Homily for the Week of September 8, 2013

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2013
Wisdom 9:13-18b
Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14-17
Philemon 9-10, 12-17
Luke 14:25-33

In today’s Bible reading which I just completed Jesus makes three very demanding statements. He says that if we want to be his disciples we must “hate” our families, we must carry our cross, and we must give up all of our possessions. Statements like this can make us wonder if Jesus is trying to make us into disciples, or if he is just trying to drive us away. When we look at this passage in the context of all of his teachings we can come to the conclusion that being a true follower of Jesus is demanding. It calls for self-denial, sacrifice and some type of suffering. Given all of this it can be tempting at times to make choices and go with the crowd.

What does it mean to be a “disciple”? The word is used usually in being a follower of Jesus, but we can be a disciple or follower of anyone - a teacher, a coach, a friend, and so forth. An example close to us from history is honored this week in the Battle of Plattsburgh which took place on September 11th 1814, a Sunday, nearly 200 years ago. In that battle 5000 Yankees and Green Mountain Boys defeated 10,000 British in the Battle of Plattsburgh. In early morning of September 11th Young Commodore Thomas Macdonough knelt for a moment with his officers and then invited them for a few minutes of perfect quiet to offer a prayer to God. We might call these men disciples of Commodore Macdonough.
During the time of Jesus, there were many rabbis, or teachers, who had disciples. Those disciples were students who chose to learn from a particular teacher of the Law, receiving instruction that was embraced as their own rule of conduct. This obviously required commitment. But the disciples spoken of by Jesus involved an even greater commitment, for the simple reason that Jesus made far greater claims and promises than did other, ordinary rabbis.
Jesus advised his disciples that if they wanted a lasting relationship with him, there would be certain costs. Following him is not a matter of being infatuated. The saying about hating one’s own family members is jolting to our ears. Hate is a harsh word, and almost unbelievable as coming from the mouth of Jesus. How could any normal person choose to hate father and mother, wife and husband and children, brothers and sisters, and even one's own life? The word hate, however, is best translated as being detached or separated. In Jesus’
time, people did not think of themselves as individuals but derived their identity and their social standing from their family, clan, village and religious group. Families determined everything about you: your identity; your status in society, your religion; your economic status. To be cut off from your family was to become a nobody, a person without identity. It was very much like being dead.

The key components of being a disciple are found in today’s Gospel. If you and I want to be true disciples of Jesus and be dynamic Catholics we must first acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God; we must spend some time each day in prayer; we must find time each day to learn more about our Catholic faith; we share generously with others what we have, and we must not be afraid to talk about our Catholic faith to those who ask us. If we do this we then place following Jesus ahead of all earthly possessions, including relationships.

Many of the people following Jesus as he journeyed to Jerusalem were likely doing so out of curiosity or momentary impulse. The journey to Jerusalem was not a vacation or even an adventure, but a march to suffering and death. Everyone on the journey must take up and carry “his or her own cross” to enter into the eternal kingdom.
The example of St. Paul who wrote our second reading today in his letter to Philomen is instructive. As a young man Paul persecuted the followers of Jesus and even throw stones at some to kill them. But one day when he was about 23 he was on his way to Damascus, the capital of Syria which is much in the news today. He heard a voice inviting him to follow me. Paul got off his horse and then took the good news of Jesus to the edges of the known world, suffering immensely and finally being killed. Paul recognized that status and power come and go, but that in Jesus we will have everlasting life.
Today's message from Jesus is difficult. To truly love Jesus everything else in our life must take second place. We must transfer our loyalty from our blood family to the family of Jesus. But it is only through our love for our family that we can transfer that love for Jesus.

For most of us that transfer of love and loyalty has been gradual. Spiritually, it began the day we were brought to a Church by our parents to be Baptized. It continued as we received religious formation at home and prepared for First Communion and First Confession. As we got older we then became confirmed in our faith and its practice through the sacrament of Confirmation. Unfortunately, for many Confirmation seems
to be the end of the need for spiritual and religious practice. That should not be the end of our spiritual or religious growth.
In fact we do the most important things in our life by stages or by steps. We creep before we walk, we survive on liquids before we get solid food, we spend years in grade school before high school, the 10th or 15th year of marriage is different than the wedding day. The same can be said of the practice of our Catholic faith and spirituality.

Jesus never asked his followers to sign membership certificates or pledge cards. Rather, he warned them how tough it would be to be his dynamic follower. We come to Mass today seeking to grow in our relationship with Jesus. Putting him above everything in our lives is a growing process. We will succeed only if we depend on his guidance and his help. He does not want a half hearted commitment. May each of us personally respond today: HERE I AM LORD, I WANT TO FOLLOW YOU.