RBWords

     It can be a sobering thought that the principal symbol of Christianity is the cross!  By the time the Gospel According to Luke was written, the cross would be a well-known fact about Jesus (although not without some difficulty).  Suffering can be a test of faith just as other things like relationships and material goods can be as the gospel scripture for today shows.  Family ties and possessions are listed along with carrying a cross.

     Can we make a list of those things?  What are our family ties that are important to us?  What possessions are important to us?  What are our principal "crosses to bear?"  We may find that these overlap!  How much attention do they demand and how does our faith enable us to deal with them.  Discipleship is shown in the way we put all these things at Jesus' feet and then follow him, confident that what we laid at his feet will be returned to us in a way that is healthy and hopeful.  In short, if Jesus is simply one choice among many, including family, possessions, and even choosing our crosses, we are not close to discipleship.  The tough words in today's gospel scripture were a reminder to a community already undergoing persecution, but they apply to us, too!  AMEN