Dear Parishioners,
There is much more to life than meets the eye. How can we focus on the eternal dimension of life if we are immersed in distractions? We are consumed by the concerns of everyday life. We need to pay bills, put the kids through school and buy a car. These are middle class concerns. The poor are concerned with providing food and shelter. Whether we are rich, middle class or poor, our primary concern should be to keep our eyes on Jesus in order that He may reveal to us the purpose of life.
Today’s readings from sacred scripture relate to the degree of commitment that Jesus expects from those who claim to believe in him. The choices we make define us. We are expected to put Jesus and his way of life first, above all persons, plans and possessions: before family, friends, even before one’s life. We are also expected to follow Jesus’ example and take up the crosses that the circumstances of life present to us. No person, place or thing should have priority over Jesus. We are at his service.
The first reading contrasts human wisdom with divine wisdom.
Human wisdom is confined by man’s limited perceptions.
God’s wisdom has no limits. “Who can conceive what the Lord intends? Who ever knew your counsel, except you had wisdom and sent your Holy Spirit form on high.” Divine wisdom means receiving from God inspiration that we could never acquire on our own. Wisdom 9: 13-18
The second reading has Paul sending back a slave, Onesimus, to his owner Philemon. Paul says that Onesimus is now a Christian. He is no longer a possession. He is an equal to Philemon,
who is a Christian, both are one in the Lord. Paul went on to say to Philemon, “If you regard me a partner, welcome him as you would me.” Philemon 9: 10-17
Luke’s gospel relates to what it takes to be a follower of Jesus. It takes more than planning, even though it’s helpful to plan. It takes God’s help. “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, his wife and his children, his brother and sisters, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” No second place for God. God has to be first in our lives. Jesus reminds us that our “best” is nowhere near God’s ‘best”. Trust God. Luke 14: 25-33
Jesus went on to say that those who follow him will experience
suffering—“Whoever does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Jesus also said, “None of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his possessions.” Jesus calls us to travel with him wherever he goes, not to wait to travel with him until we get to our destination. Only God knows what our destination is and what we will experience along the way.
Half committed is not sufficient for Jesus. Meeting the minimal requirements is not acceptable. Not being bad is not sufficient. Unconditional commitment to Jesus and his way of life is the goal of Christian living.
Through Jesus becoming man, God became accessible to us. When our hearts are focused on Jesus, God has the freedom
to rearrange the pieces of our lives and reveal to us the purpose of life.
How can we throw off the chains that bind us together in futile pursuits, and choose freely God’s way that will lead us to our destination? Chain gangs are an image in movies. Occasionally a prisoner breaks the shackles and runs, thus beginning a tale of hope and courage. We empathize with the chain gang image. We realize that we are in bondage to the ways of the world and we long to be set free.
We need hope and courage to choose the path to freedom that will release our grasp on the many links to human bondage – our propensity for enslaving ourselves, and others,
poverty and ignorance, fear of death, loneliness and vulnerability, prejudices of all kinds – the list of chains and links goes on and on. It is consoling that many have chosen the path to freedom with Jesus, and Paul. We’ll never be alone. God is with us. The degree of acceptance of his love will be the measure of our resolve to be free.
Unless our love for God is above every other love, we will smother and eventually destroy those whom we claim to love. When our love for God is primary, then we can trust and give others freedom to grow in lives filled with adventures
unknown, as they, like us, follow Jesus.
On this Labor Day weekend we prayerfully reflect on the teaching of the Church on the rights of people to productive work, fair wages, private property, economic initiative, and the freedom to organize. Pope John Paul II wrote: “ The Church considers her task always to call attention
to the dignity and rights of those who work to condemn situations in which that dignity and those rights are violated,
and to help to guide changes so as to ensure authentic progress by men and society.” Laborem Excercens
Is your heart focused on Jesus? Are you unconditionally committed to Jesus and to his way of life? How has following
Jesus changed you?
Monsignor John Vaughan
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