TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

[cappie]

Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem where He would be crucified. But the crowd thought that he was going to Jerusalem to oust Romans and to re-establish the old Davidic kingdom of Israel.  Jesus was enormously popular with the crowds as a great healer, brave teacher and miracle worker. Looking at the cheering masses, however, Jesus frankly puts before them the strenuous conditions for discipleship in today’s Gospel. 

Jesus gives a clear call and instruction on “discipleship.” Being a disciple is more than being a follower. We see instances in the Gospels of people who were followers of Jesus who turned away when they were challenged to become disciples.  Discipleship involves accepting and integrating into our lives the teachings and values of the one whose disciple we become.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus lays out a clear challenge to his followers. To paraphrase: “You must not let any person in this world stand in the way of your following me.” “Figure out what it is going to take for you to become my disciple. Don’t be unprepared.” And, finally, “Renounce any possessions that stand in the way of being my disciple.”

Jesus tells us not to begin something we aren’t sure that we can successfully complete. Using the stories of the king going off to war without sufficient soldiers and strategies and the man who begins building and can’t finish, he really isn’t giving military or business advice; he is really speaking of our spiritual life: before we choose to follow him, are we able to measure up to the demands of the Gospel?

When you reflect upon this, Jesus’ demand can be very intimidating.
Do we have what it takes to live out the Gospel?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor in the first half of the 20th century, wrote a book titled The Cost of Discipleship. Bonhoeffer himself knew that cost firsthand. As a disciple of Jesus, Bonhoeffer risked everything, including his life, in order to resist Hitler and the spread of Nazism.
Bonhoeffer contrasted the cost of discipleship with what he called “cheap grace.” Cheap grace implies that the believer wants to have forgiveness without really being repentant, to have baptism without living the life of the church, to have Communion without really believing, and to be a disciple without accepting the cross. In other words, cheap grace means wanting to be a Christian without Jesus Christ!

In contrast to “cheap grace,” Bonhoeffer defines the costly grace of discipleship this way: “Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus; it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels a person to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: ‘My yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ ”

Christ knows that such an acceptance is intimidating, difficult, and frightening. He knows that we will not be able ever to do it on our own.
And for that reason, He promises us that he will be with us, be our strength, and make possible the impossible.

Knowing what to do as a disciple of Jesus isn't always easy. As with Philemon, the decision to be reached might affect others. Sometimes the Way is fogged in and we can't see the next step. 

Through Christ’s word, proclaimed in the liturgy and our own reading of the Scriptures, in times of listening to the Lord in the silence of private prayer Christ teaches us how to think, see, hear, speak, and act according to the Gospel.

Let us pray, then, as did St Richard of Chichester, for the grace ‘to see him more clearly, love him more dearly and follow him more nearly, day by day’. 

Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, received first in baptism, and encountered in a new relationship in Confirmation, Christ strengthens us to think, see, hear, speak, and act 

[<3 PopeFrancis]

3 hours ago, cappie said:

Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem where He would be crucified. But the crowd thought that he was going to Jerusalem to oust Romans and to re-establish the old Davidic kingdom of Israel.  Jesus was enormously popular with the crowds as a great healer, brave teacher and miracle worker. Looking at the cheering masses, however, Jesus frankly puts before them the strenuous conditions for discipleship in today’s Gospel. 

Jesus gives a clear call and instruction on “discipleship.” Being a disciple is more than being a follower. We see instances in the Gospels of people who were followers of Jesus who turned away when they were challenged to become disciples.  Discipleship involves accepting and integrating into our lives the teachings and values of the one whose disciple we become.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus lays out a clear challenge to his followers. To paraphrase: “You must not let any person in this world stand in the way of your following me.” “Figure out what it is going to take for you to become my disciple. Don’t be unprepared.” And, finally, “Renounce any possessions that stand in the way of being my disciple.”

Jesus tells us not to begin something we aren’t sure that we can successfully complete. Using the stories of the king going off to war without sufficient soldiers and strategies and the man who begins building and can’t finish, he really isn’t giving military or business advice; he is really speaking of our spiritual life: before we choose to follow him, are we able to measure up to the demands of the Gospel?

When you reflect upon this, Jesus’ demand can be very intimidating.
Do we have what it takes to live out the Gospel?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor in the first half of the 20th century, wrote a book titled The Cost of Discipleship. Bonhoeffer himself knew that cost firsthand. As a disciple of Jesus, Bonhoeffer risked everything, including his life, in order to resist Hitler and the spread of Nazism.
Bonhoeffer contrasted the cost of discipleship with what he called “cheap grace.” Cheap grace implies that the believer wants to have forgiveness without really being repentant, to have baptism without living the life of the church, to have Communion without really believing, and to be a disciple without accepting the cross. In other words, cheap grace means wanting to be a Christian without Jesus Christ!

In contrast to “cheap grace,” Bonhoeffer defines the costly grace of discipleship this way: “Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus; it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels a person to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: ‘My yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ ”

Christ knows that such an acceptance is intimidating, difficult, and frightening. He knows that we will not be able ever to do it on our own.
And for that reason, He promises us that he will be with us, be our strength, and make possible the impossible.

Knowing what to do as a disciple of Jesus isn't always easy. As with Philemon, the decision to be reached might affect others. Sometimes the Way is fogged in and we can't see the next step. 

Through Christ’s word, proclaimed in the liturgy and our own reading of the Scriptures, in times of listening to the Lord in the silence of private prayer Christ teaches us how to think, see, hear, speak, and act according to the Gospel.

Let us pray, then, as did St Richard of Chichester, for the grace ‘to see him more clearly, love him more dearly and follow him more nearly, day by day’. 

Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, received first in baptism, and encountered in a new relationship in Confirmation, Christ strengthens us to think, see, hear, speak, and act 

Wonderful.  Thank you.