Twenty Third Sunday of the Year September 04, 2022
Wisdom 9:13-18; Philemon 9b, 12-17; Luke 14:25-33
Venus won. But she did not do her usual victory leap and
celebratory display. Instead she ran to the net, put an arm around her defeated
junior sister’s shoulder and said, “I love you.” Why did she say that? Because
the game is over now and her sister is no longer an obstacle in the way of her
victory. She said, in other words, “I am sorry, but I had to do it: I had to
fight you so hard, I had to “hate” you because you were standing in my way. But
I still love you.” That was a rare example of hating those we love, and from it
we can learn much about the injunction to “hate” our loved ones.
In simple terms, Venus loves Serena, except when Serena
becomes an obstacle that could prevent her from realising her ambition to win
the crown. Similarly we are lo love our parents and siblings and spouses, and
indeed everyone else, except when they become obstacles in our bid to win the
crown of eternal life. The crown of heavenly glory that the Father gives us is
worth much more than the ephemeral crown that Venus won on that day. So we
should be prepared to wage an uncompromising war to see that no person or thing
stands in our way to make us lose the crown. Possessions constitute a
formidable obstacle in many people’s bid for the crown of salvation. That is
why Jesus concludes today’s gospel with these words: “So therefore, none of you
can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (v. 33).
The message from today's Gospel is "the cost of being a
disciple." Jesus is on the road, going from village to village to proclaim
the coming of the Kingdom of God. Here he speaks of true discipleship. A disciple is one who is learning or has
learned from a master or teacher or one who follows the teachings prescribed by
a master or teacher. The demands of
discipleship require a total dedication on the part of a Christian. For some
time now, large crowds had been travelling with Jesus. The time had now arrived
for Jesus to sift those who were truly committed from those who were not. To
make the choice and to discern, Jesus presents two parables. In the first
parable, Jesus narrated that before someone builds a tower, he sits down and
calculates the cost. If he does not have enough wealth to finish the tower, in
all wisdom, he does not begin the project. Otherwise, he would be a laughing
stock. In the second parable, Jesus said that a king going to war against
forces that are far more superior to his, must carefully calculate the cost and
consider his chances of winning the battle. So it is with Christian
discipleship.
Luke in the Gospel clearly tells us that the following of
Jesus in the most radical terms would mean to find him in all persons. In
following Jesus, we have to go with him the whole way and have to accept
totally his way of seeing life and then putting that into practice in the way
we live. A Christian is someone who desires, at any cost, the Glory of God and
his own happiness in the Heart of Christ Jesus.
What is then true discipleship according to Jesus? The
essential condition for true discipleship demanded by Jesus was and still is
total dedication, a total commitment of the self to him. It is a complete surrender to the call of the
master. Therefore, Jesus says that whoever is not with him is against him. To
be a true disciple one must live the Christian life every day and the whole
day. To be a disciple and follow Jesus is a life journey. It involves a total
involvement in the causes for him. This is what Jesus wants to make us
understand through the examples or parables he tells us today.
In the Gospel, Jesus makes other conditions to follow him,
namely, self-control and detachment. We have yet another phrase here, namely,
"hating our own life". Jesus wants our lives to be lived in total
truth and love. Our lives are not to be determined and manipulated by
attachments, desires, ambitions, or fears and anxieties which can become very
much part of us. We are to live in total freedom. To be a true follower of
Jesus a person must be ready to sacrifice even what is nearest and dearest to
him if it comes between him and Christ.
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Happy Sunday
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