The readings for the 23rd Sunday in ordinary time invite us to reflect on the true meaning of discipleship and the wisdom required to follow Christ. The scriptures challenge us to place Jesus above all else and to entrust ourselves to God for guidance and understanding. In the first reading from the book of wisdom, we are reminded of our limited understanding. Yet, it is through God’s wisdom that we gain insight into the mysteries of life. We are reminded that true wisdom is not merely the accumulation of knowledge, it is a divine gift that allows us to see the world through God’s eyes. As we navigate our lives turning to God for guidance helps us align our choices with His will, understanding that without His wisdom, we can easily stray. The psalm echoes this there, reflecting on the fleeting nature of human life. We read “teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” This prayer invites us to confront our mortality and to live with intention. Wisdom is recognizing the urgency of our time on this earth, understanding that each moment is a gift from God, meant to be used for His glory and the betterment of others. In the second reading from the letter to Philomon, Paul exemplifies this wisdom in action. He appeals for compassionate reconciliation, urging Philomon to welcome back Onesimus not merely as a servant, but as a beloved brother. This teaches us that true discipleship is grounded in love, mercy, and understanding. To follow Christ means embracing the transformative power of forgiveness and community.
The Gospel speaks about true discipleship and the demands of discipleship, it calls us to renounce and sacrifice our own comfort, security, passion and things that are dear to us. Thus, the whole passage speaks about the cost of discipleship. The first demand or challenge that Jesus gives us is that of hating our father, mother , brother , sister , wife and husband in order to follow Jesus radically. The way of Jesus and the teachings of Jesus were based on love and not on hate, yet Jesus uses this strong word hate to show how great the difference must be between our loyalty and commitment to Jesus and our loyalty and commitment to everyone and everything else. Jesus uses the word hate in a comparative manner to give priority to Christ and less priority to other things. The next demand or challenge Jesus gives is to carry our cross. Today bearing the cross or carrying the cross is being interpreted spiritually as accepting the suffering, accepting the weakness, distress and so on, but at the time of Jesus carrying the cross means voluntarily accepting humiliation and death. The humiliation and death are the unavoidable direct consequences of following Christ and committing oneself to Christ. Carrying a cross always led to death on a cross, no one carried a cross for fun, the listeners of Jesus did not need an explanation of the cross, they knew, it was an unrelenting instrument of humiliation an unrelenting instrument of torture and death. If someone took up his cross, he never came back, it was a one-way journey to death. Jesus chose to say your cross, the idea is that there is a cross suited to each individual and one person’s experience of cross may not look just like another person’s experience of the cross. So, Jesus tells us to carry your cross.
Jesus gives us two parables, the parable of Tower and parable of war. These two parables help how one should carefully measure the cost of following Jesus. In the first parable of the Tower Jesus said sit down and see if you can afford to follow me or not, in the parable of the war Jesus said sit down and see if you can afford or to refuse my demands or not. Through these two parables Jesus may be suggesting that the work of his kingdom was like building or a battle, each of these are usually more costly than one thing before the beginning. In both parables Jesus gives a very clean message to calculate the cost, because it will demand everything of one’s life to be a good disciple. Jesus tells these parables for a reason, Jesus is not looking for superficial disciples, rather he is looking for disciples who are totally committed and dedicated, discipleship is not about the title but about giving witness through life. Dear friends the cost of discipleship is different for each person, for some it cost their time and energy, for others it cost their relationship, and behavioral changes, for some it means discerning their vocation, for others it means committing oneself radically to follow the values and teachings of Christ, how are you called to live your discipleship here and now.