Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C

Reflecting on Luke 14: 25-33

If any of us had known ahead of time the many heartbreaks in our future, would we have forged ahead anyway? If we could step away from life early on because we had an insider’s glimpse of our future health challenges, who would be left to find cures for the very illnesses that terrify us so much?

I wonder about this as Jesus advises those who follow him to make sure they count the cost before they sign up.  If you can’t renounce all your possessions, can’t leave everyone you love, can’t carry your cross, then you aren’t ready to be my disciple.

None of the apostles said, on the day Jesus called them, “No, I’ve counted the cost and it’s too high.” They followed him. But by Good Friday, they were like the one who “began to build, but did not have the resources to finish.” Peter denied him. Judas betrayed him. And the others fled. It’s true, they went on to be martyred in that first Christian century. But that courage came AFTER the resurrection, not before.

Because they put themselves in a position to know him well, they made themselves very vulnerable. Their early decisions to follow him entailed significant sacrifices, and yes, their courage failed them the first time around. But after the resurrection the fullness of the meaning of his life (and theirs) came into focus, and they died with his name on their lips. But none of that would have happened without their initial, flawed “yes.” Just like all the flawed “yeses” we say in our lives, trusting that grace will go the distance.

As a child, Corrie ten Boom told her father she would never be brave enough to face his death. “Corrie,” said her dad, “when we go to the train station, when do I give you your ticket? “When we get on the train,” she said. “That’s how it is with courage. When you need it, God will give it to you.” Years later, that timid little Dutch girl saved the lives of hundreds of Jews by hiding them in her home.

The future is mercifully hidden from our eyes. The disciple of Jesus trusts that God’s grace is sufficient.

In what ways have you been given grace in the hardest times of your life?

Kathy McGovern ©2016

Ordinary Time - Cycle C