I recently received a video of a nun talking about carrying our cross.
It is an amusing video. She said you can carry a Styrofoam cross but, to this effect, she said the real challenge is carrying the heavy cross of daily living, the way Jesus carried the cross of our transgressions to Calvary.
It hits the heart of true sacrifice and carrying our cross, nailed with burdens, needs, pain and sorrow.
But carrying a Styrofoam cross impresses onlookers, not God.
It achieves the command of Jesus but only in form.
He carried the heavy cross of human sin, shed real blood and died in shame — but rose from the dead in triumph. He defeated spiritual death.
He plainly said: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and carry his cross and follow me.”
The “ber” months are here. In the Philippines, months ending in “ber” signal, in twinkling lights, that December is only a few footsteps away.
Come to think of it, December gives us the birth of our Savior and concludes with his death and resurrection on Easter Sunday.
As I struggle to compose my September column, I am also thinking of our fellow Filipinos and neighbors in Nepal who are struggling to cleanse away the mud and rise above the floodwaters caused by recent typhoons and the habagat.
What word of encouragement can I anoint them with when I myself am trying to rise above the flood-eaters of my life?
We are one in this national flooding problem. While those Who Have can go on with life, dry and well-fed, those Who Have Not are expected to smile when interviewed on TV because “the Filipino spirit is like a bamboo that sways with the wind.”
We who have carried the brunt of failed flood control projects are expected to grin and say, “Kaya ko... kaya natin ito,” but for how long?
Maybe it is time for our leaders to honestly look into their hearts. Maybe it is time for them to carry the cross of sacrifice in national service and deny themselves.