Reflection
The Challenge, the Opportunity!
Jesus has some strong words in today’s Gospel: discipleship includes hating your family, hating your own life, renouncing all your possessions. But wait a minute…What about His earlier statement about the “command” to love God, and to love our neighbor as ourselves? The messages don’t seem to jive! To add even more challenge, Jesus’ statement to the crowds also includes His earlier statement:
“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
Jesus’ powerful and challenging words underscore the total dedication that is involved in following Him. That’s the vocation of every Christian: the total gift of self in one’s particular style of life. Married people, single people, priests, consecrated religious women and men. The two “mini-parables” at the end of today’s Gospel expand upon the practical self-knowledge that’s part of discipleship: we’re reminded to inventory the materials on hand before starting a building project – and to size up your personnel resources before you head off to a skirmish or combat.
The bottom line: Discipleship is demanding! Daunting! Even perhaps depressing… How can anyone say “yes” and sign on?
The whole of Sacred Scripture testifies that God’s Love is creative, redemptive, healing and miraculous. With God’s gracious love, each person’s talents and shortcomings are transformed by God’s infinite Love – and we can “take up our cross” and “leave behind father and mother” and “renounce our possessions.” Jesus loves us so intimately that nothing can stand in the way…if we open our hearts and say “yes,” as has been said by the many “Saints” whose lives we solemnly celebrated on November 1, as well as today’s St. Charles Borromeo of 16th Century Italy.
The challenge and the opportunity are ours today as we in the United States get the results of our mid-term national elections. Jesus calls us to prophetic and fruitful discipleship in a world beset with conflicts, pandemics, politics, prejudice, poverty, pessimism. Our witness and involvement as Jesus’ disciples are so needed in both the nitty-gritty of life and in the broader, global reach of leadership and visioning.
How will you and I respond today? Today’s Responsorial Psalm 27 provides us with faith-filled encouragement:
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? … Wait for the Lord with courage…”
May we all respond: Yes!
Amen!!
