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23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
9-8-19
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In Luke 14:25-33 we read that large crowds
were coming to Jesus. The movement He started with a dozen men was
swelling with converts. How pleased the disciples must have been. They
had risked all, now their investment must have seemed like a gold mine.
How confident and successful they appeared surrounded by popular appeal
and growing numbers. It seemed the sky was the limit.
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Until Jesus opened His mouth and said, “If
anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and
children, his brothers and sisters, even his own life, he cannot be my
disciple.” Talk about letting the air out of the balloon. What a career
ending sound-bite that would make on the evening news. Hate parents and
family? Jesus, tell us You do not mean it. You are the one who taught us
to love even our enemies.
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Why are You making the conditions so hard?
Why make us choose between You and our family? Couldn’t Christianity be
more successful and popular if You eased up on us all? Are You sure You
know what You are doing? Jesus, of course, knew what He was doing. He
wanted to make sure those following Him knew what they were doing. He
wants to alert would-be followers that the hill is steep in the places
that they will be asked to climb.
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Jesus knew that the crowd surrounding Him
was not ready for the journey that awaits them as His followers. To
follow Christ is a risk because faith is not just nice thoughts and
feelings. It determines your life, who you are and what you do. Christ
came to call us to bear a cross, not just attend Palm Sunday Parades.
The saying about hating family is shocking, but not as shocking as it
sounds to our ears. In the first century, to hate in such a comparative
statement means to love less than when St. Matthew translates the same
sayings.
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Jesus says, “If you love your family more
than Me, you cannot be My disciple.” Is Jesus advocating a renunciation
of all family loyalties? No, Jesus picked the most cherished and most
honorable of earthy relationships to illustrate a point. Even the
highest and noblest of relationships must pale in comparison to the love
and loyalty to God. The lesson is plain to see.
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Jesus does not want followers who naively
rush into discipleship. Without knowing what is involved, He is clear
about the price and cost of discipleship. Jesus wants His followers to
count the cost so that they can become full-blooded disciples. To
paraphrase St. Ignatius, “Perseverance in discipleship means giving
without counting the cost.” Fighting without heeding the wounds, toiling
without seeking rest and laboring without asking for reward, save that
of knowing that you are doing His work.”
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Today’s message is that nothing in our lives
comes before God. But, this is not new. We have heard it all before.
You shall love the Lord, Your God, with your whole heart, soul and mind
and love your neighbor as yourself. The Ten Commandments tell us, “I am
the Lord, your God, and you shall have no other God’s before Me.” As
Jesus told us, “I am the way the truth and the life. There is no other.”
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| Yours in Christ, |
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| Fr. Bob Warren, SA |
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