'Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.' Sunday Reflections, 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Irish Peace Tower, Belgium

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? (Luke 14:28)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                  

     

Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) 

Gospel Luke 14:25-33 (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition)

Now great multitudes accompanied Jesus; and he turned and said to them, "If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build, and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace. So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple."

Responsorial Psalm (NAB Lectionary)

There probably are very few Irish mothers who at some stage have not said on many occasions to their children, 'I'll kill you if you do that again'. But I would also say that there have been very few Irish children who have ever taken that literally. When my mother threatened me with 'killing' I knew it to be a warning not to misbehave. If I heard her say 'I'll keelhaul you', I knew I was really out of line. I had no idea as a child what keelhauling was and I don't know if my mother knew what it was either. 

However, the message was loud and clear: 'Behave yourself!' My father's threat was 

a much milder 'I'll give you a good clip in the ear'. However, I survived childhood without ever receiving a 'good clip in the ear' - it was always 'a good clip' never just 'a clip'! - or being keelhauled, never mind being killed.

The word 'hate' as used by Jesus in today's gospel is in the same category as the threat of Irish mothers to 'kill' their children. But like the message that Irish mothers convey to their children to behave themselves, the meaning of Jesus is clear: 'You must be prepared to give up everything if necessary to be my disciple. A disciple is one who is prepared to learn a way of life from another.

A filling station in Brazil

Julie was a student of mine in college in Mindanao 40 years ago. She was the eldest in a family of six or seven children, as I recall. Her father Loloy was a casual labourer while her mother Minda worked for the family life apostolate in the parish. The parents earned just about to enough to feed their children and to send them to school. So when Julie graduated after a two-year course and got a job as a bookkeeper in a filling station the family were very happy to get the extra money.

However, Julie began to feel very uncomfortable with a request to keep two different books, with different records. She realized that her employer was cheating on taxes and expressed her concern to her parents. The three of them discussed the matter and saw clearly that what Julie was being asked to do was wrong, sinful, and so they advised her to resign, which she did. The loss of a job, the loss of a regular salary was a real sacrifice for the family. But they kept their integrity as disciples of Jesus. 

Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 

Antiphona ad communionem /Communion Antiphon Cf.Psalm 41 (42):2-3. Quemadmodum desiderat cervus ad fontes aquarum, ita desiderat anima mea ad te, Deus. Sitivit anima mea ad Deum, Deum vivum. Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God; my soul is thirsting for God, the living God. Palestrina's setting is for Psalm 41 (42):2-4. This starts with the word 'Sicut' instead of 'Quemadmodum', used in Missale Romanum (2002). The English  text is from the Revised Grail Psalter, the version used for the Psalms in the new English translation of The Roman Missal. Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum:  ita desiderat anima mea ad te, Deus.  Sitivit anima mea ad Deum fortem vivum:  quando veniam et apparebo ante faciem Dei?  Fuerunt mihi lacrimae meae panes die ac nocte,  dum dicitur mihi quotidie: Ubi est Deus tuus? Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God. My soul is thirsting for God, the living God; when can I enter and appear before the face of God? My tears have become my bread, by day, by night,  as they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” Photos from Wikipedia.