23rd Sunday of Ordinary Times

Jesus did not want to deceive anybody about the difficulty of being his disciple. In the Gospel he sets down three conditions. IF one wants to be his disciple one must break away from (‘hate’) one’s family, one’s goods and even one’s own life. These demands are unacceptable to those who think in human terms. They can be understood and accepted only by those who have been granted “wisdom from above”, as we read in the first reading. The letter to Philemon is a beautiful example of love in practice, of forgiveness, and detachment form material goods.

           Jesus doesn’t tell us things we like to hear. He tells it like it is. He tell us it will not always be easy if we go with him. True, but I have seen over and over again, life is even harder if we try to live our lives without him. Only those who have made the decision to put Christ first know that they have really gained everything, for in Jesus is the fullness of life, the fullness of all that is good.

The story of the tower half built is an image of our spiritual lives when they are built on half-hearted efforts. To follow Jesus requires practical wisdom, and we need to know that it will involve the cross. Heaven is not going to be “pie in the sky”. Heaven is the happiness of surrendering ourselves to the greatest lover in the universe. Do you believe in heaven? If yes! What you risk reveals what you value. G.K. Chesterton reminds us, “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” Sometimes, better to fight and fall than to live without dignity. Because disrespect can permanently shut doors, that apologies can’t reopen.