September 8, 2019

A real deal breaker…in today’s Gospel we hear Jesus utter the words that no doubt sent a flood of people walking away from him; walking away from discipleship! Not only did he tell them that they had to renounce their family and all their possessions but, that they would have to suffer as well and carry their cross! How this must have stung their ears because in their culture family was everything. Family gave you your “identity” …you knew your place in the society and how to act and interact with others based on your identity which was rooted in your family. So to renounce your family would be tantamount to renouncing your identity…which it seems is exactly what Jesus was attempting to do…to help his disciples to let go of the old identity and to develop a new identity as disciples of Jesus Christ...as members of a new family. To do this Jesus wanted them to leave behind their old life and all its trappings and to be willing to walk with him, knowing that it would be a difficult journey. It was all about living their discipleship, putting it into action each and every day…full on, all the way! Membership in this “new family” would now be the source of their new identity; the source of knowing how to act and interact with others, and during this “Season of Creation” we have to examine our relationship with the earth as well!

How we live on the earth and how we “use” the earth, how we consume and what we consume. Being good disciples means being good stewards of “our common home”. How does my membership in “the family of disciples of Jesus” inform my daily actions and interactions with others and with the earth? How do I keep God at the center of my busy daily life?

Blessings,
Fr Tim