23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C, Year I)

Community Word:  True disciples bear the nature and character of Jesus.

Theme:  We bear the nature and character of Jesus when we suffer for His sake.

Promise:  “And may the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours; prosper the works of our hands for us.”  (Ps 90:17)

Reflection:
Discipleship has its own reward from God – He “prospers the work of your hands.”

The gospel this week is recognized as among the ‘hard sayings’ of Jesus.  It tells us there is a price to pay if we choose to become His disciples.  His love is free, unconditional, but the demands of discipleship are absolute – our whole heart and soul.

His call must take priority over everything else, even before concern for parents, siblings or children.  To be a follower of Christ, we must be prepared to carry our cross, just as Christ carried His.  The difference is that in carrying our cross, we draw strength, courage and patience from Him.  It is He, who will lead us through sufferings into glory with Him and in Him.

The cross is the proving ground of our discipleship.  It is where we demonstrate our commitment, our loyalty to Christ.  The cross in our life traces that unique path by which we follow the Lord. It is how we come to spiritual maturity in our journey of faith and to future glory with Christ forever.   God desires that we surrender everything to Him.  He wants us to offer everything that we are, everything that we have to Him:  our marriage, our job, our friendships, our possessions, our very lives.  We must not be afraid to lose these because God knows what is best for us.  Detachment and self-denial are required.  Nothing – including natural ties and affections – can come between us and the Lord.  Anything less than total commitment, is not acceptable (Lk: 14:27).  His call comes with an authority that goes beyond any other demand that might be made upon us.

The moral teaching of the gospel is indeed enormously challenging.  More than anything else, it asks us to put Jesus and the values that He embodies and proclaims at the very center of our lives and to make them the norm of our conduct.  Jesus stands for God and God’s kingdom, for peace and justice, for service and self-giving love.  True discipleship requires that such things be dominant in our lives, “to bear the name and character of Jesus”.  Discipleship is a serious commitment.  We must be prepared to suffer for His sake and must place Him above everything and everybody.  A disciple who commits himself to Jesus must seriously consider his strength and resources.  Only one who is capable of radical and wholehearted decision can become a true disciple.

A person can become bitter or better in the midst of suffering, depending on the individual person’s attitude.  The courageous takes up his/her cross; the cowardly merely drags his/her cross along.  And that makes all the difference in the world.  An American Jesuit priest writes: “if you do not experience more peace in your life, it is not because of what is happening to you.  It all depends on how you choose to look at things.  If you go through the day with blaming, angry and critical thoughts, you will feel miserable because you are making yourself miserable.  But if you go through the same with excusing, forgiving and loving thoughts, you will feel more at peace.  You cannot always choose what is happening to you, but you can choose the way you think about what is happening to you.  With this understanding we can show God we love Him by giving Him countless signs of love in our daily life.”  By doing what is asked of us, a great and abundant reward awaits us, for He promised in Ps 90:17 “to prosper the works of our hands”.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Creator of all, you call for risk-taking loyalty and commitment that puts you before family and friends and everything else in our life.  We want to live the life you intend for us and for all people.  Show us how to become fully engaged as disciples of Jesus Christ.  Help us to get our priorities straight, so we can faithfully obey your will.  We want to give our best to the work you call us to do through this community.  Amen.

Reflection Question:
God expects our complete devotion and faithful obedience as His disciples. How are we responding?

This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
September 8, 2013 (Sun)           Wis 9:13-18/Ps 90:3-6,12,13,14-17/Phlm 9-10,12-17/
Lk 14:25-33
September 9, 2013 (Mon)           Col 1:24-2:3/Ps 62:6,7,9/Lk 6:6-11
September 10, 2013 (Tues)        Col 2:6-15/Ps 145:1,2,8,9,10,11/Lk 6:12-19
September 11, 2013 (Wed)        Col 3:1-11/Ps 145:2,3,10,11,12,13/Lk 6:20-26
September 12, 2013 (Thur)        Col 3:12-17/Ps 150:1-6/Lk 6:27-38
September 13, 2013 (Fri)           1Tim 1:1,2,12-14/Ps 16:1,2,5,7-8,11/Lk 6:39-42
September 14, 2013 (Sat)          Nm 21:4-9/Ps 78:1,2,34-35/Phil 2:6-11/Jn 3:13-17

“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ.  Read your Bible daily!”

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