23rd Sunday

23rd Sunday Ordinary
September 5, 2004

"And scarce do we guess the things on earth, and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty... Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high?" (Wisdom 9: 13-18) "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." (Luke 14: 25-33)
Wisdom is reflecting on the limits of our ability to understand the meaning of life except as it may be revealed to those who live in the spirit of the Most High. Jesus is addressing the crowd, instructing them on the cost of discipleship, using analogies to make his point that it is not simple or easy and that we all have to calculate the price of discipleship.
I am struck, by the apparent contradiction between Jesus' saying about "hating" parents, children and spouse as a condition of being a disciple -- a very uncompromising attitude, followed directly by another saying which suggests a great deal of compromise. A prudent army general, faced with overwhelming odds against victory, would be wise to sue for peace rather than lose the battle. This is a good example of the futility of a literal interpretation of the Bible. What would family values and the commandment to honor one's parents look like if we took this one statement literally, isolated from its context? Adults learn to accept ambiguity as part of their religious and spiritual search. No single rule, belief or perspective (except maybe the "law" of love) is sufficient for the complexities of real life. There is a time and place for radical separation from all we know and love, and a time for practical compromise and strategic retreat.
For a while after learning five years ago that we (my family and friends and I) had ALS, we spent considerable time wondering about the meaning of this, and "why" it happened to us in particular. We had many people offer their own answers to our questions. Usually some version of: "God has something in store for you." In fact, there is no real answer to this question. Life has presented us with the opportunity of accepting a radically new way of living. The only "answer" is the practical one: how do we adapt to these new rules of life. Like the army commander in today's gospel, I have had to abandon old rules of life, especially the one about trying hard, being first and always winning as the solution to every problem. Instead, we survey the scene, calculate the odds, concede the inevitable, and move on to better things. A radical departure from former ways of life, and a compromise with reality.
Recovering addicts remind each other frequently about the need to distinguish between things they can change and things they need to accept. All that ultimately matters is living in the Holy Spirit's love and gratitude. This may also turn out to be the most practical and radical mode of living. Jesus' apparently contradictory statements are both true.
Loris Buccola