Gospel Luke 14:25-33
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, “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. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 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? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ 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? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way, anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”
Reflection on Sunday Gospel
Let us remember we are in the holy presence of God…
In our Lasallian world, school has just started for most. This Gospel offers us the opportunity to take a moment and reflect on what has just started, and if we have taken up the opportunity and challenge of another school year with the right focus, purpose, and preparation.
The majority of the Gospel speaks to making sure we have done good planning in order to be successful rather than foolish in our undertakings. The idea may not be so much about avoiding risk and taking a chance from time to time as it is about planning well and preparing for what is coming. It’s about using the talents and gifts we have and being ready to ask for more if we need them. Clearly the king or the builder could have asked others for help when he realized there was a need for more money or more soldiers. But had he planned well, he would have known that before the need arrived. He would have been able to avoid the embarrassment mentioned in the Gospel.
Do we use our God given talents the best we can? Do we prepare ourselves as well as we can in order to be available for service to others? How are we prepared for the challenges of being teachers, students, or others in our Lasallian schools this year? What is our personal commitment to making this the best school year for each of us, as well as for the entire school community, by sharing our time, talent, and treasure.
St. La Salle clearly understood the closing sentiment of this Gospel. It is tough to follow God fully when distracted by many possessions. In fact, St. La Salle’s own journey required a huge change of heart and understanding in this regard. He went from having many possessions to giving them away for the sake of the mission, and vowing to live on bread alone, if necessary, to follow the call and mission he believed he had received. I am not sure any of us are ready to be that radical, but do our possessions or our wanting of stuff get in the way of our helping others and sharing our time and talents? The measure of the Gospel is the service to others. It is not about having the newest iPhone or the coolest car. We have to remember that faith and service come before stuff. Our resources need to be applied to helping others rather than to getting more or better stuff– stuff that we might not really need.
The opening point of the Gospel, I think, makes sense now. Leaving people and stuff behind to follow God is actually about how we set priorities. When I should be making time to be prepared for school, can I forego what my friends are texting and asking me to do in order to finish what I am supposed to do, whether it’s homework, correcting papers, or some other obligation? Am I willing to give up the money I might save to get the newer iPad model so that I can pay for part of my service trip, rather than ask my folks for all the money? Do I hold valuable my commitment to find time to pray or go to Mass each week, or does sleep win out? Are my faith and belief in this journey and in what is most important strong enough to make me put the truly important stuff first in my life?
Or are my faith and commitment to follow Jesus only important to the degree that they work around the other stuff? I think this Gospel asks us, if in our planning and priorities, we believe the call of the Gospel has a priority in our planning and in our priorities…. in our actions and our decisions. What is it I am striving to center my life around?
Jim Martino, FSC