23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

September 8, 2019

Readings:

First Reading: Wisdom 9: 13-18b

Psalm 90 “In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.”

Second Reading: Philemon 9-10, 12-17

Gospel reading according to Luke 14: 25-33

+

Homily:

Jesus made great followers and wherever he went they followed him. Family by family, parents and children, and siblings, together they came and followed Jesus.  “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 ow life, he cannot be my disciple’.” (Luke 14: 25-26).  Those who followed Jesus were groups of families, parents, husbands and wife and children, siblings, and some were individuals and singles, young and old as well.  Jesus saw their intentions in following him as family affairs (pampamilya), trip, peer groups or barkadahan; they did not realize and recognize the heaviness of following him and the importance of self-giving in the ministries Jesus was installed for them.  He has to deny his loved ones if he wanted to become Jesus’ disciple. Only those who fit in his way of life are his truly disciples.

Also anyone who would like to follow him must carry his or her cross.  “’Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple’.” (Luke 14: 27).  He has to carry his cross.  What is this cross? What brings burden and heavy load is cross.  Sometimes our crosses are our own selves.  Our too much vices and sins, e.g., smoking, drinking, gambling and others, mga bisyo at layaw ng katawan.  Our weaknesses and wickedness that bring us to temptations.  Our personal grudges against our neighbors.  Our problems, struggles, distress, anxiety, stress these also are our crosses.  The first step in carrying his/her cross is to deny his/her own family – his/her own parents, brothers and sisters, and if he/she is married, his wife and/or her husband and their children.  The second step in carrying his/her cross is to deny his/her very self  for he/she cannot follow Jesus if he/she has baggage or heavy loads in him/herself.  And the third step is to leave behind all his/her possessions so that he/she can move freely and without any worries.  He/she has nothing to look behind.

Jesus gives some examples on how to become a truly disciple.  One of them is this.  “’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 man began to build but did not have the resources to finish’.” (Luke 14: 28-30).  As a truly disciple, he/she does not make or move at once without planning, counting the cost, and with lots of preparation in doing something.  After given instruction, he/she makes sure that he/she has enough, if not more than enough, or with extra aside from strength, capacity, ability, etc. (in the case of the story, more money), to do what is expected from him/her and to finish and endure until last the obligation entrusted to him/her.   He/she cannot start following and carrying his/her cross if he/she knows that he/she has no enough courage, capacity and all to finish his/her goal until the end.  Even if he/she is determined, he/she has to prepare him/herself, a need to sit down and calculate the cost, before following Jesus because the demand is heavy.

Another though similar story is given by Jesus.  “’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 delegation to ask for peace terms’.” (Luke 14: 30-32).  In reference to fighting, if you know you have no chance of winning, but instead of losing all that you have enough you use all your strength, ability, capacity, courage and all you property, that they go to nothing, first sit down and decide, you can still have a win-win situation.  Never surrender your kingdom to any foreign kingdoms without doing anything.  You have to protect what you own.  Not to fight but to depend in diplomatic way, so you will retain what you have and not to lose in an unequal aggressive rebellious combat.  Or if you cannot fight now because you believe that you cannot win because of lack of material resources and manpower, prepare yourself, prepare and gather more material resources and manpower in the future to overcome the number of manpower and material resources of your enemy, to win the battle.  Do not just throw away or give away what you believe and your faith in Christ Jesus.

The true follower and disciple of Jesus must be ready to sacrifice all that he has and used to be.  He must ready to leave behind all that he loves, i.e., his family, parents, siblings, wife and children, even his self.  “’In the same way, every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple’.” (Luke 14: 33).  All his plans and programs and projects, first example of building a tower, must be entrusted and leave it to Jesus, he knows the best.  All his struggles, combats, pakikipag-sapalaran, and battles in life, as in the second example of going into war, he must leave them to Jesus.  It does not mean that the true disciple will not do anything or coward, what Jesus wants that the disciple must trust him, believe and have faith in him.  In him everything is possible, for he is all knowing.  As what had happened in the Lake of Gennesaret, to Simon Peter and Andrew, to James and John, “when they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him” (cf. Thursday Gospel Reading, Sept. 5, 2019, Luke 5: 11).