Wednesday of the Thirty first Week in Ordinary Time

Wednesday of the Thirty first Week in Ordinary Time

Readings for Wednesday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Phil 2:12-18

Responsorial Psalm Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Gospel Lk 14:25-33

Reflection:

Since we are still basking in the glow or suffering in the gloom of yesterday’s elections it is appropriate that the Gospel message we hear speaks to us about the choices we make in our lives. Jesus is traveling with a large crowd, Luke says. He turns to address them, knowing that many are just hangers on or curiosity seekers. Then he gives them both barrels as the old saying goes. Skipping to the end of his parables the Lord says; “In the same way, every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”

We can imagine the affect this statement had on that large group. Our guess would be that after that speech, most of that crowd would just fade away. We know that during his ministry his popularity rose and fell. We say fell because at the end, in the garden, even his most faithful followers fled in the face of the impending passion. Who indeed could drink that cup? Who can worthily carry that banner forward? It is our great solace that He hears us as we proclaim during the Mass; “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”

I see things are getting a bit morbid, it is not intended to be so. We are called to follow the Lord. We are given several very difficult axioms of discipleship to follow;

1.) Love God and love one another.
2.) Turn away from sin (I have defined sin as a conscious failure to love)
3.) Empty our selves of pride and humbly follow Jesus.
4.) Dedicate ourselves totally to living by his example (that’s we hear today)

We said these are the axioms of discipleship they sit on top of our profession of faith and are in parallel to the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) and the doctrines of faith promulgated by the teaching magesterium of the Church. As best I can tell those now living disciples who come closest to this ideal are the Priests, Bishops, and vowed Religious.

We who live in a married state would find it difficult to follow this most recent injunction literally. But that does not mean we should think that it does not apply to us. A person who lives in a married state, lives in sacramental grace. The Lord himself blesses this union and the Church sees this sacred union as a symbol of the love Jesus, the bridegroom, has for his bride, the Church. It is not reasonable or responsible for a married couple to neglect their responsibility to family. This question, as it now becomes obvious, is at the heart of our individual search for the will of God in our lives.

How do we reconcile our need to provide for the needs of our family whom we love and at the same time selflessly follow Jesus? We are not going to get to that answer here and even once we find it, the answer we find moves on. We ask ourselves; what can I do in my daily life to follow the example of Jesus? We struggle with our humanness that wants us to do what is self serving and suppress our compassion and generosity for the sake of visible success in secular society.

It is our constant struggle with the opposing forces of good and evil in our lives that makes the example the Lord set for us so difficult. Our prayer for today is; Lord, help me to make right choices today. Let me serve you in all I do. May my successes bring you glory and my failures serve to instruct me in a greater love of your son’s passion.

Amen