Reflection for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
The lectionary translation of the readings for this Sunday can be found at https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090725.cfm
1st Reading:
Wisdom 9:13-18b
This is a portion of what is known as Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom. Solomon recognizes that he is merely mortal although he has been entrusted with much at God’s hand. In this prayer he asks for the gift of Wisdom and in the section we have he gives his reasoning why. Note how throughout the prayer he recognizes that the physical part of our existence oftentimes holds back the spiritual. Notice how the author connects wisdom with the spirit of God.
2nd Reading:
Philemon 9-10, 12-17
A lot of what we believe about the situation to which this letter refers is inferred from the letter itself. Evidently Philemon’s slave Onesimus had run away from her and went to Paul. Maybe this was a result of his preaching about the radical equality of Christians. He stayed with Paul who instructed him and they became friends. Paul now sends him back to return to his role as servant but admonishes Philemon to treat him as an equal. The two concepts, servitude and equality, are held in tension.
Gospel:
Luke 14:25-33
If any one 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. Lk 14:26-27
Setting & Parallels:
Most of this selection is paralleled in Mt 10:37-39. The sentence about seeking to preserve your life only to lose it is paralleled in Jn 12:25. This is part of Jesus ministry while on his way to Jerusalem. It comes after the section on the difficulties between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees along with some cures and several teachings. As this selection begins, “great crowds” are following him.
Verse by Verse:
Lk 14:26 “If any one comes to me without hating…” | The United Bible Society Handbook says that it is inappropriate translate this using a term for hate that “implies emotions of aversion and malice.” It doesn’t give an explanation beyond that. The AYB quotes A. Plummer, The Gospel, who says “Jesus, as often, states a principle in a startling way, and leaves His hearers to find out the qualifications.” The JBC explains, “The force of the word [hate] is Semitic; in Mt [Mt 10:37] the expression ‘loves father or mother more’ shows that hate must be understood in the sense of ‘love less’.”
Remember that the early people lived in a family oriented society. You needed family to be recognized, to be safe, and to just survive. They didn’t have 401ks then, or insurance policies, etc. All they had was family to depend on. Letting go of all of that means putting our trust completely in God.
Lk 14:26 “…cannot be my disciple.” | Lk uses this term to mean a follower of Jesus the rabbi, or teacher. His disciples would live according to the way he, the rabbi, taught. In Acts of the Apostles it is used to identify Christians.
Lk 14:27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross…” | Luke Timothy Johnson states that the use of “his own” stresses a need for a “personal acceptance” of living the life of discipleship. Instead of being a fan of Jesus, it is necessary to life as he lived. Remember that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and the cross.
Lk 14:28 “…does not first sit down and calculate the cost…” | A conscious decision is necessary to become a disciple.
Lk 14:29 “…onlookers should laugh at him…” | This is not the reason we should stop and think before becoming a disciple but it is something the hearers would have understood. It is basically saying, it would be foolish to become a disciple without first knowing to what you are committing.
Lk 14:31-32 “Or what king…”| This is simply another example of how foolish it would be.
Lk 14:33 “…everyone of you who does not renounce…” | It may not be necessary to take this literally. In our tradition “renounce” is often understood as detachment. The same admonition is in Lk 12:33 and is the counsel given to the rich young man in Lk 18:22. It is that which we cling to which keeps us from being committed disciples.
What the 1st hearers heard:
Being a disciple of Jesus requires commitment to living the way Jesus lived and taught.
What would change if our community really heard this Gospel?
We would reassess our own commitment and either commit anew or stop pretending.
What is the good news in this Gospel?
The good news is in the verse following our selection; we are expected to be the salt of the earth.
Gospel Reflection
Salt is Good
There is no way that I can soften the shocking harshness of this Gospel selection. It was meant to be shocking. Even the physical description of what is going on adds to the intensity. Jesus is being followed by “great crowds”. It says that he turned to address them. I think I would have said “He turned and yelled out.” What was it about the crowd that set him off?
The strength of Jesus’ words was meant to shock us and get our attention. It is a literary technique not to be taken literally but to be understood as emphasis; it’s not easy to be a disciple of Jesus. To be a disciple of Jesus, we must let go of all our ties to the this-worldly. He specifies family because, in the ancient world, family is all people had to depend on. They couldn’t exist without family. There were no social programs, no insurance, no retirement accounts, nothing.
Jesus is basically saying; “If you are following me because of the hype, if you are doing it because everybody else is, if you are following me because you’ve heard of the miracles, you are not being one of my disciples. You are just a hanger on. I don’t have much use for that. If you want to be one of my disciples and experience the benefits of being my disciple, you have to detach yourself from everything you depend on. You need to let go.”
If we have to give up absolutely everything, why would anyone want to be Jesus’ disciple in the first place? You probably don’t know, because the Church stopped this reading too soon. The answer is in the next verse. It’s the one that says “Salt is good, but if salt itself loses its taste, with what can its flavor be restored?” Lk 14:34 It coincides with Matthew’s Gospel wherein Jesus tells the disciples that they are the salt of the earth (Mt 5:13) and it is paralleled in Mark 9:50.
Now I know that deep down inside, everyone wants to be good. Well here is what Jesus says… take becoming disciple seriously and you will become salt of the earth. The salt passage in Mark’s Gospel says this will bring peace with one another. We all prefer people like that, we all prefer peace in our lives and, deep down, we would all like to be that type of person.
So, if you really want to be a good person and live in peace, detach yourself from all you depend on, carry your own cross and follow Jesus. Remember, in this story, he is on his way to Jerusalem to take up the physical cross in his life by which he defeated death. Our personal crosses won’t be the same. It might be being a member of a group that is oppressed or scapegoated by society. It might be living in poverty. It might be working at a unsatisfying job. It might be living in unhealthy relationships. It might be living in addiction. It would be anything that holds us back whether created by us or imposed upon us.
And Jesus isn’t saying that we should merely accept the crosses we endure without trying to change the situation. Some things we can change and some crosses must be endured. What he is saying is not to run away from our crosses but deal with them, so to speak. It is by acknowledging the truth about the crosses we bear and confronting them that we grow as human beings. Twelve Step people may know this better than the rest of us. It is by growing as human beings that we become salt. And remember, “salt is good” (Lk 14:34).
Remember Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference” This is another prayer that Twelve Step people know well. One of them tells me he has a “God box” and when he is confronted with something which he is powerless to change, he hands it over by symbolically putting in his God box. He tells me the situation always gets resolved somehow. How much do we trust?
God bless you all…
Personal Reflection:
If any one 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. Lk 14:26-27
Question:
What words or phrases attracted your attention during the Liturgy of the Word on Sunday? What connection do those words or phrases have to your day-to-day life? (Why do you think they attracted your attention?) What might God be trying to say to you through these words or phrases? What response should you make? What action should you take?
Alternative:
Share about/Reflect upon a cross you have, or had, in your life. Where did it come from? What was, or would be, necessary for you to confront your cross head-on? How was, or is, the Lord involved in your efforts? What is your prayer for the future?
