"He turned and addressed them . . ."
Sunday readings: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/090813.cfm
Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us in these troubled times.
Wis 9: 13-18B
Phmn 9-10, 12-17
Lk 14: 25-33
Life
experience shows us that one serious choice automatically eliminates
another. Choosing a spouse for matrimony
eliminates all others. It also comes
with particular demands and responsibilities to that sacred covenant that
excludes other choices.
Likewise,
any serious life choice about one’s vocation is far more limiting than choosing
what to eat for dinner. But even that
most common choice eliminates other foods.
Faced with a buffet or pot-luck dinner may appear to offer us a plethora
of choices but sooner or later you can’t have it all. And so it goes in life.
This
same truth applies to our discipleship of the Lord Jesus. The demands and
limits that Jesus offers us this Sunday in the Gospel (Lk 14: 25-33) seem at
least on face value to be extreme. We
are called to “hate” our “father and mother, wife and children . . .” We must
carry our cross and renounce all of our possessions. Who would find such choices in any way
attractive? If that’s what it takes only the most severe would seek to follow
Jesus. Or might there be more under the
surface of these words? There always is.
The
choice to embrace the Gospel is serious business. We are not called to be part time Christians
or mere Sunday Catholics who give the appearance of discipleship but in truth
never let the core message of the Lord truly change our hearts and minds. But
is the alternative to hate our family and material possessions?
As
always we must remember that the Gospels were not written in modern English so
the word “hate” in this context must have another meaning. In essence the word must be better understood
as prefer. I must not prefer other people, human relationships, and material
possessions with all their advantages more than my relationship with
Jesus. To fall in love with the Lord is
to say that I prefer him above all other things and that I am willing to even
sacrifice all rather than find a less challenging way.
The
cost of discipleship is sometimes a “no pain no gain” sort of thing. Nothing worthwhile comes easy but in the same
way to follow the Lord is not an endurance test in which only the strong will
survive.
If
God is at the center of our lives and if we take the Gospel seriously with,
then all other people, places, and things fall into their proper order. As St. Augustine reminds us: “Our hearts are
restless until they rest in thee O Lord.”
There
is no doubt that we need to be connected to others on both an emotional and
social level. We are indeed made not to
be alone but to take God very seriously. When the cross comes into our
experience we will see it as part and parcel of our salvation and not just an
annoying and unnecessary form of suffering.
When
we look at our “stuff” in light of the treasure we hold in our faith, doesn’t
all the energy spent on the pursuit of riches take on lesser meaning? While we need a certain amount of things to
live with and we even pray for “our daily bread” in the Lord’s Prayer yet how much
is enough? If our life is all about accumulation then have we pushed God aside?
We can live without it if need be for we find ourselves attached to the search
of a better spiritual life. Nothing wrong with having things but they should
never be ends in themselves.
There’s
no doubt that Jesus sets the bar very high at times but it is for our ultimate
good. If we have a part of our life that is given over to doing good for
others, if we are serious about a prayer life, and generous with what we have,
then this Gospel becomes a way to be free and find a joy that only Jesus can
offer. Our Eucharist becomes a sign of unity and gratitude for the privilege we have of being sons and daughters of a Father who loves us into a life more than we can ever imagine.
O
God, by whom we are redeemed and receive adoption,look graciously upon your beloved sons and daughters,
that those who believe in Christ
may receive true freedom
and an everlasting inheritance.
(Roman
Missal: Collect for Sunday)
No comments:
Post a Comment