Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Luke 14: 25-33 The Cost of Discipleship: Freedom, Cross, and Love
The Gospel this Sunday presents us with words of Jesus that are both surprising and unsettling. Large crowds are following Him, attracted by His message and His presence. Yet Jesus does not rejoice at the popularity. Instead, He turns to the people and speaks words that sound harsh: “Whoever does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple… Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple… None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”
How strange! We are so accustomed to thinking of success in terms of numbers—how many attend Mass, how many belong to our groups, how many “like” what we do. Numbers can be useful for reflection, but they can also mislead us. They can tempt us to pride, to the illusion that more always means better. Jesus teaches us something else: discipleship is not about quantity but about quality. It is about love that is courageous, radical, and free.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus calls His followers a “little flock,” a grain of salt, a mustard seed. Small, fragile, insignificant in the eyes of the world—yet capable of transforming everything. The Church is not great because of influence or prestige, but she is great when she is faithful to the Gospel, even when it is costly.
Jesus gives three conditions for discipleship. First, to place Him above every other relationship. This does not mean despising our families or loving them less. Rather, it means loving them more—but in Him. True love never enslaves; it sets free. When family, friends, or even our own desires block the path of the Gospel, then we must have the courage to put Christ first.
The second condition: to carry the cross. This isn’t passively resigning or seeking suffering but a call to fidelity. The cross appears when we choose honesty over convenience, forgiveness over resentment, service over selfishness. It may bring ridicule, misunderstanding, rejection, or even persecution and death in some parts of the world. Yet, disciples carry it with love, following Jesus’s way.
The third condition: to renounce possessions. Jesus does not invite us to misery but to freedom. Possessions are not evil, but they easily enslave us. Think of the first Christian community: “They held everything in common… and there was no one in need among them.” That is the joy of detachment—everything is gift, everything is shared.
Brothers and sisters, discipleship is serious. It is not a hobby, not a pastime, not only for the devout few. It is the path of love—demanding, beautiful, and life-giving. Jesus does not want half-hearted followers. He wants friends who trust Him completely. Let us ask the Holy Spirit for the courage to put Christ above all, to carry our crosses with love, and to live free from possessions. Then we will be His true disciples: small, yes, but filled with the flavour of the Gospel.
Saturday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time Luke 6: 1-5 The Lord of the Sabbath: Mercy Above Rules
In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees accuse Jesus’ disciples of breaking the Sabbath law by plucking grain as they walked through the fields. To them, even this small act counted as harvesting, threshing, winnowing, and preparing food. What was meant to be a day of rest had become a crushing burden of rules.
Jesus responds by recalling how David, when hungry, ate the holy bread reserved for priests. Human need, He teaches, takes precedence over ritual. God’s law was never meant to suffocate but to give life. Yet Phariseeism reduces faith to legalism and control, forgetting mercy and love.
Phariseeism shows itself in many ways: 1 Common Sense. Too often, instead of making life lighter, we complicate it. Rules pile up, and joy disappears. Yet God desires us to live simply, not to burden one another. 2 A Fraternal Church. Our faith calls us to live as brothers and sisters, not as inspectors of one another’s faults. When we make the Church more fraternal, we create a family atmosphere where love abounds. Jesus said the world would know we are His disciples by our love—not by our lack of common sense. 3“It’s Not Allowed.” Like policemen or customs officers, we can fall into the temptation of controlling others by telling them what they can or cannot do. But true maturity is walking in freedom, knowing our own limits, and accepting God’s path for us. Freedom in Christ is not about endless rules, but about living in truth and mercy.
The Pharisees read Scripture but missed its heart. We too must come to the Word with open minds and needy hearts. Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath, reminds us that God’s love is greater than any rule, and His mercy always outweighs rigid legalism.
Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time Or Optional Memorial of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, virgin Luke 5:33-39 New Wine, New Joy: Living Faith with Fresh Hearts
In today’s Gospel the Pharisees confront Jesus for the joy and freedom of his disciples. They were used to a religion of rules—fasting at fixed times, praying at fixed hours, and showing off piety with pale faces. Religion, for them, was meant to be heavy and uncomfortable.
But Jesus reveals something radically different: faith is not about misery, but about joy. He compares life with Him to a wedding feast, where the friends of the bridegroom share in the couple’s happiness. Christianity is not meant to suffocate life, but to fill it with light, laughter, and hope.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta often reminded her sisters that joy is a sign of holiness. She said, “A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love.” Like Jesus, she knew that faith lived in gloom loses its attraction. Instead, Christian witness should make others “feel bathed in sunshine.”
But Jesus also warns that joy cannot be bottled in rigid minds and hardened traditions. He speaks of new patches on old garments and new wine in fresh wineskins. Faith must remain open to the Spirit, ready to grow, adapt, and bear fruit in changing times. To cling stubbornly to old ways can burst the wineskin and tear the cloth apart.
The Gospel challenges us: Are our hearts supple enough to receive the “new wine” of God’s Spirit? Or have we become hardened like old skins, unable to stretch? True discipleship means keeping our minds and hearts open, unafraid of fresh movements of grace.
Let us dare to live faith as Jesus and Mother Teresa did—with joy, with freedom, and with courage to embrace the new. For in Christ, the best wine is always still to come.
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