"if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
There's that word again, "deny". It seems every time we turn around Jesus is asking us to live a life of denial.
Most psychologist would tell you that living in denial is not healthy. They would say you need to be who you are, embrace yourself, live and let live.
Fortunately for us, Jesus does not practice pop psychology. Jesus doesn't invite us to experience psychological consolation he invites us to enter into his suffering and discover true joy.
It is a strange fact that we have to embrace suffering in order to know joy. This also seems a bit contrary to modern society and the talking heads we hear daily.
Jesus invites us to "deny ourselves" and "take up our cross daily" and only then will we truly discover who we are and learn to live fully the life we have been given.
Denial simply means we have the courage and strength to say 'no' to our selfish desires. We can renounce ourself so that we can be for others.
Lent is an opportunity to practice "living without" so we can truly "live for others." This is a life of denial.
We learn to say 'no' so that we can say 'yes.' We say 'no' in order to take possession of ourselves and then we can truly give ourselves faithfully and fully. every 'no' directed toward a greater 'yes.'
Each day during lent we say 'no'; each day in lent we say 'yes'; each day in lent we take possession of ourself; each day in lent we are able to give ourself away.
Denial is the pathway to freedom. We must daily walk that path trusting that we do not walk alone but we follow the one who goes before us living for others in giving his all.
We are not doing what Jesus ask, we are doing what he did.
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