Discipleship is certainly not for the faint of heart, and this Sunday’s Gospel proves that well. Jesus presents a rather stark teaching stating that, “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.” (Lk 14:26) Initially this appears contradictory since Jesus has instructed all of us many times to love even our enemies unconditionally. The contradiction is truly not present though when we realize what Jesus wants - a radical commitment of faith. He wants us to go all in for God. Luke’s Gospels reminds us that we must be certain to let nothing come between our serving God and building the kingdom. We cannot be lukewarm or tentative in our response to God’s love for us. As a result, everything that is not of God must be rejected. This means that material possessions, patterns of sin, ambitions, and desires must always be purified by knowledge of God and love for His will. We must truly love what God loves and avoid whatever is displeasing to Him. That certainly will not make our journey in this life easy or convenient, but it does prepare us for eternal life and everlasting joy with God.
Next Sunday our Confirmation candidates will go on retreat to prepare for their Confirmation on October 22nd. Please pray for them and for their parents and sponsors that this retreat may be grace-filled and inspirational. Perhaps many of us have forgotten about receiving the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit at Confirmation, or even about renewing our commitment to Christ. There is no better time than now to ask the Holy Spirit to deepen our faith and our desire to be Jesus’ disciple.
I wish you all a very blessed and relaxing Labor Day Holiday. See you in Church! -Fr. Mike