CCC 273, 300, 314: God’s transcendence
CCC 36-43: knowledge of God according to the Church
CCC 2544: prefer Christ to all else
CCC 914-919, 93-932: following Christ in consecrated life
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| “Christ Carrying the Cross” by Cecchino del Salviati, 1540s |
Reading 1: Wisdom 9:13-18b
Who can know God’s counsel,
or who can conceive what the Lord intends?
For the deliberations of mortals are timid,
and unsure are our plans.
For the corruptible body burdens the soul
and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns.
And scarce do we guess the things on earth,
and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty;
but when things are in heaven, who can search them out?
Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?
And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight.
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Commentary on Wis 9:13-18b
This selection is part of what is known as Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom (see also 1 Kings 3:6-9; 1 Chronicles 1:8-10). In it the author asks the ancient question: “Who can divine the will of the Lord?” It is asked rhetorically, in that the question is not answered. We mortals alone cannot understand God's will. We are not pure spirit, nor are we in communion with God. Our only salvation is that God sent the Holy Spirit who shows us what pleases God, and leads us on the right paths.
"'Because God did not wish to be known any longer through the image and sign of living wisdom to be found in created things, as happened in former times, it was his will that Wisdom itself would become flesh, and that, having been made man, he would suffer death on the cross; so that in all the days to come, everyone who believed in him could be saved through their faith in the cross. In former times, the Wisdom of God stamped his seal on all created things – and the presence of his sign is the reason why we called them 'created’ – to reveal himself and so make his Father known. But later, this same Wisdom, who is the Word, was made flesh, as St John says; and having overcome death and saved the human race, he revealed himself in a clearer way and, through himself, revealed the Father'" (St Athanasius, Contra arianos, 2, 81-82). [5]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14-17
R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
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Commentary on Ps 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14-17
The psalm in its entirety is a communal lament. The strophes in this selection reflect on the mortality of humanity, and the brevity of human life. (It is also an example of the human understanding that God’s immortal view of time is not like ours, which gives us insight into such events as the creation accounts in Genesis.)
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Reading II: Philemon 9-10, 12-17
I, Paul, an old man,
and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus,
urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus,
whose father I have become in my imprisonment;
I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.
I should have liked to retain him for myself,
so that he might serve me on your behalf
in my imprisonment for the gospel,
but I did not want to do anything without your consent,
so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.
Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while,
that you might have him back forever,
no longer as a slave
but more than a slave, a brother,
beloved especially to me, but even more so to you,
as a man and in the Lord.
So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.
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Commentary on Phmn 9-10, 12-17
The passage from St. Paul’s Letter to Philemon is his plea (not command) for the runaway slave (and perhaps thief), Onesimus. The apostle alludes to Onesimus’ conversion (whose father I have become in my imprisonment). In the strongest possible terms, he lets the slave’s former master know that he (St. Paul) considers him (Onesimus) to be a brother in the Gospel of Christ, rather than a slave. The apostle then encourages the community at Colossae, to which the letter is directed, to accept his return on that basis.
CCC: Phmn 16 2414
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Gospel: Luke 14:25-33
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“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.
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?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or 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?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
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Commentary on Lk 14:25-33
The Lord, perhaps in an action intended to identify those who had the zeal to be true disciples, tells the crowd of the necessity of total dedication to the call to discipleship. They had seen his recent miracles of healing and were, no doubt, hoping to learn wisdom from him.
He tells them that they must place their love of God first, in front of family and even their own lives. He tells them, through two examples – the construction of the tower and the evaluation of the battle – that they must measure the sacrifice needed to be his follower. He punctuates his statement by telling them they must “renounce” all their possessions to follow him.
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Homily:
When the Gospel was proclaimed I suspect many of us reacted the same way saying: That’s not a very uplifting piece of scripture. “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.” Where is the Lord coming from with that? Luke goes on to quote the Lord as saying: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
First, let’s address St. Luke’s use of the word “hate.” In almost all English translations of the scripture the Latin words “non odit” are translated as “hate not.” Many scripture scholars look at the parallel passage in St. Matthew’s Gospel for a sense of what that word means in this context, since it is so unlikely that our Lord actually used the word hate. St. Matthew’s Gospel says “Whoever loves father or mother more than me” (Matthew 10:37ff). Because of this cross- reference many scholars believe the term was used idiomatically and meant “loved less.”
Moving beyond the word that caused us to sit up and pay attention, what is the Lord really saying? Let’s look at the situation in which Jesus found himself. He had been preaching and healing the sick for some time now, and was becoming famous. We were told at the beginning of the Gospel passage that “great crowds were traveling with Jesus.” We pose this question to you: do you think these “great crowds” that were following Jesus [the miracle worker] were doing so because of his compelling message about the Kingdom of God? Almost certainly, most people were there for the entertainment value, out of curiosity, or even because they thought it was a good thing to do.
Jesus knew all of this. So he made a decision to tell the crowds what was expected of them if they wanted to continue to traipse around the countryside with him, following along as was the custom. So he turned and asked them, through example, if they were willing to pay the price that must be paid to be his disciples. Were they willing to give up everything they found important in their lives and to undergo the persecution Jesus knew was coming in order to follow him? We can imagine the response, can’t we? There was likely a rapid exit for a majority of those crowds when they heard him telling them that nothing in the world could be as important as his Father’s Kingdom. That price would have been too much for all but the most devout and serious members of the crowd.
It is a very hard thing this Gospel asks us to do. Jesus asks the crowds then, and us now, if we have calculated the price of following Jesus. He begs us to think carefully about our answers because, whether we like it or not, visibly following the Lord today means that we are indeed picking up our cross to take the path of discipleship. Acting on the Gospel message in today’s society in an obvious way (e.g. making it clear that the charitable actions, our outspoken defense of a just economic system, or our defense of religious freedom is based upon our Christian faith) is becoming dangerous.
That is the Gospel question we are being asked to consider today. Of course we have support in considering our answer. We are reminded, for instance in the reading from the Book of Wisdom, that in things of the soul, the Holy Spirit will guide us on straight paths. That means, however, we must look to the Holy Spirit for guidance. We are also reminded by St. Paul as he writes on behalf of Onesimus, that we are not alone; there are many others who will stand with us in the cause of discipleship.
But let us not sugarcoat the real message. The price the Lord demands for discipleship is complete dedication to him, subordinating all other worldly interests to love of God, his Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are asked the question he asked St. Peter on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias after his resurrection (John 21:15-19). Do you recall what the Lord asked, three times? He asked St. Peter if he loved him. This is how St. Peter’s exchange was concluded. It will help us as we consider this message today:
“Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
Pax
In other years on September 8th: Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used today is “Christ Carrying the Cross” by Cecchino del Salviati, 1540s.
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] The Navarre Bible: “Wisdom Books”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, pp.338-39.
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