I BOAST ONLY ABOUT THE CROSS OF CHRIST

XIV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Galatians 6:14-18

These times we are living in, we are faced daily with novelties that leave us puzzled. Pride and the boasting that goes with it were considered a grave sin, being one of the seven deadly (capital) sins, meaning that it is the source of other sins. However, nowadays, it has been instituted the pride month. Saint Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, writes that some people “glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” (Phil 3:19). A tiny group, counted on their percentage, wants to rule the world and force everybody else to swallow their self-dignity to celebrate the exception. We used to say that the exception confirms the rule. Now, the exception wants to be the rule. Is there any pride to go against the rule and swim against the current to invert reality and impose oneself on others? Pride is a sin because it forces the world to move around me. I establish the rules and everybody else has to live by them. If the others question my self-assertion, they will suffer my wrath and be cancelled. They have no rights to be affirmed, but the right to acclaim and serve me.

In the passage of his letter to the Galatians, which we read this Sunday, Paul considers that he has nothing to boast about, but the cross of Christ “through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.” The cross of Christ sets a different path, the only path that leads to salvation. Jesus crucified is the way and only way that leads to life because it leads to God. The cross is the affirmation of faithfulness and total self-giving. Jesus was ready to spend his life and shed his blood for the sake of others. He came “to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk 10:45). To become Jesus’ disciples, we must carry our cross (Mt 10:38). That is why Paul considers himself crucified to the world. He does not conduct himself anymore taking into account the values of the world, such as hunger and thirst for power, wealth, and fame which lead to one being swollen with himself to the bursting point. Christ lifted on the cross is set before us for us to be healed and saved, making it possible to live in love and to find peace.