WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2023
WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRTY FIRST WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME A
Romans 13:8-10
Luke 14:25-33
RENUNCIATION OF THE WORLD FOR THE SAKE OF OUR FAITH.
Jesus makes it abundantly clear that the life of a Christian and discipleship demands a lot of renunciation to make. He details those things to renounce as biological relationships, father, mother, brothers and sister and even friends. He goes on to material renunciation and pinpointing the fact of pricing the Christian life over and above everything in the world, even above self. Jesus ends this discourse demanding that a ready disciple will be known by diligent efforts made to make deliberate sacrifices and serious considerations.
It goes to establish for us who are his disciples that we need to make serious efforts in pricing our faith over and above every other thing in our lives. Our faith and followership of Jesus must be placed on the front burner of our lives and must take a prominent place before anything else in our lives.
It means that we must make allowances for great sacrifices, preferring God’s ways to our human inclinations. It means sacrificing our time and energy for the ways of God and making concerted effort to request and know what God desires in our lives on daily basis. It means understanding generally the demands of our calling and attending seriously to it like the man going on a war to fight a battle. It means giving every of our time, energy and attention to the ideals demanded of us from our God and offering all we can to actualize them.
In our first reading, Saint Paul states these wholesome demands in his letter to the Romans as it applies to other human being by demanding love which is according to him the debt we owe God necessarily. Love of God and love of neighbour which for Paul sums up all that the laws offer. For Saint Paul, this love is the key and the kennel of all commandments of the Law.
We may tag it the cost of discipleship or the demands of the Christian life or the way to go in the Christian life. But they all speak of the necessary ingredients that the people who call on the name of God need to stay afloat with and the disposition to have In order to be relevant in the life they are called to live.
Let us then look back again and see what major sacrifices, detachments and denunciations we are called to make for the sake of the love of God and the attainment of his kingdom.
Heavenly Father, you called us to a life of glory which demands renunciation of self, the world and all. Give us your spirit to price you and your kingdom above everything in the world. Guide us to follow us unreservedly, and to give in into making serious efforts to overcome the lure of the flesh, the enticement of material possession. May we be able to see beyond the hopelessness and temporary comforts and joys of power, possessions and pleasures. Grant us the true spirit of servanthood and apostleship and bless our little efforts with success in building virtues and holiness of life through Christ our Lord.
Fr Norbert Uchuno
