23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C (2025)
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Wisdom 9:13-18b
Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, and 17 (1)
Philemon 9-10, 12-17
Luke 14:25-33
September 7, 2025
Last week I spoke about humility and pride (see my homily). If we are truly humble, we recognize God knows better than us. For “Who can know God’s counsel, or who conceive what the Lord intends!”
God has a plan for us, “a future of hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). We would like to know what the plan is. Yet, the truth is that we are not capable of grasping the whole plan. We must understand that our intellect has its limits and our view of our world is limited. “For the deliberations of mortals are timid and unsure are our plans.”
We might come up with a plan. We might think we have the perfect plan. However, our view of the world is incomplete. We do not know what other people are thinking or what is their heart except for what they choose to reveal to us. God looks into our hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7). God is not bound by time. He knows what we are going to do before we do it.
Our perspective is distorted by what our physical body seeks in earthly pleasures. Our earthly needs weigh down the mind. It is not easy for us to look beyond the things of earth to focus on heavenly things.
We are not God. The best plan we can make for ourselves is to trust in God’s plan. Whenever we are in trouble, we can count on our Lord as our refuge.
Some people make their own plan and have God as their backup plan. They do their own thing and think God is there to pick up the pieces. God is with us and He is willing to help pick up the pieces when we repent. However, we make a better plan when we make God our first priority. If everyone made God their greatest priority, there won’t be any broken pieces to pick up.
Jesus teaches us that the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor. Sometimes we think this means being silent to keep peace with other people. We don’t want to say something that might hurt them or cause an argument.
While it is true that there may some things that are better left unsaid, there are times when God calls us to speak. In these times, Jesus says, “When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:19-20).
Loving our neighbor is second to the greatest commandment, to love God with all our heart and mind.
It is in this context that Jesus says we cannot come to him with “without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
These words can seem difficult to understand. How can Jesus tell us to hate someone when we know He says the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor?
What does it mean to hate?
We think of hate as the opposite of love. If we must face a choice between loving God and loving our neighbor, we need to choose God. Our eternal salvation depends on it. However, loving God means loving what He has created.
Do you allow yourself to become a prisoner to the world, choosing worldly ideas over God (like being silent about what you believe)? Or do you give yourself to God, submitting yourself as “a prisoner for Christ Jesus”?
It is not easy. We need to understand that we are in a battle for our souls. It is not a battle to fight with swords, missiles, or bombs. To win this spiritual battle, we must give ourselves over to God. We might strive to be holy as the Lord our God is holy (see Leviticus 19:2).
Are you a Catholic Christian? Do you understand what this requires of you?
When Jesus speaks of calculating the cost, of marching into battle, He is calling us to understand what is asked of us.
Our salvation is a gift. If we recognize and accept this gift, the only proper response is to give our whole life to Jesus. We give our lives to Jesus in the way we renounce our possessions. We give our lives to Jesus in the way we help other people. We give our lives to Jesus when we set aside worldly ways and pleasures to follow him in all things.
What stands between Jesus and you?
Peace,
Fr. Jeff