23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Wisdom 9:13-18
Ps 89
Philemon 9-10.12-17
Luke 14:25-33

The Cost of Discipleship

To be a Christian is to walk with Christ and to imitate his life. To this end, today's Gospel spells out the requirements to follow Christ, and of the need to count the cost of this "sequela Christi" (following Christ). There are three such demands: (1) to hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and to hate one's own life, (2) to carry the cross and follow Christ, and (3) to give up material goods. Thus, I would like to highlight two lessons that we can draw from today's readings.

First, Jesus does not ask us to neglect our responsibilities towards our families or to be alienated from our family members. Rather, he wants to make us understand that following him requires a decision, a radical choice that transforms our entire life. A choice that changes our perspectives and redefines our human relationships. We must prefer him to any other person. Moreover, to  become a Christian is to become a member of the great Family of God where everyone is a brother or a sister. This is exemplified in the second reading. St. Paul invites Philemon to accept Onesimus as a "beloved brother. Because the latter had fled as a slave but, following his encounter with Paul, he has become a Christian.

Second, the two short parables in the gospel urge us to count the cost, to measure up our means and possibilities before undertaking a project, for we cannot live without vision, without careful planning. They aim at making us understand that following Christ is a lifelong project, a commitment for life. However, the first reading and the psalmist bring us face to face with a reality: human knowledge has limits, and the condition of man is ephemeral and precarious like grass. But God remains a Transcendent and Eternal Being. His thoughts are unfathomable. We cannot discover his will unless he himself reveals it to us through his Holy Spirit.

Therefore, in our daily lives, we cannot but count on the grace of God in carrying out our projects and undertakings. For only the action of the Holy Spirit can keep us going amidst crosses and trials, hoping against all hope and persevering in our journey with Jesus. May he grant us the grace and courage to follow him to the end. Amen