“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”
Daily Reflections
Wednesday, 8th November 2017.
Thirty First Week in Ordinary Time
Rom 13: 8-10;
Ps 112: 1-2, 4-5, 9 (R) 5;
Lk 14: 25-33.
Love is the greatest commandment. It is the foundation of Christian life. In today’s first reading, St. Paul reinterprets the commandment of Jesus of Love. Jews knew the laws and they were preoccupied with fulfilling them, many times forgetting their sole purpose. So in this context Paul tells them that all laws are summed up in one law, i.e., Love of God and neighbor. The person who really loves never wishes to do harm and is ready to take up any sacrifice. A true disciple is one who is able to love. Bl. Teresa of Kolkata said: “If one judges someone, He or she cannot love that person.” So also a true disciple of Christ must has a heart filled ‘compassion’ rather than a mind full of ‘judgment’ towards fulfilling the law.
In the Gospel of Luke, we can see that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. He has on his mind, the forthcoming violence, suffering and death, that he must undergo. The crowd was walking with him, but they were not really walking with him. The crowd were of the mind that Jesus would deliver them from sickness, from financial misery and from the Roman rule. Jesus thus makes the crowd aware of the commitment required to walk successfully as his disciples. He tells them discipleship is not an easy task. To follow him, one has to turn one’s back from one’s family: father, mother, spouse, children etc. In other words to follow Jesus, one must put Him above everything else.
Jesus identifies three conditions for discipleship: to leave family ties, to face radical self-denial and to give up one’s material possessions. He invites those who would follow him to identify with him in the fellowship of dishonor and suffering. A true disciple of Christ gives up his claims to comfort, companionship and claims to life itself. So discipleship is not cheap, it is infinitely costly. Are you and me willing to pay the price?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to constantly see those things in my life that keep me from loving You. As I identify that which deters me in faith, give me the courage to choose You above all things. Give me the wisdom to know how to choose You above all things. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.
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