Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life. Philippians 2:14-16
Every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:33
Piety
God, help us to live up to the St. Paul paints – blameless and innocent Children of God. Keep us from grumbling in the midst of our crooked and perverse world, polluted by the forces of advertising and consumerism, acquisition and hoarding. Only through your intercession can we shine like lights in the world. Help us to hang onto every Word of the Good News, not the Daily News. Amen.
Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/110806.shtml
Prancing around in our rainbow hats and natty vests for Mañanita makes our faith seem lighthearted. How easy to be a friend with THIS CHRIST. When I came away from my weekend experience, too much of Catholic Christianity seemed easy. Make a friend. Be a friend. Bring a friend to Christ.
How many of my friends will want to come to the Christ we meet in Luke’s Gospel today? Today Christ tells us to:
· Hate our father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and our own lives…at least make them take second place
· Carry our own cross and come after Jesus to be his disciple (Crucifixion was a popular type of torture/capital punishment used by the Romans in the occupied Holy Land long before Christ walked up Calvary so this stuck fear in people’s hearts just like the guillotine did in 18th century France or the lethal injection today.)
· Renounce all your possessions
Today, we come face-to-face with the Christ of awe and seriousness…the Christ we meet on the pages of Tolstoy, of Dostoevsky, of Kierkegaard, and of Bonheoffer. Here is the Christ of costly grace. The Christ of total dedication. The Christ who asks us to have no attachment to family or possessions…
How ironic that people of faith fight so hard in the public arena for pro-family issue. Christ is telling us to jettison our families! Be ready to accept suffering and persecution. Realistically assess the hardship and costs.
How in the world can we balance this message with our lives and the suburban conditions in which we luxuriate? How can we not feel like we have totally caved in to the Promised Brands of Nike and Starbucks, I-Pod and Microsoft, Apple Pie and Chevrolet?
Yesterday, we saw how people invited to the great feast put their possessions ahead of accepting the invitation from Jesus. A new field, five yoke of oxen, a new wife.
What do we put in the way of the invitation? Our new Hewlett-Packard color LaserJet printer? Our Motorola Q smart phone? A Black and Decker cordless drill? Our SES application? Our new Honda Ridgeline? The latest episodes of “Lost?”
Action
What can you do to move toward total dedication to friendship with Christ? Why not try holding onto the word of life rather than your earthly possessions.
At a parish mission a few years ago, the visiting Franciscan priest asked the congregation assembled who had brought their Bible to Church. Out of 750 good Catholic people in the Worship Center, one woman raised her hand. Upon further questioning, it turned out that she was a member of a Protestant church and was just visiting us as well!
Try carrying the word of God with you every day…not just in your heart and your head, but in your purse or briefcase or hands. Maybe it will take the place of that cell phone or laptop or those files you never seem to read. Go ahead, let your Bible help you start to push other things out of the way.
Then, load some Christian music on your MP3 player and a Virtual Rosary on your Pocket PC or handheld/Palm device…put the “stuff” to work for good!
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