Mass Reflection: Sunday - 25th September 2022

AM 6:1A, 4-7; PS 146:7-10;1 TM 6:11-16; LK 16:19-31

“With great power comes great responsibility.” So goes the iconic line from the 2002 Spider-Man film in a poignant scene with Peter Parker and his wise Uncle Ben. We have all been given “great power” by God in the form of Time, Talents, and Treasure. Today’s readings remind us that this power is meant to be used for great good. And, that failure to do so has eternal consequences.
 
Our First Reading is again from the book of Amos. It warns of the danger of complacency. “Thus says the Lord the God of hosts: Woe to the complacent in Zion! Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches….” The Lord says that because of the complacency of the people, “They shall be the first to go into exile, and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.” 
 
The tendency towards complacency is perhaps an even greater danger for us in the modern age with so many conveniences (fast food, remote controls, Amazon prime to name a few) and so many possibilities for diversion and entertainment (cable tv, laptops, iPads, cell phones, and the myriad other devices we all use).

The Lord’s message could not be any clearer — we must get off the couch and put our powers (the many gifts He has given us) to work!
 
The Second Reading, from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy shows us how to free ourselves of this dangerous complacency we are warned of in the First Reading. 

Paul instructs us to:

• “Pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
• “Compete well for the faith.”
• “Lay hold of eternal life, to which [we] were called.” And 
• “Keep [God’s] commandment without stain or reproach.”

Notice how active St. Paul’s word choices are: “pursue,” “compete,” “lay hold,” and “keep” are the terms he uses to instruct us.
 
Our Lord Himself gives us a very clear illustration of the urgency for us to put our powers to good use in today’s Gospel Passage from Luke. He tells the rather chilling parable of the rich man who ignored poor Lazarus during their lifetimes. At the moment of the rich man’s death, he goes down to the netherworld while Lazarus is taken to the eternal joy and comfort in the bosom of Abraham. The rich man keenly regrets his complacency towards the needs of Lazarus, but it is too late for regret. His choices have played out and now the rich man will face the consequences of his failure to use the gifts God gave him.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 25th September 2022

First reading
Amos 6:1,4-7
Woe to those who live in luxury

The almighty Lord says this:

Woe to those ensconced so snugly in Zion
and to those who feel so safe on the mountain of Samaria,
those famous men of this first of nations
to whom the House of Israel goes as client.
Lying on ivory beds
and sprawling on their divans,
they dine on lambs from the flock,
and stall-fattened veal;
they bawl to the sound of the harp,
they invent new instruments of music like David,
they drink wine by the bowlful,
and use the finest oil for anointing themselves,
but about the ruin of Joseph they do not care at all.
That is why they will be the first to be exiled;
the sprawlers’ revelry is over.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 145(146):7-10

My soul, give praise to the Lord.

It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,
    who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
    the Lord, who sets prisoners free.

My soul, give praise to the Lord.

It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
    who raises up those who are bowed down.
It is the Lord who loves the just,
    the Lord, who protects the stranger.

My soul, give praise to the Lord.

The Lord upholds the widow and orphan
    but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
    Zion’s God, from age to age.

My soul, give praise to the Lord.

________

Second reading
1 Timothy 6:11-16
Do all that you have been told, until the Appearing of the Lord

    As a man dedicated to God, you must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses. Now, before God the source of all life and before Christ, who spoke up as a witness for the truth in front of Pontius Pilate, I put to you the duty of doing all that you have been told, with no faults or failures, until the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,who at the due time will be revealed
by God, the blessed and only Ruler of all, the King of kings and the Lord of lords,
who alone is immortal, whose home is in inaccessible light,
whom no man has seen and no man is able to see:
to him be honour and everlasting power. Amen.

The word of the Lord

__________

Gospel Acclamation
Jn10:27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice, 
says the Lord, 
I know them and they follow me.

Alleluia!

Or:
2Co8:9

Alleluia, alleluia!

Jesus Christ was rich,
but he became poor for your sake,
to make you rich out of his poverty.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Luke 16:19-31
Dives and Lazarus

    Jesus said to the Pharisees: ‘There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.

    ‘In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his bosom. So he cried out, “Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.” “My son,” Abraham replied “remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours.”

    ‘The rich man replied, “Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father’s house, since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too.” “They have Moses and the prophets,” said Abraham “let them listen to them.” “Ah no, father Abraham,” said the rich man “but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Then Abraham said to him, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 18th September 2022

First reading
Amos 8:4-7
I will never forget your deeds, you who trample on the needy

Listen to this, you who trample on the needy
and try to suppress the poor people of the country,
you who say, ‘When will New Moon be over
so that we can sell our corn,
and sabbath, so that we can market our wheat?
Then by lowering the bushel, raising the shekel,
by swindling and tampering with the scales,
we can buy up the poor for money,
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
and get a price even for the sweepings of the wheat.’
The Lord swears it by the pride of Jacob,
‘Never will I forget a single thing you have done.’

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 112(113):1-2,4-8

Praise the Lord, who raises the poor.

Praise, O servants of the Lord,
    praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
    both now and for evermore!

Praise the Lord, who raises the poor.

High above all nations is the Lord,
    above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God,
    who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
    to look down upon heaven and earth?

Praise the Lord, who raises the poor.

From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
    from the dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes,
    yes, with the princes of his people.

Praise the Lord, who raises the poor.

________

Second reading
1 Timothy 2:1-8
Pray for everyone to God, who wants everyone to be saved

    My advice is that, first of all, there should be prayers offered for everyone – petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving – and especially for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet. To do this is right, and will please God our saviour: he wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth. For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and mankind, himself a man, Christ Jesus, who sacrificed himself as a ransom for them all. He is the evidence of this, sent at the appointed time, and I have been named a herald and apostle of it and – I am telling the truth and no lie – a teacher of the faith and the truth to the pagans.

    In every place, then, I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer, with no anger or argument.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
cf.Ac16:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.

Alleluia!

Or:
2Co8:9

Alleluia, alleluia!

Jesus Christ was rich,
but he became poor for your sake,
to make you rich out of his poverty.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Luke 16:1-13
You cannot be the slave of both God and money

Jesus said to his disciples:

    ‘There was a rich man and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, “What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer.” Then the steward said to himself, “Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.”

    Then he called his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, “How much do you owe my master?” “One hundred measures of oil” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond; sit down straight away and write fifty.” To another he said, “And you, sir, how much do you owe?” “One hundred measures of wheat” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond and write eighty.”

    ‘The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.

    ‘And so I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of eternity. The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?

    ‘No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

 

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 18th September 2022

 AM 8:4-7; PS 113:1-2, 4-8;1 TM 2:1-8; LK 16:1-13 or LK 6:10-13

After today’s readings, we can’t say we have not been warned about the dangers of mixed-up priorities. God’s Word is so very clear today on the necessity of putting Him first in all areas of our lives.
 
We see this in the First Reading from Amos. The Lord has harsh words for those who would take advantage of the poor and whose priorities are not aligned with God’s. “Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land… Never will I forget a thing they have done!” Lest we think we are off the hook as long as we are not cheating the poor outright, the Lord condemns just as strongly those who are anxious for the Sabbath to be over so they can go back to the more “important” matters of business and the like. Even our thought life is important to the Lord! Perhaps we are not off the hook after all.
 
In the Second Reading from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy, Paul gives us the antidote to the self-centeredness condemned in our First Reading. The antidote, of course, is to imitate Christ. “There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all.” Rather than thinking of Himself and how to “get ahead” Christ gave Himself away — completely — for our sake. That is how we are to live. How to better serve God and give ourselves to others are the thoughts that should preoccupy our minds.
 
In our Gospel passage from Luke, the Lord shows us how to bridge the gap between worldly thinking and priorities and eternal thinking and priorities. Jesus tells the parable of the corrupt but clever steward who is about the get fired when the master discovers the steward has been squandering his property. Realizing his imminent unemployed status, the clever steward reaches out to the various debtors of his master to wheel and deal with them, making friends who would look out for him when he became jobless. 
 
We do have to give this man credit for his ingenuity. And, in fact, Jesus does just that by saying, “The master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.”
 
What do we learn from this curious parable to help us avoid the worldly thinking condemned in our First Reading and give ourselves away as Jesus did as is described in our Second Reading? We know this “bad steward” was clever and energetic. He put thought, prudence, and creativity into the plans he made for his self-serving ends and carried out his plans with great success. 
 
What if we put that kind of effort into our own tasks as good stewards of all God’s gifts to us?  
Into our ministries, into the ways we could make more time for prayer as individuals, as couples, as families, and as a parish? What if we got as creative as the “bad steward” in the use of our finances so that we could give more generously to the poor and the advancement of God’s kingdom on the earth? That’s our lesson and our challenge.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 11th September 2022

 

EX 32:7-11, 13-14; PS 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19; 1 TM 1:12-17; LK 15:1-32 or LK 15:1-10

Today’s readings focus on the personal, passionate, and merciful love of God which should fill us with unending gratitude to Him. This gratitude is the fuel, if you will, that keeps the stewardship way of life rolling along.
 
In our First Reading from Exodus, we see the Israelites whom God has just rescued from slavery, behaving like ungrateful brats. The Lord provides them divine rescue from their enslavement, and they turn their backs on Him to create a false idol in the form of a molten calf to worship. What hubris! Yet Moses pleads for God’s mercy towards them, and once again, God grants it in abundance.
 
In our Second Reading, from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy, we find a grateful Paul who says of himself, “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant, but I have been mercifully treated… Indeed, the grace of the Lord has been abundant along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” St. Paul is well aware of the sins he has committed. But this does not hold him back from ministry. Rather, it makes him all the more grateful to be God’s steward. How encouraging to know that this is true for us as well. Our past sins, and even our present struggles, do not disqualify us from becoming God’s grateful stewards. 
 
In fact, the more we have been forgiven and live with the awareness of our continuing need for forgiveness, the deeper our gratitude to God, and thus the more fuel we have in our tanks to live the stewardship way of life.
 
Jesus Himself gives us several poignant illustrations of His merciful love in today’s Gospel reading from Luke. Let us focus on one, in particular — the story of the lost sheep. Jesus begins this parable by asking, “What man among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?”

The natural response is no one!  It simply does not make sense to spend the time and energy searching for one lost sheep when there are so many others to tend to. But God’s logic, God’s mercy, defies human logic. 
 
Jesus does go after the lost one and continues to pursue him “until he finds it.” And when he finds the lost one, Jesus does not bring him back into the fold begrudgingly, with annoyance and frustration at having had to go after him. No, He brings the lost one back with great joy, carrying him upon His own shoulders. And who is the lost one?  It is every one of us when we stray away from God through sin, great or small.
 
What gratitude we owe to such a personal, passionate, loving God! Just think, even our sins, once forgiven, become a source of fuel for our stewardship way of life as we reflect with deep gratitude on the powerful mercy of our Savior.
 
How can we demonstrate our gratitude to such a God?  By living as His good stewards. We thank Him by offering back to Him the very best of ourselves — the talents He has given us (to use for His glory), the time He has given us (to spend with Him in prayer), the material resources He has given us (to advance His kingdom). 
 
In so doing, we can make the words of St. Paul, a former enemy of Christ, our own stewardship motto: “I am grateful to Him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me trustworthy in appointing me to the ministry,” We must keep rolling, Christian stewards!

 

Mass Reading: Sunday - 11th September 2022

First reading
Exodus 32:7-11,13-14
The Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened

    The Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Go down now, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have apostatised. They have been quick to leave the way I marked out for them; they have made themselves a calf of molten metal and have worshipped it and offered it sacrifice. “Here is your God, Israel,” they have cried “who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘I can see how headstrong these people are! Leave me, now, my wrath shall blaze out against them and devour them; of you, however, I will make a great nation.’

    But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘why should your wrath blaze out against this people of yours whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with arm outstretched and mighty hand? Remember Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, your servants to whom by your own self you swore and made this promise: “I will make your offspring as many as the stars of heaven, and all this land which I promised I will give to your descendants, and it shall be their heritage for ever.”’

    So the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 50(51):3-4,12-13,17,19

I will leave this place and go to my father.

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
    In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
    and cleanse me from my sin.

I will leave this place and go to my father.

A pure heart create for me, O God,
    put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
    nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

I will leave this place and go to my father.

O Lord, open my lips
    and my mouth shall declare your praise.
My sacrifice is a contrite spirit.
    A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.

I will leave this place and go to my father.

________

Second reading
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, and who judged me faithful enough to call me into his service even though I used to be a blasphemer and did all I could to injure and discredit the faith. Mercy, however, was shown me, because until I became a believer I had been acting in ignorance; and the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus. Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of them; and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life. To the eternal King, the undying, invisible and only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
cf.Ep1:17,18

Alleluia, alleluia!

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

Or:
2Co5:19

Alleluia, alleluia!

God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Luke 15:1-32
There will be rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner

    The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:

    ‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” he would say “I have found my sheep that was lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance.

    ‘Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would not, if she lost one, light a lamp and sweep out the house and search thoroughly till she found it? And then, when she had found it, call together her friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” she would say “I have found the drachma I lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.’

    He also said, ‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.

    ‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.

    ‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.

    ‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”

    ‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 04th September 2022

First reading
Wisdom 9:13-18
Who can divine the will of God?

What man indeed can know the intentions of God?
Who can divine the will of the Lord?
The reasonings of mortals are unsure
and our intentions unstable;
for a perishable body presses down the soul,
and this tent of clay weighs down the teeming mind.
It is hard enough for us to work out what is on earth,
laborious to know what lies within our reach;
who, then, can discover what is in the heavens?
As for your intention, who could have learnt it, had you not granted Wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from above?
Thus have the paths of those on earth been straightened
and men been taught what pleases you,
and saved, by Wisdom.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 89(90):3-6,12-14,17

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

You turn men back to dust
    and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’
To your eyes a thousand years
    are like yesterday, come and gone,
    no more than a watch in the night.

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

You sweep men away like a dream,
    like the grass which springs up in the morning.
In the morning it springs up and flowers:
    by evening it withers and fades.

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

Make us know the shortness of our life
    that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever?
    Show pity to your servants.

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

In the morning, fill us with your love;
    we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Let the favour of the Lord be upon us:
    give success to the work of our hands.

O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

________

Second reading
Philemon 9-10,12-17
He is a slave no longer, but a dear brother in the Lord

This is Paul writing, an old man now and, what is more, still a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I am appealing to you for a child of mine, whose father I became while wearing these chains: I mean Onesimus. I am sending him back to you, and with him – I could say – a part of my own self. I should have liked to keep him with me; he could have been a substitute for you, to help me while I am in the chains that the Good News has brought me. However, I did not want to do anything without your consent; it would have been forcing your act of kindness, which should be spontaneous. I know you have been deprived of Onesimus for a time, but it was only so that you could have him back for ever, not as a slave any more, but something much better than a slave, a dear brother; especially dear to me, but how much more to you, as a blood-brother as well as a brother in the Lord. So if all that we have in common means anything to you, welcome him as you would me.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
Jn15:15

Alleluia, alleluia!

I call you friends, says the Lord,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.

Alleluia!

Or:

Ps118:135

Alleluia, alleluia!

Let your face shine on your servant;
and teach me your decrees.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Luke 14:25-33
Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple

    Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way and he turned and spoke to them. ‘If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

    ‘And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it? Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, the onlookers would all start making fun of him and saying, “Here is a man who started to build and was unable to finish.” Or again, what king marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who advanced against him with twenty thousand? If not, then while the other king was still a long way off, he would send envoys to sue for peace. So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

 

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 04th September 2022

WIS 9: 13-18B; PS 90: 3-6,12-14, 17; PHMN 9-10, 12-17; LK 14:25-33

Today’s readings make very clear the demands that will be made of those wanting to be called disciples of Christ. We must be prepared to give our all to Him. But in the end, the life of discipleship — the stewardship way of life — is the only life that can truly satisfy.
 
Our First Reading, from the ancient book of Wisdom, prepares us for the challenging teaching that will follow in today’s Gospel passage. “Who can know God’s counsel or who can conceive what the Lord intends? For the deliberations of mortals are timid… the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns.”
 
Weighed down by financial woes, relationship stress, illness — all the concerns of modern life (and apparently, ancient life, too) — how can we possibly concern ourselves with anything more than these immediate needs? Our human “earthly” instincts limit our ability to think with an eternal perspective. But, a few verses later, we are told that God has sent His Holy Spirit from on high to assist us. “And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight.” Relying on the Holy Spirit, we can live indeed live for higher goals despite all the challenges of daily life.
 
But this way of life will not be easy, and our Lord, knowing well our human nature, must prepare us for the challenge. In the Gospel passage from Luke, Christ is very straightforward about the cost of living for the higher aims of discipleship. “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.” Our Lord is speaking here not of emotions, but rather of priorities. He must come first in all aspects of our lives. Period.
 
He goes on to say, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” In other words, it’s all or nothing. Compromise is simply not possible. Christ wants us to give all of ourselves, all aspects of our individual lives, our family life, our parish, over to Him and to the pursuit of His kingdom.
 
To further this point, Christ shares two parables. The first is about a builder who wants to construct a tower. Christ says that before beginning, the builder must sit down and consider the cost to see if he has what is needed to complete the project. The second parable is of a king facing a potential battle. Again, Christ says he must first consider if he has sufficient troops for success before he goes off headlong into battle. Discipleship will cost us, and we must be prepared to give it our all.
 
And just when we think our Lord might soften His message to make it a little more palatable, He goes further! “Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” Why is our Lord being so demanding? Only because He knows us so well and loves us so much.
 
He knows that if we do not live with great intentionality — putting Him first before all else — we will easily be swallowed up by the earthly cares that weigh us down — our material things, our status, and our egos. He knows that these things cannot satisfy us. He knows this because He is our Maker, and He made us for more.