XXIII Sunday in OT[C]: Wis 9:13-18b; Phlm 9-10, 12-17; Lk 14: 25–33

 

Introduction: Today’s readings challenge us to the true Christian discipleship of total commitment to the will of God, putting God first in our lives.

Background: To understand our second reading, I need to explain something about slavery in the Roman Empire in the first century.  It was in many ways different than our experience of slavery before the Civil War.  Slavery was common in the first century but slaves came from nations and peoples that Rome had conquered.  Most slaves would have been educated and would have worked as musicians, scribes, craftsmen, teachers and even doctors.  A slave might eventually be set free by his or her owner or buy their own way to freedom.  Today’s second reading is about a slave named Onesimus (a name which means “useful”).  Onesimus escaped from his owner. The Greek word for an owner of slaves is “despota.”  The owner was named Philemon (a name which means “loving”).  By Roman law, a runaway slave could be punished buy death.  Onesimus had known Paul, for Paul converted his master Philemon, to Christ.  So, in fear for his life, Onesimus ran to Paul, who was in prison at the time.  Unlike today, where prisoners receive good care, the Romans locked a person up temporarily until a trial was held.  It helps to know that in those days a prison was just a place where an accused person was held until their case was determined: whether they would be executed, sent into exile, have their property confiscated, or be set free.  The Romans never considered it a punishment to lock up a criminal.  Often prisoners needed friends or family to provide for their basic needs and apparently, Onesimus did that for Paul.  For Paul Onesimus lived up to his name: useful.  In the process Paul converted him to Christ.  Paul thus refers to Onesimus as his own child for he has led him to rebirth in Christ.  Paul would have liked to keep Onesimus with him to help him, but he felt an obligation to send him back to Philemon.  He didn’t feel right benefiting from a gift that had not been given to him.  Paul asked Philemon in the letter we hear in today’s second reading to receive Onesimus back, not as property he might own, but as a brother in the Lord.  Christianity transcends all of our relationships.

St. Paul teaches that people should remain in the same social condition in which God called them and that slaves should not seek their freedom (1 Corinthians 7:20-21). It is not that St. Paul is endorsing slavery. Yet the same Paul says that “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

Exegesis: Being a Christian was and is infinitely more important than social status, even if that status is slavery.  We are all slaves in the world, but we are free in Christ.  There are many things that enslave us.  Some are sinful, some are temptations, some are breaks in relationships, all are nuisances.  We are all enslaved by our own selfishness and pride.  We want to put ourselves first.  Our very society drills us to “take care of number one.”  But Christ frees us from that.  He tells us to love God first, and then others as ourselves.

We come to Mass today seeking to grow in our relationship with Christ who is the way, for this task of following him and putting him above everything else in our lives in an on-going process and with his guidance and with his help we will succeed.  The relationship with Christ reflects in the relationship with others. Heaven is the happiness of surrendering ourselves to the greatest love in the universe.

Joke: One morning Rev. Desmond went to the front door of his rectory to get his newspaper and found a dead mule on the street.  He quickly called the city health department and asked to have the mule disposed of.  The smart secretary on duty said, “Hey, Reverend Pastor, I always heard that you pastors buried your own dead even if they are not practicing Christian disciples”.  “Yes, we do”, the pastor replied. “But not in all cases.  In this case, I would like to meet the deceased’s close relatives in the Health Department in person to offer my condolences and to give a special blessing!

Practical Applications: 1) We need to accept the challenge of Christian discipleship with heroic commitment and practice it. We do so: 1) by daily recharging our spiritual batteries through prayer, i.e., by talking to God, and by listening to Him through the meditative reading and study of the Bible; 2) by sharing in God’s life through frequent and active participation in the Eucharistic celebration; 3) by practicing the spirit of detachment and the renunciation of evil habits; 4) by giving our time, talents, and resources generously, for the Lord’s work in our parish community, relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 5) by loving all God’s children, especially the less fortunate ones, through humble and selfless acts of kindness, mercy, forgiveness and service; 6) by showing true commitment to the obligations and duties entrusted to us by our vocation in life and our profession, like fidelity in marriage and firm adherence to justice in our living and profession.

Twenty third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Message: Who can comprehend the Lord’s ways or conceive what the Lord intends?  True wisdom leads us to acknowledge our limitations (a matter of “calculation”) and our idols of materialism as we seek to follow the Lord without reservation.  True discipleship calls us to forgive those who have wronged us.  May we gain the wisdom of heart to discern more fully our call to take up the cross of Jesus.

Saints and Events in this week:  Ninth(9)- Monday-Saint Peter Claver, priest(USA); Twelve(12)-Thursday- The Most Holy Name of Mary; Thirteenth(13)-Friday- Saint John Chrysostom, bishop, doctor of the Church; Fourteenth(14)-Saturday-The Exaltation of the Holy Cross.