The Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

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.

Jesus does not want us to hate our fathers, mothers, wives, children, brothers, sisters, or even our own lives at least not in the way we might think of hating. Rather he is asking us to whom are we loyal to? Are we loyal to God first and foremost or are we loyal to family, friends, and those who give us what we want in this life. If we choose God, then we will be better able to know, love, and serve God and others. This may seem counter-intuitive to some, but when we do God's Will we serve others more than when we serve them directly because our actions bring God's grace into their lives. In addition, Jesus challenges us to take up our crosses and follow Him. God does not want us to suffer, but our sins cause suffering for others and ourselves. He could stop suffering by taking away our free will, but He doesn't do that because love depends upon the ability to freely choose another over ourselves. Because of God's respect for our freedom, we have to accept our cross in order to be Jesus' disciple. He does not force it on us. And if we do accept it, then although we might suffer, we suffer joyfully and secure in the knowledge that God will never abandon us.

Are we loyal to God, to others, or to ourselves? How can we foster a fidelity to God that will allow us to not only choose to be loyal to Him, but also to accept the crosses that come to us because of this choice? Are we willing to suffer in order to know, love, and serve God and others?

O Lord, help us to be loyal to you and to carry our crosses as faithful disciples.

Amen.