TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, September 4, 2022
(Wisdom 9:13-19; Philemon 9-10.12-17; Luke 14:25-33)
The issue of infant baptism has become controversial at
different times in the Church. In the early church some parents did not want
their children baptized because they were likely to sin in their youth. Then,
during the Protestant Reformation some reformers said that infant baptism is
not valid because the person has to make a free decision for Christ. The Church
has responded to these approaches with three points. First, there is evidence of infant baptism in
the New Testament. Second, baptism delivers children from the darkness of error
into the light of grace. Finally, at baptism parents commit to raising their
children in the faith. However, those who were baptized as infants still have
to decide for Jesus. Therefore, Jesus challenges us together with the people
following him in the gospel today. Jesus tells us: “’ If
anyone comes to me without hating his… own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
We have to ask ourselves first how Jesus can make such a sweeping
statement. Who is he that we have to love him above all other things? Is he
revealing his divine nature in this statement? He may be, but it is also
possible that he is identifying himself with the fight against Satan. It is as
if a generalissimo asked his troops to fight for him to save the country. Or
this weekend we would like to put this example of the world of work. It is as
if a union leader were to ask the members to fight for him to win the dignity
of the worker.
Then Jesus warns his followers to be aware of what it costs
to be his disciple so that they avoid appearing foolish. For the poor of his
followers, Jesus gives them the example of a farmer who, before beginning the
project, calculates the expenses to build a watchtower in his vineyard. For the
rich Jesus compares the preparation for discipleship to a king seeing if he has
the troops to defeat another king before he attacks him. In other words, Jesus
is challenging his followers to be prepared to make sacrifices to be his
disciples.
What St. Paul asks of Philemon in the second reading is no
different. Paul wants Philemon to free his slave Onesimus for the sake of
Jesus' service. Onesimus sought out Paul after running away from Philemon. He
evidently could help Paul so that Paul now wants to get him released. Philemon
has to weigh his friendship with Paul and perhaps his membership in the
Colossus community against the cost of freeing Onesimus. This cost will be more
than the loss of his service. If he frees Onesimus, probably his other slaves
will try to gain their freedom by running away to an apostle.
Today's gospel ends with Jesus declaring: "'... anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.” What does
he mean by this alarming statement? Do we have to destitute ourselves to
be Christians? But it's not like that. The statement means that the disciple
has to be ready to relinquish his possessions when necessary. As the peasant
has to be ready to spend his savings and the king has to be ready to sacrifice
his troops, the disciple has to be ready to sacrifice all his goods if
necessary. We have several examples of this type of sacrifice. After the
crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea gave his own tomb to bury Jesus. Twenty years
ago, the so-called "richest man in the world" gave most of his wealth
to charity. Today the war in Ukraine has revealed many willing to open their
homes to refugees.
In the movie "Jurassic Park" someone comments that
people would pay any amount of money to see an island full of dinosaurs. As
interesting as that is, it's worth much more to inherit the God’s Kingdom as a
disciple. We should not worry about the costs involved to get it. Let us look
at the good that the Kingdom will present us.
