Greetings on this the Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: Rom 13:8-10; Ps 112:1b-2, 4-5, 9; Lk 14:25-33
Notes: I repeat the divine imperative to THINK you must surely be tired of it by now.
Discipleship:
- Radical love is the purpose.
- Carry Your Cross means, in its foundational sense, to be responsible for your life.
- Possessions are the distraction.
Hence discipleship is described in its inverse:
- 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.
- Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
- Everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.
Take the gospel portion today. Jesus asks us to think, calculate and decide.
- 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?
- 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?
He gives a great summary of responsibility here: Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Your cross is unique to you. It’s no bigger or smaller than it should be. Because responsibility is universal. Don’t be afraid. He’s got you.
First Reading
The commandments,
You shall not commit adultery;
you shall not kill;
you shall not steal;
you shall not covet,
and whatever other commandment there may be,
are summed up in this saying, namely,
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Love does no evil to the neighbor;
hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.
Responsorial
Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
He dawns through the darkness, a light for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice.
Lavishly he gives to the poor;
his generosity shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory.
Gospel Acclamation
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of God rests upon you.
Gospel
In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.
Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry