23RD
SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – C
Luke 14:25-33
We all became disciples of Jesus when
we were baptized, mostly when we were yet tiny babies. It was the deliberate decision of our parents
knowing it was for our own good as it was for them. The Christian community surrounding us
represented by our family circle, the parish and the religious environment helped
in raising us as good members of the Church.
As we come to the right age, we have to take up the faith handed down to
us with our own personal conviction. We
found out that being Christians is not just being baptized, going to church on
Sundays, saying prayers and attending novenas.
There is a lot more most especially if we want to live out our
discipleship more seriously.
No one lives without goals in
life. As Christians our ultimate goal is
to be with God for the rest of our life in eternity. We believe that Jesus, being the Way, the
Truth and Life, is the only one who can lead us in achieving that goal. This is the reason why we follow Him. But this discipleship is not just an ordinary
venture because it permeates the core of our being. Although it is God’s gift
to us nevertheless we have to pay the cost and fulfill the requirements towards
the full blossoming of that gift. If
we have set our goal, any person, things or situation that come in between in
achieving that goal should be eliminated.
Jesus’ teaching on renunciation is just like that. We are not to hate our spouses, parents,
brothers, sisters, children nor hate own selves because as Christians we love
those whom God loves. But if a person
becomes a hindrance in our following of Jesus, we have to make a sacrifice in
our preference to Jesus. This is also
true to all material goods which in themselves are a means to live good
Christian lives. But nothing, even our
most expensive possessions, is absolute hence the call for detachment.
I have a friend who comes from a very
Catholic family, went to Catholic schools, served as an altar server and is a
good man. But when his younger sister
got sick of cancer and died, he could not understand why such a loving God let
that tragedy befell their family. He
became depressed, stopped going to mass and eventually left the Church. He loved his sister very dearly so much so
that he stopped following Jesus because he could not be detached to his sister even
in her death. This might also be true to those who have lost their
loved ones, are not able to move on and cannot get away from grieving for a
number of reasons.
No one and nothing in this world has
absolute value that should define our existence; we may be privileged to
possess them for a time because they are God’s gifts to us as His children. Jesus’ call for renunciation is to put our
value system in the right perspective in terms of the ultimate goal He set for
us. Because Jesus is the absolute
standard by which we measure up everything in life, all things become relative
in Jesus. Loved ones, material
possessions, power, authority even kingdoms and powerful empires are all
passing away.
There are those who are called to
renounce totally everything for the sake of the Kingdom. They leave families, homelands, careers, some
even go for perpetual seclusion; all for the love of Jesus. They take the vow of poverty because they
believe that Jesus suffices hence the renunciation of everything. It may sound crazy for the materialistic
world but in reality it is the wisest thing to do. They have found the true treasure and joy
even while still on earth.
To those who follow Jesus in the
ordinariness of their lives, St. Paul reminds us: “I
count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ
Jesus as My Lord” (Phil. 3:8).
At the end we will find that those we have given up for the sake of Jesus are given back to us but now restored, transformed and renewed.
No comments:
Post a Comment