23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time / C
05/09/2010
Luke 14, 25-33 (P.513)
In this era of back to school and resume normal activities for many, the liturgy offers us a gospel particularly apt to wake up the daily grind ... a radical Gospel sent to large crowds were traveling with Jesus, translate: addressed to all Christians. The central question of this course disturbing is this: being a disciple of the Lord or not not be! Twice the Lord speaks to us as well: you can not be my disciples, if you do not do this if you do not adopt such an attitude ... listen again one after another these sentences "shock": If someone one comes to me without preference to his father, mother, wife, children, siblings, and even his own life, he can not be my disciple.
Similarly, those of you who do not renounce all that he hath can not be my disciple.
There is a link between these two requirements. The first asks us to love Christ above love for our family and for our own lives. The second asks us to renounce material goods. Family relationships, our lives, our properties and possessions have in common that quality of being "property" and therefore positive realities in our human existence. For the man who is not spiritual these properties are the supreme goods. The requirement of Jesus in this Gospel is the fact that only God is good, only God is the Supreme Good. And if Jesus can have such requirements to us, precisely because it is the second person of the Holy Trinity, is God himself. Whoever
does not bear his cross and come after me can not be my disciple.
What we demand is really crucifying beyond our reasonable human perspectives, beyond our strength and our goodwill. Why so radical in his teachings? Why set the bar so high for those who want to become his disciples? Is not it frustrating? We must understand that the Lord thus designates the obstacles that stand in our way of holiness. Human goods can become obstacles if we absolutisons if we forget that they are ephemeral, fragile and relative, if we take the means to the end. This is probably no coincidence that this follows the Gospel parable of the guests at the banquet in the Kingdom of God: A man gave a great dinner, and he invited many people. At dinner, he sent his servant to say to guests, 'Come, now dinner is ready. " But they all began to excuse themselves so. The first said: 'I bought a field, and I have to go and see it please, excuse me. " Another said: 'I bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm going to try, please, excuse me. " A third said: 'I just got married, and for that reason, I can not come. "
link seems to Obviously with our Gospel in this parable as an attachment to material possessions (a field of cattle) or the family property (marriage) is a barrier in the positive response that guests should give to God.
Like any biblical teaching we receive seriously and in context, because God can not contradict itself. Preferring the love of Jesus to love his family certainly does not despise or abandon his family. Following the commandment of God who asks us to honor our parents, St. Paul does not hesitate to say: If someone does not take care of his family, especially the nearest, He has already broken his faith, he is worse than an unbeliever.
This does not detract from the fact that in certain circumstances crucifying children will offend or even hurt their parents to be faithful to God's will on them. If Jesus calls me to devote my life as a priest or religious, and if my parents object to this appeal, I prefer the call of Christ to the advice of my parents. That prefer Jesus to his parents. As prefer Jesus to his own life, be ready to go to martyrdom for him to stay faithful with God's grace. In these extreme choices, heroic, we carry our cross to truly follow Jesus.
The story of the tower to build back on her a sentence of Ecclesiastes: "To conduct a business is better than the first: it is perseverance that counts, not the claim." Carry our cross to follow Jesus is therefore not only make choices heroic, but also and above all persevere in our love of God and neighbor through the generous and faithful discharge of our duties of state. That's a nice program Back to all! Program unworkable if we do not put personal prayer at the heart of our days, utopian ideal if we do not experience the loving presence of God in our lives.
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