Word to the Wise
Wednesday, November 4, 2020 - Wednesday in the 31th Week in Ordinary Time
[Phil 2:12-18 and Luke 14:25-33]"If anyone comes to me without hating his 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 and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say 'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.'" [Luke] Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life... [Philippians]
NOVEMBER 4, ST. CHARLES BORROMEO
The Gospel According to Luke was written for a community struggling to survive in the face of persecution. Was it worth being a Christian if your family and friends weren't and were rejecting you? Was it worth being a Christian if it meant risking arrest and possible death at the hands of public authorities? The passage from the Gospel According to Luke for today is a kind of collection of Jesus' statements on various occasions warning disciples that Christianity is a serious commitment. It requires an integrity of purpose that will not be deterred by personal or public opposition. The passage from St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians likewise challenges that community to maintain its integrity of faith in word and deed.
The great spiritual writer, C.S.Lewis, once said: "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important." When faith becomes one more consumer item among other "options," The Lutheran pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, executed by the Nazis in the last months of World War II, wrote a classic entitled THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP in which he warns about "cheap grace."
In our own times, we do not face public persecution for our religious faith, but we do face the eroding effects of a secular and consumer society. Tiny "compromises" are like drops of water on a rock. Although God's healing mercy is always available, it does not substitute for our deliberate efforts to maintain integrity of faith in word and deed. We will fall down and get up many times in our efforts to live our faith, but the idea is to learn from and not repeat the mistakes. Surrendering to the secular culture of options makes Christianity only of "moderate importance" and just another "option." Love of God and neighbor deserves far better from us! AMEN