others for His sake.
Jesus also suffered and endured grave evils as He loved His Father and all others. We are not worthy of Jesus if we refuse to embrace the many sufferings and trials that come with belonging to Him and sharing in His life through baptism. As Christ explains, “Whoever does not take up His cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Mt. 10:38). Through baptism, we find the grace we need to embrace our crosses with the confidence that we are unconditionally loved by God, even as we face pain and suffering.
How to Face Evil
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we will always experience evil in this world. We cannot understand or avoid many of these evils. We will face persecution, mockery, disdain, and rejection from a world that has forgotten God. We are scandalized by the many evils that we find even in our holy Church. The devil is ever busy tempting and tormenting us in our woundedness. We have our own inner struggles with sins and the hurts of our lives. We also have the struggle with difficult relationships where our loved ones are either unloving or unlovable, or sometimes both.
These are not the moments to give in and succumb to evil. These are not the moments to doubt the usefulness of our fidelity to God. These are the moments to remember and believe what God has done in our lives through holy baptism. These are the moments when we see these evils as invitations from Jesus to enter into His death on the cross for us and to experience the power of His resurrection in our lives. These are the moments when the risen Christ brings good out of the evils that we face, so long as we approach them with strong faith in the power of the resurrection. These are the moments when we can experience evils without giving in to them, instead choosing to make present a greater good. In short, these are the moments to show that we are indeed worthy of Jesus, made worthy by Him, and accepting His grace in every moment.
Baptismal Grace At Work
A woman reminded me some years ago about the power of baptismal grace in the face of evil. Her husband of over forty years had abandoned her for another woman. This betrayed woman experienced great shame and rejection because of her husband’s infidelity. I asked her what God might be saying to her in that moment. Looking at her wedding ring on her finger, she replied, “In the eyes of God, we are still married. I intend to keep my marriage vows before God, faithful to the very end. My husband may choose to break his vows, but I will not be unfaithful to him. I will love him and take him back if he returns to me.” This woman was firmly in touch with the grace of her baptism. Even in the face of injustice and infidelity, she chose fidelity and mercy. The grace of her baptism and relationship with the Lord helped her to be truly worthy of Christ.
In each Eucharist, we are united with Jesus Christ in His death, brought into His unjust suffering and pain, and filled with the power of His resurrection. The Eucharist reinforces our channel of grace in the face of inevitable sufferings and evils. We cannot pray all these evils away in this life, but when they strike, let us remember and believe in the power of our baptism, so that we too can love God and overcome evil by lovingly doing the good that pleases God—just as Jesus did.
Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!!
Image from Wikimedia Commons
