Reflection for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

While preparing a short reflection for this past week’s memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great (Sept. 3), I came across a quote from him that got me thinking. Toward the end of his life, Gregory wrote these words:

“Perhaps it is not difficult after all for a man to part with his possessions, but it is certainly most difficult for him to part with himself. To renounce what one has is a minor thing, but to renounce what one is, that is asking much…”

What got me thinking was this: life has a way of thrusting us into circumstances we may never have wanted for ourselves or could see coming. Gregory certainly didn’t want to be the Pope known as the “father of western civilization”, as some historians call him. He wanted the simple and quiet life of a monk, not the task of restoring civil government and the rule of law after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Gregory wanted a life of prayer and scholarly pursuits, not the life of a pastor who had to take on the burden of the reformation and administration of the whole Church. Gregory certainly wanted to serve Christ, but he wanted to do it in his way. Christ wanted Gregory to serve Him, too, but on His terms, not Gregory’s.

Jesus, indeed, asks much of his disciples. In telling the parables of the tower and the battle, Jesus asks his disciples to consider the cost of following him. But can that really be done? Can we foresee all the circumstances of life and how they may impact us or what they may ask of us? No. We can’t see everything coming our way so how can we know what will be required of us when the time comes? But, I suppose, that is not really the point Jesus is making. After all, there is no “right time” for following Him. Holiness does not wait for ideal circumstances. There is only life as it is and how we rise to meet its challenges with confidence in God and with love.

In asking us to consider the cost, Jesus is not telling us to live in fear of what may come our way. But he does ask us to trust Him when it does. He does not promise a life free from difficulties, sorrow, and struggle. In fact, Jesus clearly tells us that following him inevitably involves “taking up the cross” and leaving behind everything that is an obstacle to Him.  But He also assures us that we are not left alone or abandoned. He walks the journey with us and accompanies us with grace and faithful love. He does not answer all life’s questions, at least not on this side of the tombstone, but instead He asks us simply to meet life as it is with confidence in God and to persevere in love - to love family and friend, the poor, the vulnerable, and even our enemy. Confidence in God and love of our neighbor, even if the neighbor is difficult to love, define us as Christians and will carry us through whatever may come our way.

To renounce money or possessions, says Gregory, is easy. To “part with one’s self”, that is to surrender ourselves to God’s will in all things and to serve the Lord on His terms and not on our own, says Gregory, is “asking much”. But that is the way of discipleship. We must lay aside the expectation that following Christ should be easy and faith should make few demands on us. But it also assures us that we can confidently place ourselves in the hands of a good and loving Lord, knowing that all things unfold according to His will for our good. Christian discipleship is to take up the cross and follow after the Master who first took up the cross for our sake. It is to do what love requires of us, not just in the great and extraordinary moments but in the small and ordinary things of life, regardless of the cost. This is what Jesus asks of us. There will never be a “right time” to do this. There is only today and how we will rise to meet the challenges set before us with confidence in Him and with love.

Do not be afraid of the cost of discipleship. God never calls us to something His grace will not provide for.