THE VALUE OF THINGS

“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.” – Luke 14:26

If I slapped a friend just for kicks, she’d probably never talk to me again. If I did the same to my boss, I’d likely be suspended. Still, if I hit the President, I’d be thrown in jail or shot on site. See the pattern? Even if the offense is the same, the weight of punishment follows the rank of the person offended. So what do you think happens when we offend God?

       As the weight of punishment varies according to the person we offend, so should our love and loyalty naturally change according to the responsibility we have towards people. While my kids were having a conversation, one of them asked, “Who is more important, Mommy or God?” My other kid replied, “God, of course, because Mommy wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for God.”

       In being called to follow Christ, we are also called to know the weight and value of our relationships. We are tasked to grow in knowing each person’s place in our lives. God most certainly should always be first. It is not, after all, worthy of being called Christianity if it isn’t Christ-centered. Rod Velez (rod.velez@gmail.com)

Reflection: If you were to stack rank the people you love, where would God be in the list? No, really?

What does it mean, Lord, for the psalmist to say, “A day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere?” He must have really loved You to want to be in Your presence so much. I want to love you that way, too.

Paul tells us that growing in love is the most important thing we can do in life. He challenges us to compete against one another in the love that we have for God and others. He teaches us that growth in our love is an important measure of how well we are doing in our spiritual lives.

8 Brothers and sisters: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, namely “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

1 Blessed the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commands. 2 His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth; the upright generation shall be blessed. (R) 4 He dawns through the darkness, a light for the upright; he is gracious and merciful and just. 5 Well for the man who is gracious and lends, who conducts his affairs with justice. (R) 9 Lavishly he gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure forever; his horn shall be exalted in glory. (R)

Jesus does not mean that we have to literally hate our parents. What He means to teach us is that we need to prefer God over everyone else. The most important relationship we develop in life is with God and this fact ought to be reflected in the way we make our choices, preferring Him over all other people.

If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of God rests upon you.

25 Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, 26 “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. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 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? 29 Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him 30 and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ 31 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? 32 But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. 33 In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”

think:  Growth in love is an important measure of how well we are doing in our spiritual lives.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Psalm 16-20

NO WALK IN THE PARK

Let’s pick up immediately the opening words of today’s Gospel passage for a few insights. “Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them....”

       We should be able to picture easily the scene in our minds. Jesus was like any of today’s celebrities who have a huge fan base. These “groupies” followed Him literally wherever He went, with Him leading the way in front. And then now, as though suddenly (in this instance of the narrative), Jesus turned to His followers. Such a quick change of movement and position indicates the kind of confrontation Jesus made with His followers — something which we also need from time to time as we follow Him. Meaning to say, Jesus will not hesitate to face us squarely just so we can examine (and purify) our motives and intentions. And then He drops the bombshell, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother....”

       An occasional “shock treatment” from Jesus can do us good. Ours shouldn’t be a blind following, the result of a bandwagon effect, based on the popularity of the one being followed. Jesus does have His demands, which we read clearly in the Gospel. He minces no words and sugarcoats no directives. For our part, we’d better think twice and be sure of our commitment to follow Him.

       There is definitely a price we must pay in following Jesus. We must calculate the cost and face the risk. As we said, it’s a matter of really following Jesus — which is not at all a walk in the park. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTION: Are you willing to follow Jesus no matter what the cost?

Lord, during the times when it’s hard for me to follow You, strengthen me.