Gospel Lk 14:25-33
Great crowds were traveling with
Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
In the Gospel Reading today Jesus issues us a
challenge. Just how important is our relationship to Him in comparison to all
the other relationships we have in our lives? The focus isn’t on the many
friendships that we may formulate during our lifetime, but the closest and
dearest relationships that influence us the most: our family. We are offered a
stark choice. Are we to make Jesus Christ the central figure in our lives or
are we lift up our friends and family above Him while reducing Him to a
secondary role? Jesus tells us that this is impossible. If we are to live our
lives truly through, in, and with Jesus Christ then we must commit ourselves
completely to Him.
In reality, this is a very
challenging task and it takes an abundance of faith to achieve it. Right now,
this very moment, how far are we willing to go to live out our faith-life and
defend it? I myself can say with confidence that many of us would fail when put
to this test. It is a most difficult challenge but one that must be presented
to us in order to reveal just how important our Christian Faith must be. Jesus
tells us that there can be no compromise. If indeed we believe as Christians
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God then we must act accordingly. What conflict
we face, whatever decision we are presented with, it must be approached within
the aspect of our relationship with Jesus. This in itself is a cross which we
are commanded to bear. Just looks at us individually and says, “If you believe
in me than you must conduct yourself as if you do.” We cannot compromise. We
cannot set Jesus aside and only engage Him when we want to. The relationship
must be a continuous effort which will then produce positive results.
Throughout our lives we
struggle with our free will. So many times we make decisions that actually make
our lives more difficult yet we refuse to recognize the pattern and continue forward
convincing ourselves that we know better. Our brains are cluttered with
illusions of grandeur and success. These plans are usually focused around material
objects and pleasures. Jesus again challenges us to dismiss all of this in
favor of Him. On the surface, this appears to be a tremendous gamble to take:
Is it easier to focus on physical pleasures than to embrace the spiritual? Yes
indeed it is. This is another cross that Jesus tells us that we must bear in
order to follow Him. There is no compromise in this area.
The Book of Wisdom tells us
that,
“For the
corruptible body burdens the soul
and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns.
And scarce do we guess the things on earth,
and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty;”
and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns.
And scarce do we guess the things on earth,
and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty;”
This serves as a warning to
us all. We are all at a disadvantage regarding our faith because we are so
intently focused on the material. So much of our time and energy is focused on
the materialism of the world in comparison to our spirituality. Jesus tells us
to throw all these distractions away and focus completely on Him. To achieve
joy and happiness in this life and beyond, this is a necessity. So we are
confronted with a stark choice: listen to Jesus Christ the Son of God or listen
to ourselves.
Deacon Tom
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