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Gospel: Luke 14: 25-33
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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I was praying on Tuesday morning and sent a few lines from today’s homily to a friend. I said, “It’s just a draft and incomplete.”
To which he responded, “Isn’t that a metaphor for our lives?”
Life is a first-draft… it’s incomplete. We’re all works in progress.
This is certainly true when it comes to faith – to my faith; it’s a work in progress. A first draft. Incomplete.
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives his most difficult command.
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
Clearly, Jesus didn’t go to business school. Nor was he a master in marketing. Telling someone to “hate” the people we love the most – even our own selves – is a great way to lose, not to gain, disciples.
So, why did he say this? What did he mean?
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This verb Jesus used, which we translate as “to hate,” means to choose one thing over another.
In other words, we must choose the Lord over everything and everyone else. Our family and friends should occupy second, not first, place in our hearts.
This makes more sense when using Saint Matthew’s translation: “Whoever loves his father and mother, his son and daughter, more than me is not worthy of me.”
Still, putting Jesus first in our lives – above family, friends, sports, careers, and our own desires – is just plain hard.
Which is why we’re all a first draft; incomplete; a work in progress.
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Consider how long it took the disciples to put Jesus first.
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They traveled with him for three years, all the way to Jerusalem. They witnessed miracles, conversions, demons subdued, and lives changed along the way. They themselves were changed.
But when Jesus was arrested and led off to be crucified, they turned away. Their hearts were filled with fear and disappointment. They didn’t have the strength – or the faith – to continue.
The disciples needed Pentecost. They needed the Holy Spirit.
Once the Spirit came upon them as tongues of fire, their hearts – and their lives – were forever changed. Their fear melted into courage; their doubt was molded into faith.
Many of them followed the Lord, even to the point of death. So, why didn’t they run away again?
Finally, Jesus came first.
After years of stumbling, failing, and trying again, they lived the great command of Israel: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your strength, and with all your soul.”
You shall put God “first.”
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What might this mean for us?
There is a distance we are all willing to travel with Jesus, even to Jerusalem. But at certain points along our faith journeys, we may begin to question whether or not we can continue in faith; we may even ponder giving up.
Today’s Gospel passage was that moment for me.
Many of you know the story.
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I spent five years living in Rome while studying for the priesthood.
Two years into my stay, my mother developed pancreatic cancer. I went home and spent the summer with her, but by August, we had to decide whether I’d stay with her until she went to the Lord or return to my studies.
I was confronted in the most unimaginable way with today’s Gospel. “Whoever loves his father and mother, his son and daughter, more than me is not worthy of me.”
In an effort to put the Lord first, I returned to Rome.
It was the most difficult decision I’ve ever made. But, as we are reminded repeatedly in scripture, God is never outdone in generosity.
If we put the Lord first – even for a moment – then everything else begins to fall into place, starting in our hearts.
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Looking back over your own faith journey, when did you feel the Lord inviting you to put Him first? What did you have to give up?
Maybe you’re still trying.
Perhaps we all are.
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As my friend reminded me on Tuesday morning, our journeys are in draft form. We’re each a work in progress.
But as our parish vision statement reminds us, “We’re all generations journeying together with Jesus to satisfy our hungry hearts. Come and see!”
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Image credits: (1) GotQuestions.org (2) Word on Fire (3)