23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
This week our local schools went back after the summer holidays and it doesn’t seem like 2 months since the schools closed for the summer at the end of June. Time is flying by and waiting for no one young or old. This week we also said goodbye to the Dominican Sisters who lived in the parish as their convent closed the sisters amalgamated with the other convent in the west of the city. In this Sundays first reading the author of Wisdom reflects that it is hardly surprising that we have trouble figuring out the intentions of God. He warns: “It is hard enough for us to work out lies within our reach.” And even though God has revealed himself through his Holy Spirit, nobody can claim to fully understand the mystery that is God. We still have much to figure out in so many things especially the things that relate to God.’ In the second reading we hear from Paul, imprisoned, for the faith who sends Onesimus back to Philemon, not as a slave but as a beloved brother, urging Philemon to welcome him as he would welcome Paul himself. Paul challenges believers to see others with Christ’s eyes, not through human status. It is a message of reconciliation and shared dignity in the Lord.
In the Gospel there is plenty of figuring out to be done. Jesus gives people notice that they have to work out for themselves if they are equal to the demands of discipleship. That means they have to figure out the cost of discipleship, then consider whether they have the resources to meet that cost. To drive the point home, Jesus uses twin parables Anyone intending to build a tower would “first sit down and work out the cost”. If he started without finishing, the sum of his achievement would be a monument to his own stupidity. Likewise, the king who discovers that his forces are outnumbered would “first sit down and consider”whether the opposing arithmetic is too heavy. In both instances the advice is clear: take the time; sit down; look at the demands; figure out whether you can honestly meet them. Much of our lives involve figuring out what is within our reach and what we can realistically achieve. Jesus knows that his disciples must prefer following him to following in their fathers’ footsteps. He calls them away from family life because discipleship means a new and all-consuming loyalty. Jesus is not telling us to literally hate our family or possessions. He is saying that nothing can come before Him—not our family, wealth, or comfort. If we love anything more than Him, we cannot fully follow His path. This is a hard teaching, but it is a call to be completely committed to God. Discipleship is not about living life as usual. It is about making choices that put Jesus first, even when it costs us something. We are challenged to think about what we might be clinging to that keeps us from fully following Him.
Fullerton T 