“Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” —Gospel of Matthew 16 : 25

Who wants to talk about self denial today? Self interest, it seems, is a more appealing topic for most people. People like to know what’s in it for themselves when they’re asked to do something rather than sacrificing their self interest for a higher good. I remember, when I was reading, Dreams of My Father, by Barack Obama, how surprised I was when he acknowledged what his political mentor taught him, “you’ll never get anywhere in politics unless you appeal to people’s self interest.” The remarkably gifted, President Obama, was adopting a strategy that comes natural to most politicians. The art of the deal, by our sitting President, elevates self interest as the means to success.

But what good is material success if it is not achieved with integrity of spirit?

As they say, we are living in a free country, and people are entitled to their own opinions. But, when it comes to the gospel and the words of Christ, we are not entitled to water them down or accomodate them to our own self interest.

We need to have faith in Christ and take Him at His word.

The cost of discipleship cannot be avoided or toned down or filtered or softened by self interest. Jesus did not preach a prosperity gospel. He asks us to follow Him. God knows we are all tempted to make a dash for cheap grace, to skirt the real issue of cross-bearing. But, we cannot ignore the message of the gospel, plain to all who have eyes to see and ears to hear: “whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Jesus was concerned in Matthew sixteen about the troubling direction of His popularity following the extraordinary miracle of the Transfiguration. The confidence of His followers, especially Peter, was boundless. They saw His star rising and they expected to rise with Him too. They had everything to gain and nothing to lose by following such a miracle-worker. This, they thought, was the dream of dreams; the good and wonderful life at its best. Is it any wonder that Peter would hear nothing of Jesus’s suffering and death at the hands of the chief priests and scribes? What would be the point in following such a loser? “God forbid,” Peter cried, “No such thing shall ever happen to you.” Jesus’s response to Peter was revealing, “Get behind me, Satan! You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do” (Matthew 16:23).

The giddy enthusiasm of fair-weather friends turns on a dime, and Jesus had to speak directly to his followers about the real cost of discipleship. He absolutely insists that He and all who would follow Him must take up the cross, must lose life in order to gain life (Matthew 16:25).

There is no room for self interest here.

Two of Jesus’ disciples, James and John, were spurred on by their mother’s self interest, and asked Jesus if they could expect to be rewarded by juicy promotions in His kingdom. Jesus rejected this notion of careerism in His kingdom, insisting that His disciples must deny themselves and follow him. No room either for career promotions either. Only a life of self denial and loving service.

Our calling as Christians is to follow Christ, not to be self serving or lording it over others in the name of Christ. Many people make the mistake of confusing career with vocation. A vocation is not a career. It is a way of life, and, for the Christian, that way of life is one of self denial modeled on the life of Christ.

If a person willingly loses his own life to find a new life in Christ, he or she will find the freedom and fulfillment promised to the children of God. Such a person will find the gift of joy. This is the joy of knowing your purpose in life, of possessing the greatest treasure of all, the pearl beyond price because you possess the Lord, the giver of peace.

No power on earth will ever be able to take this from you.

—Fr. Hugh Duffy