Sunday, 6 September 2026 · Twenty-third week

Today's reading

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross.

Matthew 16:24

This is not a verse about suffering for its own sake. It is about which self you are following on a given day — the one that wants comfort at any cost, or the one capable of carrying something for someone else's sake.

Most crosses are small and undramatic: a hard conversation had honestly, a temper held, a task finished without credit. The verse is asking whether you are willing to pick one of those up today, not whether you can carry a tragedy.

What small, undramatic thing today is actually your cross to carry?