A reflection by Fr. Dave Warren, S.F.M., on the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. First Reading: Wisdom 9.13-18; Second Reading: Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Gospel: Luke 14.25-33
No one can accuse Jesus of false advertising. In Sunday’s gospel, Jesus tells us of the possible side effects of following Him: being rejected by your family and losing everything you have—including your life.
The most interesting programs on television are the commercials. Have you ever seen the drug commercials on the American networks? First, they tell you the benefits which you can expect from taking these drugs. Then they tell you the possible side effects: “Possible side effects include headache, dizziness, nausea, heart palpitations, stroke, and cancer.” After hearing about the possible side effects, I’d hesitate to try the particular drug. The cure sounds worse than the disease.
Nevertheless, I have to give the Americans credit for disclosing the possible side effects. Canadian law does not force drug companies to disclose the whole truth in their television commercials. The Americans are ahead of us when it comes to truth in advertising.
No one can accuse Jesus of false advertising. In Sunday’s gospel, Jesus tells us of the possible side effects of following Him: being rejected by your family and losing everything you have—including your life.
There’s no fine print and there are no hidden fees.
Jesus wants us to make an informed choice. He tells us to calculate the cost and he gives us two examples: the man who is building a tower and the king who is going to war.
“Whoever comes to me and does not hate their father and mother, spouse and children, brother and sisters, yes, and even their life itself, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14.26).
Obviously, Jesus is not telling us to hate the members of our family. He is not advising us to ignore the Fourth Commandment to honour our father and our mother. In the Hebrew manner of speaking, He is telling us to give Him priority over our families.
Family is not the highest value for Jesus. It’s not the highest value for us, either. In this part of the world, the individual is the highest value. But in most parts of the world, family is the highest value. Family determines your choice of career and even your marriage partner. Family determines your moral choices. In some parts of the world, politicians justify graft and corruption on the basis that they are doing it for the sake of their families.
Fortunately, life seldom presents us with a stark choice between being faithful to our family and being faithful to Jesus. Our families generally support us in living our Christian faith. Or they are indifferent. But Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists who wish to become Christians sometimes face rejection by their families. Theirs is a costly choice.
“Whoever comes to me and does not hate their father and mother, spouse and children, brother and sisters, yes, and even their life itself, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14.26).
Of course, Jesus is not telling us to hate our lives. Elsewhere, Jesus teaches us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. In the Hebrew manner of speaking, Jesus is teaching us to be ready and willing to give up our lives for His sake.
Life seldom presents us with a stark choice between living and being faithful to Jesus. But, over the centuries and even in our own day, Christian men and women have had to make this costly choice. Each day we pray, “Deliver us from evil.” We ask the Lord to deliver us from a situation where we have to make the ultimate choice.
“Whoever of you does not give up all their possessions cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14.33).
Jesus is not telling us to give away everything we have. But He is teaching us to be ready and willing to leave everything—or to have everything confiscated—for His sake. Jesus is not telling the Church to sell St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. But He is inviting the Church to proclaim the Gospel even at the risk of losing our possessions.
Why does Jesus tell us the possible side effects of following him? Does He want to scare us away? No. He doesn’t want to scare us away. But he doesn’t want us to be naïve. Jesus wants us to make an informed choice. He values our freedom. Jesus also wants us to know that we are not alone. He wants us to know that He has foreseen the dangers of following Him. In fact, Jesus is not asking us to suffer anything that He has not suffered.
In this part of the world, we do not experience overt persecution. But Jesus asks us to be willing to leave everyone and everything for His sake. Jesus asks us to give Him a blank cheque. At the suitable moment, He will fill in the amount. Or, rather, the world will fill in the amount.
We do not fear. We know the One in whom we have placed our trust.
When I see the drug commercials on American television, I ask myself, “Why would anyone want to risk taking these drugs?” Why do we follow Jesus when He tells us the risks of following Him? Who else would we follow? Who better than Jesus to follow? Jesus speaks the words of eternal life. The Christian life involves self-denial, but following Jesus is always a choice to really live.