Sep 7th, 2025: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 14:25-33

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today’s Gospel is one of the most challenging passages we hear from Jesus. He says:

“If anyone comes to me without hating father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple . Whoever does not carry his own cross after me cannot be my disciple.”

At first, those words sound harsh. Does Jesus really want us to hate our families? … Of course not. We know from His teachings that honoring Parents and loving neighbor are central to Christian life. What Jesus is doing here is using strong, even shocking language to make a point: … Following Him must come before everything else – even the dearest relationships we have. Nothing, not even family ties, career, possessions, or comfort, can come before Christ if we want to be His disciples.

To underline this, He gives two examples: a man building a tower and a king going into battle. Both have to “count the cost” before they begin. Jesus is telling us: discipleship is serious. It demands foresight, commitment, and sacrifice. Being Christian isn’t about convenience or half-measures – it’s about total surrender.

And yet, this doesn’t mean that we lose our families, our work, or our lives. It means we love them in a new way, through Christ. When Jesus comes first, He orders everything else in its proper place. Parents, Children, friends, possessions – they become gifts we hold with open hands, not things we cling to above God.

This is where our first reading from the Book of Wisdom speaks to us: “Who can know God’s counsel, or who can conceive what the Lord intends?” Left to ourselves, its impossible. But God gives His wisdom and His Spirit to guide us. Discipleship isn’t something we figure out on our own; it’s something God makes possible by His grace.

St. Paul’s letter to Philemon gives us a beautiful example of how this plays out in life. Paul writes about Onesimus, a runaway slave who has become a Christian. Paul is showing us that when Christ comes first, every human relationship is transformed. Even the bond of master and slave is replaced by the deeper truth of Christian brotherhood.

So, how do we live this out today?

• First, we need to ask ourselves honestly: what competes with Christ in my life? Is it comfort, success, money, reputation, or even family expectations? Jesus says clearly that nothing should come before Him.

• Second, we must “count the cost.” Being Catholic is not just showing up on Sunday. It means carrying the cross – choosing forgiveness instead of resentment, generosity instead of selfishness, truth instead of compromise.

• Third, we remember the promise: when Christ is first, everything else finds its true meaning. Our families, our work, our friendship – all are purified and made stronger when they are rooted in Him.

My friends, today Jesus is not trying to scare us, but to set us free. Discipleship has a cost, yes – but it also brings the greatest reward: eternal life with Him, and a life of meaning here and now. As we come to the Eucharist, let us ask for the wisdom of God to help us place Christ first, to carry our cross with love, and to discover that in losing everything for His sake, we gain everything.

Amen.