Twenty-Third Sunday C in Ordinary Time, Luke 14,25-33

Introduction.

It is a problematic speech; who is to listen to it? This is my first reaction to the uncompromising demands from Jesus’ mouth to his disciples. And subconsciously, I expect that there will be some loophole to get around it or some explanation that Jesus didn’t mean it literally but is just a symbol and image of sorts. But then why is there the triple warning, “he cannot be my disciple”?

Predication.

In biblical terminology, it is always a warning that things are about to get serious, and it is a solemn and meaningful word. I was in Olomouc for the perpetual vows of one of the best friends I have ever had in my life. During the Mass in the Capuchin church, Radek placed his hands in the hands of his provincial and, in a slightly trembling voice, before God and all of us, promised to live “in obedience, without possessions, and in purity until death.” Then he signed the protocol, and his fellow Capuchins rose from their seats, came up to him in joy, and embraced him with a smile on their lips. And I, though a priest, was suddenly in the same boat with the rest of those present, my mom, dad, siblings, acquaintances, and friends. I don’t think anything has changed about our relationship, even though we are and will be together much less than I might want or need. But I felt distinctly and clearly that I would forever be “up to” second place from that point on. For there is Someone to whom He has promised more, and a community in which to fulfill that promise.

A significant and, for our times, strange promise. To promise obedience to one of the people? What if that superior is sinful, weak, poorly educated, or even vain and foolish? What if he has views that are opposed to mine? Or will he send me somewhere I won’t want to go at all, where I won’t be able to develop my talents and abilities…? Promise me a life without ownership? Even more so, poverty as a lifestyle, renouncing luxury, fancy clothes, and expensive cars. But without the ability to decide what to buy and be able to have in my room, in my home, above my bed? Going to the boss whenever I want to buy a sweater or aftershave and asking for money? To have no pocket money, what can I get for the journey if I need it? To promise a life of cleanliness today? Today, when sexuality is proclaimed to be a form of relaxation and entertainment? Like when we’re hungry, we find something to satisfy it. And if there’s nothing in the fridge at home, we can go to the curfew, and if we can’t find anything there, there must be some satiation after all…In this day and age, to promise to try to avoid masturbation and all thoughts and actions that lead to sexual activity? Today, when nudity is directly offered because it is a natural thing?

Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must put everything second.” But what if we want to put something and someone else first? But God right after, in second place. Right after the wife… And after the daughter… and after the son… and also after the mother and father… well, it’s the fifth or sixth place… Then there are the closest friends. And when holiday friends show up, they also get priority… but only on holidays… It’s good to be told the truth. We might be surprised at how many places we assign to God. But otherwise, we believe in God; we know he exists, and that everything belongs to him. And He is also Creator and Lord. Just don’t let him ask us to do anything. May He give us a peaceful and happy life, may we all be healthy in our family and may our children do well in their studies… and may we have enough money to provide them with clubs and a computer. That’s why we bring our children for baptism. So they don’t miss anything. Probably not, so they’ll miss out on everything excellent at that moment. If those words were read at the baptism of one of us as an adult, we might turn around and walk away. Who would listen to that? After all, Jesus doesn’t promise anything; on the contrary, he says I can lose everything. But then what will I have left?

Perhaps this is the question that can move us on in our thinking. What is left for me? If we put our children first. But what will I have left if God doesn’t give or gives and takes? We put our life partner first. And what will I have left if he’s not here one day? I may put my possessions, at least the basic ones, in the most critical place in my life… But what will be left when the great water, fire, earthquake, or even thieves take them away? Yes, it is only when we are lost that the true answer to the question of what and who comes first in our lives is revealed. We don’t have to want to give up everything and lose everything. We don’t have to give up our homes, houses, hobbies, and marriages. Or good food and pleasant vacations. But he wants us to give up the aforementioned first place. That first place is the reality, the foundation that will remain when everything else is gone and gone. Life can be built on that foundation, even if none of what we wish for on holidays and birthdays materializes, when friends betray us, or when we find ourselves at war when we have been left all alone, when we get fired from our jobs when our health doesn’t allow us to travel anymore when I don’t even have a place to live.

Even then, I’ll have a reason to live. Just for fun, by the way. What reason for joy did people have in the days when they couldn’t go on holiday, or even when they never had a holiday? What was there to be happy about, and why did people in so many generations before us live when they didn’t know whether they would wake up for war when they had to get up at 4 a.m. every day for their whole lives to feed the animals when they didn’t choose what they would eat but were happy to be able to eat… We may be glad that such a time no longer exists, but let us not dismiss the question of whether we could live and be happy even then. God is not a God only for the chosen few, the social elite, and the wealthy classes. Perhaps in the context of today’s words, we can understand Jesus’ skeptical statement about the rich man’s chances of entering His kingdom. When anyone puts first in life – even temporarily – to have a good time, to still enjoy themselves, to achieve success, money, a career… It may seem that a person who believes in God and follows Jesus is taking something away from them. However, I think that the one who has come to know and accept Jesus, even with his poverty, his flight into Egypt, his misunderstanding by the apostles, and his pain on the way of the cross, has gained far more in baptism than he has lost. The meaning of life, whatever the situation and circumstances of life.

And I would like to point out one more dimension of this journey: when Radek, in full awareness and all his maturity, decided to share with others the journey of total surrender in the Order, others already on that journey expressed their joy and welcomed him among them with hugs and their happiness. May we then also be able to rejoice with those who come into our community. When new and emerging Christians become children of God, they should already know that they are not only embarking on a journey where the cross, loss, and renunciation will not be absent but that, at the same time, they are already receiving several other people who are willing to help them and lend a hand when needed. How little it takes to begin with: a smile, a hug, a hand extended, and a kind word – a wish for joy and perseverance in baptism, experiencing that baptism with them. When even that little is missing in the beginning, are we sure that we have not yet strayed from the path Jesus has called us to walk? And my priority is still – or has been – myself, my family, my well-being, personal leisure, building my own house, carefully guarded privacy, or anything and anyone else. If I want to be His disciple again, I must rethink a few things in my life—even the value system.