3 And whither must the Lord be followed? Whither He is gone, we know; but a very few days since we celebrated the solemn memorial of it. For He has risen again, and ascended into heaven; there must He be followed. Undoubtedly we must not despair of it, because He has Himself promised us, not because man can do anything. Heaven was far away from us, before that our Head had gone into heaven. But now why should we despair, if we are members of that Head? Thither then must He be followed.
And who would be unwilling to follow Him to such an abode? Especially seeing that we are in so great travail on earth with fears and pains. Who would be unwilling to follow Christ there, where is supreme felicity, supreme peace, perpetual security? Good is it to follow Him there: but we must see by what way we are to follow. For the Lord Jesus did not say the words we are engaged in, when He had now risen from the dead. He had not yet suffered, He had still to come to the Cross, had to come to His dishonouring, to the outrages, the scourging, the thorns, the wounds, the mockeries, the insults, Death.
Rough as it were is the way; it makes you to be slow; you have no mind to follow. But follow on. Rough is the way which man has made for himself, but what Christ has trodden in His passage is worn smooth. For who would not wish to go to exaltation? Elevation is pleasing to all; but humility is the step to it. Why do you put out your foot beyond you? You have a mind to fall, not to ascend. Begin by the step, and so you have ascended. This step of humility those two disciples were loth to have an eye to, who said, “Lord, bid that one of us may sit at Your right hand, and the other at the left in Your kingdom.” They sought for exaltation, they did not see the step.
But the Lord showed them the step. For what did He answer them? “You who seek the hill of exaltation, can you drink the cup of humiliation?” And therefore He does not say simply, “Let him deny himself, and follow Me” howsoever: but He said more, “Let him take up his cross, and follow Me.”
Source: Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament (New Advent)