THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP (HOMILY FOR THE 23RD SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME YEAR C
Homily for the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year C. Wisdom 9:13-18b; Psalm 90:3-4,5-6,12-13,14; Philemon 9b-10,12-17; Luke 14:25-31. Theme: The Cost of Discipleship. Central to today's liturgy of the word is the question of the cost of discipleship. What exactly is the cost of discipleship? Following Jesus, is it expensive or cheap? Is everyone who follows Jesus a disciple? Many Christians follow Jesus today, can they rightfully say they understand what the cost of discipleship entails? Are they following blindly or have indeed made the cost of discipleship? The Gospel begins and we heard it: "Now large crowds were travelling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, 'whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother and wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and even his own life, cannot be my disciple" (Lk 14:25-26). During Jesus' public ministry, often we observe that large crowds follow him. But the scintillating irony was that at the f...