TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (2025)
Readings:
Wisdom 9:13-18
Psalms 90:3-6, 12-17
Philemon 1:9-10, 12-17
Luke 14:25-33
Perhaps there is no more important virtue expected of a teacher than truthfulness. We have a right to expect that what a teacher is teaching is true. While saying this does not sound especially profound, it is especially profound in a world of false teachers, a world where disinformation, misinformation, and falsehoods abound, all made considerably more accessible because of the internet. It is safe to say that Jesus was the best of teachers, perhaps the supreme teacher, for their is no teacher who has left a greater and more lasting mark on this world than Jesus, the Christ. There were many teachers in Jesus’ day, but He was distinguished from all others because, as the gospels state, “He taught with authority,” He taught what was true.
Today’s gospel continues to recount Jesus’ teaching tour as He makes His way to Jerusalem, and we are told that “great crowds were traveling with Jesus” and His apostles, a perfect opportunity to speak the truth, and teach from the heart. The harshness of Jesus’ teaching is tempered by what is said elsewhere in the Scriptures: “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.” That surely get the attention of His listeners. One can almost hear the rumbling repetition of His words as they make their way through the great crowds. Hate? Did the good teacher say hate? Is there ever room for ‘hate’ in any of Jesus’ teachings?
We can learn something about Jesus’ hyperbolic use of the word “hate” in the gospel of Luke by examining the parallel passage in one of the other Synoptics, Matthew. In Matthew 10:37, Jesus says: “The one who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; the one who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” The point is that Jesus demands priority over every other relationship. If you must choose between Jesus and a family member, then, Jesus wins. Our love for Jesus must be so strong that others recognize the strength of our love, not as “hate,” but as something meant to be emulated. The call to, and cost of, discipleship is difficult, for Jesus wants our all.
In this Ordinary time cycle of Luke, Jesus has spoken often about His disciples’ need to be fully aware of just what they are choosing, when they choose to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, and with a “great crowd” of interested people present, it is a perfect time to reiterate the uncomfortable truth: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” In using these difficult expressions, Jesus is going to separate the sheep from the goats, He is going to test the ‘metal’ of this “great crowd” to see just how many of them have what it takes to follow Jesus. Choosing Him over family, and carrying a cross which appears to be a definite for everyone, will cause some to change their minds about this itinerant preacher. As if they haven’t heard enough challenging words, the last sentence of today’s gospel might cause people then and today to think twice: “anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” The statement appears to leave little room for fudging. The two parables are only meant to enforce Jesus’ point. If you are going to choose to follow Jesus be like the man building the tower who accurately calculates the cost so he can finish. Or be like the king at war who, knowing the extent of the challenges that lie ahead rightly assesses the possibility of winning against such a formidable opponent.
Most Christians were baptized when they were children, and while the parents spoke for them, even they could not foresee whether their child was up to the challenges of following Jesus and His precepts for a lifetime. It is safe to say that so many were not. It is said, and I do not know whether it is true, that the largest faith community in the world is Christian; the second largest community are people who once called themselves Christian. In today’s gospel Jesus is insuring that if any of that “great crowd” decides they might want to genuinely follow Jesus, He has taken the trouble of telling them the true cost of discipleship.
But not only is Jesus speaking to a “great crowd,” He is speaking to us as well. Can we afford the cost of discipleship? Can we choose Jesus and His will for us even when it might involve challenging family members? Are we ready to take up our cross (or all our little crosses) on a daily basis? Are we ready to renounce all our possessions, seeing them in a right position in our lives, and never putting too much emphasis on the accumulation of wealth? And that is just what is included in today’s gospel. All of Jesus’ teaching in the gospel matters: what do we do for the poor and disenfranchised, for those on the fringes of society? Do we take advantage of people or situations in order to advance our own esteem? Are we humble, and caring, and kind, and compassionate, and forgiving, and not just to those who are closest to us?
Jesus wants our hearts aligned with His. St. Paul’s second reading is truly a Letter written to his friend Philemon. His slave Onesimus has no doubt stolen something from his owner, and ends up in prison with St. Paul. Paul is very fond of Onesimus. He speaks of himself as his “father,” and he has schooled him in the ways of Jesus. As much as Paul would like to keep him with him for the comfort he brings, he knows that to make restitution Onesimus must return to Philemon. In sending him back Paul says he is sending his “heart.”
Onesimus, Paul argues, has changed: “he is no longer a slave but more than a slave, he is a brother,” and, more importantly, “a man in the Lord.” It is the Lord Jesus that has changed Onesimus. The same Lord who can change us for the better. There is a cost to following the Lord, a cost St. Paul knew so well. When he gets out of prison (his cross?) he will sacrifice his life for the sake of the gospel. May we be men and women for whom the love of Jesus is all consuming. By cooperating with God’s grace may we lead others to the enervating and invigorating love of the Lord Jesus, through whom all things are possible, even the ability to pay the cost of discipleship.
parishionersforjustice.com 