Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?”
Mark 8:34-37
Pray: the Lord’s Prayer
To cultivate expectant joy, we need to know what we’re supposed to be expecting. This isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. The trouble comes down to what St. Augustine calls the order of our loves, our ordo amoris. He points to how much some people love beauty—and while beauty is good, says Augustine, it isn’t right to love beauty as much or more than we love God. Pulling God out of the principal position in our loves and replacing God with something else, even something good, can really mess with us. It can lead us to anticipate things that God never promised and yearn for things that God doesn’t desire for us. In this week’s gospel, Jesus comes head-on at his disciples’ order of loves. “Following me is not something you can do halfway,” Jesus is saying, to paraphrase. “Following me will take your life. Your whole life.”
There are lots of things—good things, like family and beauty and peace and justice—that vie for first place in our lives. How do we even begin to answer Jesus’ challenge to put the gospel first? Begin by praying the prayer that Jesus taught us. Pray the Lord’s Prayer slowly, several times, paying attention to the things for which it asks. Pray for God’s help in ordering your loves.