Following Jesus Requires Commitment: Reflections on the Readings for the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Wisdom 9:13-18b
Psalm 90
Philemon 9-10, 12-17
Luke 14:25-33

The word “hate” is tossed about freely these days as a term of intense dislike and hostility. Yet, that is not the way Jesus is using it. In the Bible it is an idiomatic term meaning to love less (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible). Thus, Jesus does not mean to dislike family, friends, and others, but is emphasizing the message that we must love them less than Him and the Blessed Trinity (God). Still, because of our conditioning, it initially comes across to us as a shock. But He is really emphasizing that to follow Him requires commitment to Him before all other things, even family.

The selection from Wisdom points out that the mind of God is different from the human mind. The concept mentioned, knowing what is in God’s mind, is echoed several times throughout both the Old and New Testaments. St. Paul notes, “For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor?” (Romans 11:34) We would not understand God’s teaching for us “except [God] had given wisdom and sent [His] Holy Spirit from on high.” This sounds almost like a reference to the discussion the Lord had with Job. “Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.” (Job 38:4, ff.)

This played out graphically through the Apostles who had difficulty understanding all of Jesus’ teachings despite spending three years in close contact with Him. Jesus understood this and promised them the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, to guide them into all truth (John 16:13). And look at the change that overcame them after the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Pentecost. After hiding in the upper room for ten days, they spoke boldly of the Son of God and converted thousands that day alone. (Acts chapter 2).

Dr. Peter Kreeft summed up this selection well when he wrote, “God has to keep reminding us of the two most obvious truths in the world: that we are not Him, and that He is not us.” (Dr. Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul, Cycle C).

The responsorial psalm also highlights the vast difference between God and mankind. For one, time is different for God. “But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8)

God is our refuge provided we “number our days aright” by following His commandments. Thus we will gain wisdom in our hearts and God will be our refuge.

Paul begins his letter to Philemon with the phrase, “prisoner for Christ.” This signifies Paul’s total commitment to Jesus. Onesimus, an escaped slave who met Paul and accompanied him in his physical imprisonment for the gospel, was now being sent back to his master, having been converted to the faith.

In a way, the letter to Philemon is also an appeal to the owner of Onesimus to commit to Jesus’ teaching by acknowledging Onesimus as a brother in Christ rather than a slave. This is consistent with Paul’s teaching about equality in Christ and all being part of the “One Body.” (e.g., Romans 12:4-5)

The reading from Luke is all about commitment and putting God and Jesus first. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

Jesus acknowledges that there is a cost to discipleship. He uses the examples of construction and battle to describe the efforts involved to ensure success. The important concept is that of success in becoming one of His followers. To understand the reward involved we can go to the ever-popular verse from the gospel of John: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16, emphasis added) And St. Paul tells us, “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him ...” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

So, as so often happens with Jesus’ teachings, we are asked to make a choice, Jesus or something else, and to calculate the risks and rewards involved. This is a good place to discuss what is known as “Pascal’s Wager” concerning belief in God. From the Encyclopedia Britannica (online) “Pascal’s wager, [is a] practical argument for belief in God. ... Pascal states, ‘Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.’”

Jesus ends with the blunt statement, “anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” Clearly He is demanding that He must be first in our minds and hearts. Unlike His conversation with the rich young man in Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 19:16-21) He is not telling us that we should immediately sell everything and give it to the poor, but that we should be willing to put Him ahead of everything, including our family and our lives, if we wish to be His followers. There are all kinds of martyrdom, sometimes referred to as red and white martyrdom, where red martyrdom is blood martyrdom, including dying for the Faith.

Ask yourselves, how do you live your lives? Are you content with calling yourself a Catholic Christian, going to Mass weekly and then enjoying going home to watch the football game (or other sports) from the comfort of your couch or do you go out of your way to help others, living Christ’s teaching? Do you make sacrifices for others? Sacrifice is a sign of love for there is no love without sacrifice. You may participate in all sorts of programs in your parish but ask yourself how those programs actually help others or are you just doing it to be seen as a “good Christian?” Recall the letter of St. James: “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like.” (James 1:22-24)

Recall what Joshua said as the Israelites were about to enter the promised land, “Choose whom you will serve … [secular gods], the gods in whose country you are dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) Like Jesus’ command to repent, His insistence that we choose between Him and the world is often overlooked.