Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time - September 7, 2025 (Year C)

This week, we are challenged by the words of Jesus.  He tells those who were traveling with Him that no one can truly follow Him without "hating" their family.  Taken at just that line, it seems an insurmountable task, to disregard the love of those closest to us for the eternal love of Jesus.  But two keys lines, one from the First Reading from Wisdom and the second from later in the Gospel Reading, help me to (hopefully) make sense of Jesus's proclamation.  In the next part of the Gospel Reading, Jesus continues to compare being a disciple to preparing to construct a tower.  Taking that example, all other context is removed - the builder's family obligations, their taxes due, etc... - and it's a simple exercise in having the right resources to achieve the goal.  We too must remove the outside context, or distractions, and see what it is we truly need to do in our lives to be true to God, and sometimes that can be our family or our jobs or even our hobbies.  And that brings me to the line from Wisdom: "For our corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns...".  This is the recognition that, as humans on this earth, we are at a disadvantage due to our nature and our environment, and yet we are called to rise above all of that.  In fact, it is only by rising above those concerns and burdens that we carry daily that we can ever become disciples of Christ.

Disclaimer: This will be at the bottom of all reflections, but I’m not intending to put out any sort of professional critique, attempt at a homily, or investigation into the historicity of the readings, but will “let the Spirit move me” as some say, to share what has spoken to me in my reading and reflection on the set of Readings for each week.