Nahum 2:1,3. 3:1-3,6-7 / Mt 16:24-28
The spectrum of differences within any random group of people is always very broad, not just in talent and appearance, but in the alacrity with which the various individuals connect maturely with life and find their own place. One need only scan a high school or college graduating class to confirm this. Some of the graduates are ready to break into a sprint, while the “late bloomers” haven’t yet decided whether to get out of bed.
There is something of the late bloomer in most of us. Even if we’re perfectly focused on our career goals and our next moves professionally, we may well be treading water in other parts of our lives. Our marriages may be anemic, our children may be troubled, and our spiritual lives may exist only in our imaginations.
In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks very firmly to us late bloomers: “Take up your cross and follow me,” he says. In Jewish idiom, the cross to which he refers is not something made of wood and used for crucifixions. “Cross” is an all-purpose term referring to our life’s work at any given moment.
“Look at your life and your gifts and resolve to honor your creator by wasting nothing that he has given you.” That’s what Jesus is saying. Whether we’re young or old those are words worth listening to!
