23rd Week of Ordinary Time
Wisdom 9:13–18b
Psalm 90:3–4, 5–6, 12–13, 14, 17
Philemon 9–10, 12–17
Luke 14:25–33
Our age requires a clear witness of the Gospel. To offer this witness, we face two major challenges. First, the world is much larger than we imagine. No matter where we live, we have been naïve about the extent of the world. We are one world, and yet we are a multiplicity of peoples and cultures, distinct but never completely separate.
The second challenge is that we have examples of physical symbols of Gospel values from ages and cultures past but have often lost an understanding of their meaning. Families might possess “holy things” that are not understood by their children and grandchildren. Many churches receive donations of objects that grandparents have treasured because other family members do not know what to do with them.
Pictures, rosaries, prayer books and other items seen by generations in the homes of the patriarchs and matriarchs of families, often brought from “the old country” and in foreign languages, are boxed up and given away.
Treasures are available to us, both in our homes and in the world around us, that can serve as means to proclaim the Gospel if we take time to understand their meaning. Young people are being taught the “inner meaning” of what their elders might consider “old fashioned” or difficult to understand, and they are excited to make use of these “Gospel tools.” To work with the next generations, we need to unpack the treasures around us.
The Church can make use of whatever comes from the work of human beings to deepen an understanding of the ways of God. But we must live fully in the world, to take seriously the nature of things as they are. This is not easy.
Sometimes we realize that the world is far from the Gospel values. Other times, we might be so accustomed to one way of approaching things that we miss other ways just as valid. These “new ways” might also be better. Discernment is necessary. This calls for wisdom higher than our own.
In this weekend’s Gospel, Jesus calls us to renounce the ties that bind us, whether material or personal, to live the Gospel. The Church recognizes that this invitation is radical. Some are called to a public witness of the human capacity to put God first by the vow and lifestyle of chosen poverty. Many are called to respond to this “evangelical counsel” by making clear in their own way, with the responsibilities of their own state in life, that God is first.
It is important to realize that God is not asking us to “discard” the world. We are meant to make responsible use of the things of this world to lead others to a knowledge of the kingdom.
Consider your home and your shaping of your work environment. Do the things that surround you show that you have your sights set beyond this world? Do you use the treasures that promote the truth of the Gospel? What is your understanding of the signs of faith handed on to you by your ancestors?
In this time of transition, we must follow God’s wisdom, not our own. Look twice at everything you see. Can you make use of what has been passed on to you to share the kingdom with those entrusted to you?