Every Sunday, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Click HERE for the readings.
What will it take to go to college? A lot of preparation, determination, a loan, and a way to pay back the debt.
What will it take to build a house? A good blueprint, a good contractor, a plot of land, savings and a reasonable mortgage.
What will it take to drive to California? A car, money for food, lodging and gas, some patience, a map, and some music to play along the way.
Jesus is answering another question of “What will it take?” What will it take to be his disciple?
Jesus talks first about “hating mother and father, wife and children, brother and sisters, and even (one’s) own life.” But hatred in this context is not to be understood in the usual way. Rather, hatred here is used to highlight that the love of God must be first among all of our loves. Every other love is secondary.
And that leads to the other necessity if we want to follow him. We must renounce all of our possessions. Does this mean we must sell our homes and get rid of our material goods? Not for most of us. But, yes, some have been called by God to sell everything and give it to the poor. Saint Francis of Assisi comes to mind as one such person. And those in religious life are often asked to take a vow of poverty, giving up the right to personal ownership
For the rest of us, however, renouncing our possessions means something more akin to emotionally detaching ourselves from the things we have accumulated in life. Instead of giving our things more attention than they are due, Jesus calls us to give God our best time and devotion.
Like a person who wishes to construct a tower, or a king who is about the engage in battle, or a person ready to drive to California, to be a disciple of Jesus also requires us to prepare and do what it takes. We must be ready to let go of everything in this life except what matters most. God.
In fact, at the end of life, we will need to let go of all material goods. All we will have left is God as we stand before him as naked as the day on which we were born. Let’s work on preparing for that day.
Have a blessed week everyone.